Dick DeVos May Make Michigan GOP
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Dick DeVos May Make Michigan GOP

With Michigan settling ever deeper into the economic doldrums, Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm is taking the challenge from the presumed Republican candidate, businessman Dick DeVos, very seriously.

Granholm was elected in November 2002, defeating Republican challenger Dick Posthumus with 51 percent of the vote. At this point, she faces no challenger in her party's primary in August.

But then there's DeVos, the husband of the ex-state GOP chairwoman, who looks assured of having no opponent in the GOP primary. And he has plenty of punch to fire things up: He has personal financial resources to commit to his campaign and has been tirelessly stumping the state with what he hopes is a winning message.

It seems to be working. A new statewide poll shows that DeVos has now pulled even with Gov. Granholm, with each garnering 43 percent support among likely voters.

The poll also found that two-thirds of respondents believe the state is headed in the wrong direction.

The gubernatorial election is set for Nov. 7.

DeVos has been hammering home his call for eliminating the state's main business tax and touting his extensive experience as a businessman - a skill set he says would help him turn around Michigan's economy if he's elected governor. [For more info: www.DeVosforGovernor.com]

At the heart of that flagging economy is Michigan's 6.7 percent unemployment rate - nearly 2 percentage points above the national rate of 4.9 percent.

Granholm, who argues that nixing the business tax would blow a huge hole in the state's budget and just further strap the rank-and-file taxpayer, points to how her administration has been, in its own way, business-friendly - reducing, for instance, the red tape businesses face when seeking permits from the state.

She also has been emphasizing empirical results: Small firms growing by 2,400 in 2004; seven companies opening new headquarters in the state last year; and Toyota Motor Corporation's plans to invest $150 million in a new state-of-the-art research and development facility in York Township, generating more than 670 new jobs for Michigan.

However, DeVos, a former president of Alticor Inc. - the parent company of Amway Corp. - and the scion of one of Michigan's wealthiest families, keeps focused on what he describes as the very grim bigger and longer-range picture: "Our economy is in decline. Families are struggling. Jobs are leaving. And yet the rest of the nation continues to prosper," he intones as his campaign's signature mantra.

According to one calculation, Michigan has lost one job for every 20 minutes since Granholm was sworn in.

DeVos insists that any real recovery for the Great Lakes state will take some dramatic and perhaps painful initiatives.

Along with banishing the single business tax, he has been publicly mulling the trimming of Medicaid, the health plan that has become a black hole in the state's strained finances. Medicaid costs Michigan $7.5 billion in state and federal funds. Of that, $2.1 billion comes directly from Michigan taxpayers.

DeVos favors what Missouri has done to save its Medicaid program from implosion - eliminating the program for some 100,000 people to save an estimated $310 million in the current fiscal year.

The trimming back has been anything but painless and bloodless in the Missouri test case. These were some of the cuts: feeding tubes, walkers, crutches, prosthetics and physical therapy. Health-care premiums for low-income families were hiked up and Medicaid for disabled people who work part-time was discontinued.

For her part, Gov. Granholm has thus far insulated Medicaid from any deep cuts - continuing even some benefits that aren't mandated by the federal government.

With the battle lines drawn, pundits are suggesting that Granholm and an entourage of Democratic support groups will burn through about $30 million during the campaign.

DeVos has pledged to be competitive with that treasure chest. "I'm just going to try and keep up."

Having eschewed any PAC contributions, DeVos and company say they are looking for smaller gifts from "thousands of individuals."

Despite the big end-game figures, fund-raising as thus far been relatively modest - with the DeVos campaign reporting that they raised $1.84 million last year.

Meanwhile, the Granholm campaign raised $4.96 million in 2005 and kicked off 2006 with nearly $5.13 million in ready cash.

DeVos has declined so far to reveal how much of his personal fortune he stands ready to expend on the campaign. His campaign trail rhetoric, however, suggests that he'll do whatever it takes: "I know that Michigan is desperate for leadership, and I know how to turn this ship around. I'll never give up on Michigan, and I'm flat out going to get it done!"

Granholm has not been heavy with the political polemics, instead reminding the electorate how Michigan's public schools in 2005 received record funding at levels promised by the previous administration.

The tenacious DeVos, however, is always ready with a return jab.

In a recent speech, he noted: "We continue to lag in education achievement, even though we rank near the top in money spent on education. Two-thirds of the class of 2005 failed to meet state standards in social studies. Almost half failed to meet state standards in math. Over 40 percent failed to meet state standards in science."

There are, of course, other distressed states in the union.

Whatever the final result, the volatile gubernatorial contest in Michigan may serve as a template for other important contests around the country where politicians frantically search for the perfect message to capture the fickle hearts and minds of the American electorate.

For more info: www.DeVosforGovernor.com

News Max.com ~ Dave Eberhart ** Dick DeVos May Make Michigan GOP