Chris Savage, who blogs at Eclectablog in Michigan, reports that multimillionaire Dick DeVos has threatened to run opponents to Republicans who fail to support expansion of the disastrous Education Achievement Authority. DeVos funds vouchers and privatization. He just plain doesn’t like public schools.

 

Chris Savage writes:

 

“I have confirmation from two independent sources in the Michigan legislature that multi-millionaire Dick DeVos is using the threat of massive financial support for Republican primary opponents of vulnerable Senate Republicans to force them to vote for the bill that would expand the Education Achievement Authority statewide. The same approach was used to peel off recalcitrant House Republicans before they passed the EAA expansion bill last month. If Democrats John Olumba and Harvey Santana had not voted for it, however, they would not have had enough.

 

“According to my sources, DeVos has pledged to fund Republican primary opponents to the tune of $100,000 each. In addition, he would provide the Republican victims of their effort with a list of other wealthy donors who would also support their primary challengers.

 

“This is the same approach that DeVos was reported to have used to force passage of legislation that made Michigan a Right to Work state in during the lame duck session in December of 2012:

 

“…….In public, Snyder insisted that right-to-work was still not on his agenda. Privately, his aides met with labor and suggested that concessions on other issues would keep the bill off the table. All the while, though, DeVos and his team were furiously whipping the vote. In the weeks before the start of the lame-duck session, DeVos personally called dozens of state lawmakers, pledging his support if the unions threatened recalls or primary challenges…..”

 

“If there was any doubt in your mind that wealthy corporatists are attempting to subvert our democracy and our government, this should dispel that idea. What the Koch brothers are doing nationally, the DeVos family is doing in Michigan to promote their anti-labor, anti-public education corporatist agenda.

 

“They are literally buying our government, one legislator at a time.

 

“It is my hope that Republicans in the Senate will be as offended as the rest of us by this blatant attempt to extort their votes. Anyone who values our American democracy and who values the principals of a representative, one-person/one-vote republic should be outraged at this.”