Republican challenger to Democratic incumbent Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Dick DeVos, is calling on President Bush to sit down with the CEOs of the Big 3 automakers. Such a meeting was planned for earlier this year, but scheduling conflicts have kept it from happening. AP Political Writer Kathy Barks Hoffman files this report:
"We're being ignored here in Michigan by the White House, and it has got to stop," DeVos told reporters at his campaign headquarters in Lansing. "I'm just calling on the president now, and the White House, to get it done and to hold this meeting."
* * * * *Ford spokesman Josh Gottheimer said last week that the companies and the White House have faced scheduling issues and he was confident a meeting would take place.
DeVos, the former president of Amway Corp. and its parent company, Alticor Inc., is a major contributor to Bush and to Republican causes. His wife, Betsy, raised more than $150,000 for Bush's 2004 campaign, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Read the rest at the link above.
Neither DeVos nor Granholm is very clear about what they expect such a meeting to accomplish, however. The President can't wave his hand and make their union contracts and "legacy" health costs go away, or make more people buy their products. Do they expect some nice fat federal subsidies?
Most likely, the meeting will be held, the executives will be very serious and Bush will look concerned, they will shake hands and take pictures all around - then everyone will stop wasting their time and get back to work.
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Gubernatorial Races, Michigan, Republican
