DeVos denies charges in Democratic ad that he sent jobs to China

WOOD TV ^ | 05 SEPTEMBER 2006 | AP

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

LANSING, Mich. -- Democrats are running a new T-V ad criticizing Dick DeVos for laying off workers in Michigan and opening a new plant a China, but the Republican gubernatorial candidate says the ad is a lie.

The ad compares DeVos with Democratic Governor Granholm and says she traveled to Asia and brought home new investments for Michigan. Democrats say DeVos laid off 14-hundred Michigan workers and then invested overseas.

The DeVos campaign already is airing a response ad, in which DeVos defends himself against what he says are negative attacks.

DeVos says most of Alticor's million investment in China paid for a manufacturing plant, which was required by the Chinese government as a condition of selling products there.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Typical RAT politics. They don't understand the world of business and enterprise, so they gotta slime DeVos as some evil corporate thug.

[sergeantdave]

The only thing Granholm brought back from Asia was leftover sushi for alley cats. About all she's capable of is standing in a bellboy uniform and opening the door to the outhouse.

[Becki]

says she traveled to Asia and brought home new investments for Michigan.

At the time they were touting this, WOOD interviewed a spokesman for Toyota. The spokesman said, on air, that they were not considering a new plant in Michigan at all. If they were considering a new plant, Michigan would not be in the running.

Becki

[Politics4Fun]

This new Granhom ad is doubly negative for DeVos. First, by having to respond to Granholm's claims, DeVos is on the defensive and is no longer leading the discussion. His response unavoidably gives credence to Granholm's accusations. And second, even though he is attempting to refute her allegations, it may be too late. The charges lobbied by the Granholm camp are serious matters in Michigan. As his ad states, while DeVos may not have sent jobs from America to China, he did create about 4300 jobs in China. Voters probably won't appreciate the difference. And in defending job cuts at Amway, people don't hear his justification that it was fiscally necessary; they just hear that he eliminated Michigan jobs. The bottom line is that his history with Amway will only hurt his chances for election, and if I were DeVos, I would try to change the subject as quickly as possible.

[NoStaplesPlease]

Ugh. If he's going to lose to this fake-American from Canuckistan, he deserves to lose.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Well said. DeVos should have explained himself better.