The Usual Suspects

Someone who follows Michigan politics but doesn’t watch Off the Record is akin to a sports fan that doesn’t watch Sportscenter. In the July 29th edition of the show, host Tim Skubick discussed the Representative Paul Scott recall effort. Representative Scott’s recall has been backed by the Michigan Education Association (MEA). The MEA is very active in recruiting volunteers and they are also spending money on the effort. Paul Scott is the chair of the House Education Committee where many of the recent anti-teaching bills originated, and the MEA sees him as a bit of a turncoat. The interesting thing about the recall is that there are now robocalls going out asking people not to sign the petitions.  Tim Skubic suggested that the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) could  be behind the robocalls. The GLEP is a DeVos initiative that I wrote quite extensively about and they have paid for robocalls before. Wealthy people like the DeVos family use front organizations like the GLEP to promote their brand of ultra-conservatism. These type of organizations have been successful in using soundbites to sway public opinion.  Those opposed to the GLEP’s message seldom link the organizations to those who fund it. In fact, many people who oppose the GLEP and the DeVos family plan for Michigan public schools run right out and purchase products from DeVos family companies like Fox Motors and Amway.  The DeVos family then donates some of the money they make to attack the jobs of the very people who purchase from them. If the GLEP is behind these robocalls, we will likely see this information on their PAC disclosure statements sometime in the future. However, the people receiving these calls right now will probably never know who was behind them. Whether you agree with the recall or not, at least the MEA is being upfront about their role rather than using zombie organizations like the GLEP.  Personally, I like to be on the side of transparency.