I have previously noted the contributions from Dick DeVos to far right groups, including those which support vouchers, but People for the American Way give him even more “credit” as they expose those like Dick DeVos who oppose the liberties this nation was founded upon. They label DeVoss a Voucher Warrior:
Dick DeVos has used his family’s fortune and status to create an intricate national network of non-profits, political action committees and federal groups known as 527’s that effectively fund the political arm of the school voucher movement. As this profile details, DeVos money flows into the coffers of various ultra-conservative candidates, committees, and causes. Nowhere is the impact of the DeVos family fortune greater, though, than in the movement to privatize public education. After 69 percent of Michigan voters rejected a DeVos-led drive for vouchers in 2000, he and his family turned their attention in recent years to building an organizational infrastructure that pumps huge amounts of money into ballot initiatives and political races at the local, state and federal level. Since he announced in June that he would run for governor of Michigan, Dick DeVos has said that he does not plan to push for vouchers again if elected. It is unlikely that indicates a newfound lack of support for privatizing public education—rather it may simply show that he has accepted the political reality already expressed by the Michigan voters. If true, Michigan may be the only state where DeVos money is not being used to push vouchers. In 2006, the funding network he has built is putting more money into pro-voucher candidates and legislation than ever before.
The site has considerably more information on the DeVos family’s ties to the religious right.
