Saturday, July 23, 2016

Congressman Mills III? That "Congressman" label has to be somebody's idea of a bad Dan Quayle poor little rich boy joke.

First poor little rich boy; MinnPost, late August 2013, here, a 1%'er with more income annually than most in the population see in a lifetime:

Republican 8th District congressional candidate Stewart Mills' portion of his family's Fleet Farm business is worth between $41 million and $150 million, earning between $4 million and $12 million last year, according to a personal financial disclosure form filed by Mills last week [PDF].

Stewart Mills and his siblings are the third generation of Mills to operate the Fleet Farm retail chain, which was founded by Mills’ grandfather. The Fleet Farm chain and several businesses associated with it are listed as assets on the financial disclosure form required for all congressional candidates, which Mills filed with the U.S. House Clerk on August 20."

[...] Mills himself earned just less than $570,000 in salary from Fleet Farm last year, according to the filing.

[link in original, bolding added]

Okay, more annual wealth being accrued from passive capital cash flow than from any "earned" salary, however luxuriant the salary is. That's Dan Quayle criterion NO. 1, met, listed, logged.

But what about those good old Quayle Family Values? Where's Mills III on that front?

First, a conundrum:
The 2013 MinnPost item notes Mills III campaign touting:

“Stewart is an entrepreneur helping to lead a 90 year-old business headquartered in Brainerd that has been in his family for three generations,” Mills campaign coordinator Isaac Schultz said in a statement. “His aggressive reinvestment in his family's businesses has created thousands of full and part time jobs right here in Minnesota. Stewart’s experience in the private sector is the reason he’s running for Congress.”

Wow! How can you fault entrepreneurship, Donald Trump might ask. But Donald has been going to the office putting in the time; so what about Mills III? The above quote suggests a parallel, but is there really one, now if earlier?

Below is a screenshot of the relevant part of Mills III's "about" page on his campaign website:



What the redlined text says, he's quit work, and still gets the stock earnings annually anyway, living the good life.

Consistent with that suggestion of less than entrepreneurial zeal, Mills III as he's been vs who he says he is now, haircut and all, CityPages presenting among other Facebook trivia, this telling text from Mills III himself, not from any campaign flak spin:


There is that old saying about truth being stranger than fiction. It's truer too, and the truth is the man was, is, will be a dilettante, and in Congress, if ever elected, a total lightweight party-goer.

Nolan actually is a hard worker of proven effectiveness in Congress. There is a choice, cotton candy or substance.

(for those not catching the drift, the implication is Nolan = substance, etc.; and readers can suggest cogent reasons to disregard the thread of the post, in Mills III's favor - on point cogent comments always being accepted)

Last, readers can make what they would of the remainder of the CityPages linked content, as Dan Burns did, at MPP. In terms of Dan Quayle Family Values, or otherwise.