Another Wealthy Friend of Mitt’s (This One Lives in a House Like a Spaceship)

Earlier I noted the strange AP photo of Mitt looking lost in a cornfield. Turns out there is a reason why Mitt was in the field with the two men, and as is usually true with Mitt it has to do with wealth. The figure on the left is Lemar Koethe, and according to a post by Stephen Lacey on ThinkProgress, Koethe is the owner of the spaceship-like house in the second photo here. (Photo: Debra Jane Seltzer via Roadside Architecture)

Lacey writes,

“In an attempt to show his concern for farmers hit by the devastating drought that has swept 78 percent of the country, Romney had a photo-op with Iowa ‘farmer’ Lemar Koethe. However, Koethe isn’t exactly the rugged down-home farmer struggling to keep his operation going that you might expect. Or should I say operations — 54 of them. Yes, according to the Des Moines Register, Koethe owns 54 soy and corn farms. And that’s just one of his jobs. In previous reports on his activity over the years from the Des Moines Register, Koethe is also a described as a millionaire, a real estate mogul, and a former concert promoter who booked acts like Slipknot at his 24,000 square foot event center. Like a lot of people in the agricultural sector, Koethe says the drought is hurting some of his crops. Ultimately, when it comes to voicing his concerns, it shouldn’t matter if the man owns one farm, 10 farms, or 54 farms — he’s taking a hit like everyone else. But really, Romney? Out of the hundreds of thousands of farmers being impacted by the drought — many of them family farmers struggling to keep their heads above water — you had to meet the millionaire real estate mogul who lives in a spaceship house with an underground car wash and recreation center?”