Joined At The Hip Even Today
by digby
There seems to be something of a misapprehension among Americans about the influence of Big Business in our politics began in the 1980s. It's true that this gilded age really took off when the Reagan Revolution hit and they instituted their frenzy of deregulation and tax cuts. But it had long been in the works.
This comes from a speech by GE Chief Jeff Immelt at the Ronald Reagan centennial celebration, which GE is helping to sponsor:
Mr. Reagan walked every assembly line at GE. Every single one. He had lunch with employees in the cafeteria. He listened. He wowed managers and impressed our customers. He hit the Rotary, the local Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis, and the Elks.
Our CEO at the time, Ralph Cordiner, told Mr. Reagan: “I am not ever going to censor anything you say. You are speaking for yourself. Say what you believe.”
And so he did, writing and delivering the message that would become known as “The Speech,” his testament of faith in the virtues and abilities of free people and the great country they
had built. In 1964, he gave a famous version of that speech before a national audience on behalf of presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, and began one of the most successful American political careers of the 20th century.
GE saw his roving ambassadorship as a way to engage with its workforce. Mr. Reagan saw it as an education.
he had been interested in politics long before that, of course. He was a union leader. But when GE hired him they were grooming him. And he delivered.
Go poke around at that site for a while to get a sense of just how entwined General Electric and Reagan really were. It's very creepy.
h/t MS