Michelle Obama to Host New GM
CEO, Dem Donor Mary Barra at SOTU
by Elizabeth Sheld 28 Jan 2014, 1:42 PM
PDT
Bloomberg BusinessWeek is reporting that
newly minted General Motors CEO Mary Barra, the first woman ever to captain an American
automaker, will attend tonight's speech as a guest of Michelle Obama's:
Mary Barra, who took the reins as General Motors Co. chief executive officer less than two
weeks ago, will attend tonight’s State of the Union address as a guest of First
Lady Michelle Obama, the White House said.
Barra, the first female CEO of a global
automaker, will join the first lady for President Barack Obama’s nationally
televised address that’s scheduled to begin at about 9 p.m. in Washington, according to
a White House news release.
In a brash exercise of tone deafness, the
White House announced Barra's attendance at the President's annual address to
Congress in a blog post yesterday. General Motors, majority owned by the United
State Treasury until December 2013 after filing for bankruptcy in 2009, lost
almost $11 billion in taxpayer money as the result of mismanagement after
receiving a federal bailout spanning two presidential administrations.
Is this really the economic policy example
the President wants to highlight during his address tonight? Why not showcase
the Healthcare.gov development team, too?
Barra's predecessor at General Motors, Dan
Akerson, said at a National Press Club event last December that, not only did
GM lose that money, the company shouldn't pay back taxpayers lest it subject
itself to shareholder lawsuits:
Asked whether GM should pay the difference
between the amount the government provided the company and the return from the
sale of the shares, Akerson said the "die was cast" by Treasury when
it decided to take shares. For GM to make up for any shortfall could result in
lawsuits from other shareholders.
Mary Barra, by contrast, is constantly
surrounded by handlers, and she doesn't really give up much in terms of
interviews.
Two large bodyguards and public relations
handlers fended off the [media] throng that chased her to the Cadillac exhibit,
where she did a television interview. During the pursuit, one cameraman tripped
over a couch and another ran into a post.... Reporters who chase Barra aren't
getting much of anything out of her. Barra's answers are carefully scripted.
That's a stark contrast with the man she replaces. Dan Akerson was known for
blunt, off-the-cuff comments about his company and his competitors.
Will she open up for the Washington press corps tonight? Or will she
and the First Lady reinforce the image that neither GM nor the Obama
administration care about real transparency, that both love their propaganda
too much to be troubled by little people?
Also of interest, Mary Barra gave $1,000
to Michigan Congressman Gary Peters on 9/26/2013.
Mary T. Barra
Mary T.
Barra is the CEO for General Motors,
and a director at the General Dynamics
Corporation.
Note: Sidley
Austin LLP was the lobby firm for General Motors.
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama
was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
R. Eden
Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP,
and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Newton N.
Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP,
and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
David D.
Hiller was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP,
and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Thomas A.
Cole is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP,
and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Charles
W. Douglas is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP,
and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
John H. Bryan
is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and was a director at General Motors.
Robert
S. Osborne was a group VP for General Motors,
and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Ellen J.
Kullman was a director at General Motors,
and a member of the President's Council on
Jobs and Competitiveness.
Penny S.
Pritzker was a member of the President's Council on
Jobs and Competitiveness, the national finance chair, fundraiser for
the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign,
a co-chair for the 2009 Barack Obama
inaugural committee, a fundraiser, national co-chair for the 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaign, a contributor for
the 2013 Barack Obama inaugural committee,
the host for the Barack Obama fund-raising dinner, 7/2/2008,
a Obama-Biden economic advisory team member,
and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
William
A. Osborn is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and a director at
the General Dynamics Corporation.
J.
Christopher Reyes is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and was a director at the General Dynamics
Corporation.
James S.
Crown is a director at the General Dynamics
Corporation, a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Lester Crown
is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
was a director at the General Dynamics
Corporation, and a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the Committee
for Economic Development.
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society, and the co-chair, national finance council for
Ready for Hillary.
Thomas
R. Pickering was a lifetime trustee at the
Aspen Institute (think tank), the chairman of review board that
investigated the 2012 attack on U.S.
consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2013.
Michael
G. Mullen was vice chairman of review board that investigated the 2012 attack on U.S.
consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2013, and is a
director at General Motors.
Patricia
F. Russo is a director at General Motors,
and a trustee at the Committee for Economic
Development.
Donna S.
Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic
Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group
Inc.
CGI
Group Inc. was the Obamacare
contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare
is Barack Obama’s signature policy
initiative.
Barbara G.
Fast was a VP for the CGI Group Inc, a
VP at the Boeing Company, and is a friend of Keith B. Alexander.
W.
James McNerney Jr. is the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company,
and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Keith
B. Alexander is a friend of Barbara G. Fast,
and a director at the National Security Agency
(NSA).
Edward
Snowden leaked information about the National Security Agency
(NSA), and an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Charles
O. Rossotti is a director at Booz Allen Hamilton,
and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Booz
Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency
(NSA), and a contractor for Obamacare.
Robert
S. Osborne is the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen
Hamilton, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and was a group VP for General Motors.
Sidley
Austin LLP was the lobby firm for General Motors.
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama
was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Mary T.
Barra is the CEO for General Motors,
and a director at the General Dynamics
Corporation.
General
Dynamics Corporation is a contractor for the National
Security Agency (NSA).
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