I voted for Obama because I thought he was gonna use the power of the state to help striking workers at the Congress Hotel in Chicago and was gonna do other things to make it easier to organize unions.

He didn't do shit.

[–] Philosoraptor@hexbear.net 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I was living in NYC in 2008, and I remember that when it was announced that they'd officially called the election for Obama, there was an audible cheer across the city. People were literally out dancing and partying in the streets. We really believed he was gonna do some shit other than just drone strike more poor people. Free healthcare, closing Guantanamo, and end to Iraq and Afghanistan wars--he pretty much promised the would and lots and lots of people believed him. It was pretty fucking wild in retrospect.

[–] Rod_Blagojevic@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago

Yeah, I remember riding my bike around Chicago that evening and people were celebrating all over the place. I don't wanna hear his voice ever again, so I'm definitely not gonna go back and listen to his campaign speeches to remember what he actually said, but he had a lot of us (myself included) thinking we finally had an ally at the top. Absolutely demoralizing.

[–] Chulk@lemmy.ml 15 points 2 days ago

Yep. I remember Scott Walker destroyed collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin and Obama did not uphold this promise. It was a very illuminating moment for me as a teenager. I marched in Madison in solidarity with the unions because my parents were both teachers, and Obama (the first president I ever cast a vote for) didn't do jack shit.