Candidate Obama, Nov. 2007: "Denied right to bargain, I'll walk that picket line with you as POTUS"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Flashback from candidate Obama: ‘I’ll walk the picket line with you’

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/02/flashback-from-candidate-obama-ill-walk-the-picket-line-with-you/

During a 2007 campaign speech in Spartanburg, South Carolina, then-Senator Obama told supports he would fight for collective bargaining rights if he was elected president.

“And understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself. I’ll walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States.”

This video was uploaded to YouTube Nov. 3, 2007: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5voSHCn6NE

[27inCali]

1. I'll cut him some slack given all the plates he's gotta spin right now

fuck, we still have hundreds of American's trapped in Libya with all hell breaking loose, I'm not to angry at him if that's the only thing on the front burner now.

besides, we're kickin ass already on our own.

It would be nice to see though.

[Better Believe It]

3. Another lame excusing justifying President Obama's failure to supporting working people

That's how I see it.

What other conclusion can be honestly drawn?

Did President Obama also have too much on his "plate" to find time to campaign for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)?

EFCA wasn't merely put on the back burner while he tended to important stuff .... like giving trillions to his pals on Wall Street. It was taken off the fricken stove!

President Obama has turned out to be one hell of a community organizer. Organizing and leading the "business community".

And if the problem is foreign plate spinning, he should organizing a cabinet level Department of State and appoint a Secretary of State with a big staff to help out!

Oh .... he already has State Department with a 27 billion dollar budget and nearly 50,000 employees to help spin the plates.

[tridim]

7. President Obama supports working people 100%

Always has, always will.

WTF are you talking about?

I'm sure you have a link from somewhere proving otherwise, bring it on.

[Better Believe It]

15. I take it you never heard of the EFCA. Will President Obama be joining the Madison picketline soon

Perhaps you didn't read President Obama's election campaign promise. No. Not the one regarding EFCA. This one:

During a 2007 campaign speech in Spartanburg, South Carolina, then-Senator Obama told supports he would fight for collective bargaining rights if he was elected president.

“And understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself. I’ll walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States.”

[tridim]

16. There is no Madison picket line. Yet.

I asked for a link proving that Obama doesn't care about working people, as you claimed.

[Better Believe It]

20. Not enough people participating yet to meet Obama's requirements? So according to you President

Obama would participate in a pro-union picketline but not a pro-union demonstration with picket signs!

Right.

Why didn't I think of that?

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MineralMan]

22. You know, the folks in Madison seem to have this protest

pretty well in hand, and have national support. There's no strike, and they still have their collective bargaining in place. In the meantime, you may have noticed all the shit going on in the Middle East. So, you expect President Obama to drop everything and head for Wisconsin, where a very effective protest against something that might happen is ongoing? Really? I guess the US citizens trying to get out of Libya don't matter so much, nor do the other things happening in the Middle East. Do you suppose that President Obama can just ignore other things to go and stand among the protesters? Really?

You don't like President Obama. That much is abundantly clear from your daily stream of posts that seek to find anything written anywhere by anyone who opposes him. That's your perfect right to do here on DU. But, you can't expect the rest of us to ignore them. The President is otherwise occupied with important business. The protests in Wisconsin are going just fine, and are being watched closely. There's more pressing business for the President.

Thanks for participating.

[EOTE]

24. So then, I'm sure he'll be making good on his promise to join the protest any time, right?

Right?

[erodriguez]

27. Here you go: Policy trumps words

He appluaded when Central Falls, R.I. fired all it union teachers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/01/AR2010030103560.html


His Race to the top program rewards states that close public schools down firing unionized teachers and re-open them as mostly non-unionized charters.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/06/09/charter-school-support-is-a-prerequisite-for-race-to-the-top-funds.aspx

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2010/09/turnaround_models_the_patholog.html

He loves Geoffery Canada who happens to attribute his hyped yet demonstrably meager success to having non-unionized schools.


Geoffrey Canada, the man credited with turning around black under-achievement in Harlem and the star guest at conference, has told Michael Gove that the teaching unions are the biggest threat to the education secretary's reforms.

Canada has been hailed as a pioneer in education by Barack Obama. In an interview with the Guardian, Canada said he had told Gove that in the UK the unions constituted an inflexible brake which was "killing" the innovation necessary to transform children's lives, and that they "cover up" for failing teachers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/05/geoffrey-canada-education-unions


Not to mention his freeze on government employees salaries.

[vi5]

32. Well, sure if you're going to post "links"

and "quotes". Well then yeah, anyone would look bad in that light.

[Ignis]

29. Please support this assertion. It's quite bold.

:shrug:

I mean, I'm not sure how the poor man can find the time to use the restroom or sleep, given how much support he's providing.

[MineralMan]

12. Have the bargaining rights been taken away? Is there a picket line?

I believe the answer is no for both questions. At this point, legislation is under consideration and the demonstrations are not a formal strike. Nice try, though.

[xchrom]

2. Not gonna happen now.

That would be decisive, for heavens sake.

[bowens43]

4. Do you really think

that anything that he said during the election has anything to do with what he does post election?

He has shown us time and time again that his words are worthless.

[Robb]

9. DOMA, DADT.

:shrug:

[tridim]

10. Time and time again?

Please provide links, it should be easy for you since it happens so often.

[Rex]

5. What a bunch of bullshit, he cares not one wit about those things.

And to be fair, no politician in D.C. is willing to walk the line...it would require character and internal fortitude - something missing in D.C. beltway peeps imo.

[inwiththenew]

6. Dear Union Members

What are you going to do, vote Republican?

Thanks for the continued support,

B. Obama

[WilliamPitt]

8. Beat ya.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=496993&mesg_id=496993

;)

[MineralMan]

11. So far, it's just pending legislation and there is no picket line.

Important points, actually.

[tridim]

14. DU is major DERP mode this morning

I can't believe what I'm reading. It's like Beck is giving out pointers.

Obama supports labor 100%. PERIOD.

[MineralMan]

18. Yup. Anytime the President does something positive, like

yesterday's decision not to defend DOMA, new stuff gets trotted out to attack him. It's like clockwork, actually, and is almost predictable.

It's downright disgusting. That's what I think. Instead of support, President Obama just gets another attack in an attempt to minimize what he's trying to do. There is no satisfying those who continually find ways to belittle his accomplishments.

[EOTE]

25. Which is why he supports and enacted a federal pay freeze.

Because those workers simply don't deserve to receive raises. Do you really need links to learn about the myriad ways Obama has gone against his campaign rhetoric? Health care? Taxes for the wealthy? His complete lack of support for Wisconsin's protesters? You're more than welcome to keep your blinders on. I prefer reality.

[Rex]

26. No blinders, it is simply they will not critique the man for anything and

scorn anyone that does. It is more of a black and white world for them. If you critique Obama, then you must hate him and never say one nice thing about him ever even thought they don't know you from Adam.

[pintobean]

13. Hmm - yeah yeah

Just one more morning, I have to wake up with the blues
Pull myself outa bed, yeah, pull on my walkin' shoes
Climb up on a hilltop, baby, see what I can see, yeah
The whole world's fallin' down on me, right down in front of me

And I'm hung up upon dreams, I'm never gonna see yet
Lord help me, baby, dreams get the best of me yet

Pull myself together, gonna put on a new face, yeah
Gonna climb down from the hilltop, baby,
Lord, get back in the race

Cause I've got dreams, I've got my dreams
To remember the love we had
I got dreams, yeah I've got my dreams
To remember the love we had

Cause I'm hung up upon dreams, I'm never gonna see yet, not me
Lord, help me baby, dreams get the best of me yet

Alright - yeah yeah

Pull myself together, put on a new face, yeah
Climb down from the hilltop, baby,
Lord, get back in the race

Cause I've got dreams, I've got my dreams
To remember the love we had
I've got dreams, yeah I've got my dreams
To remember the love and peace

And I'm hung up upon dreams, I'm never gonna see yet, not me
Lord, help me baby, dreams get the best of me yet

Dreams I'll Never See
by Greg Allman

[reformist2]

17. It would be awesome if he went to Wisconsin.

[arthritisR_US]

19. Waiting and hoping :-) n/t

[joeunderdog]

23. Don't wait under water.

The silence is deafening.

[Edweird]

28. I remember his level of support for those union workers in Central Falls. A real eye opener.

[daa]

30. MIA on another important issue nt

[vi5]

31. God, the spinning on this is blowing my mind.....

Lot's of excuses as to why he can't or why he shouldn't.

But then......Why did he say it?

There's no other way to describe what is going on right now than "American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain." None. That's the issue at hand and that's what this fight is about.

And the most he's offered is tepid, warmed over, kinda sorta support (maybe...if it doesn't offend anyone too much).