Broken Promises

Trey Smith

Here’s a list of some of the [Democratic Party's] broken promises from 2008.

We will strengthen the ability of workers to organize unions and fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

This did not happen. The labor law never passed.

We will ensure that federal employees, including public safety officers who put their lives on the line every day, have the right to bargain collectively, and we will fix the broken bargaining process at the Federal Aviation Administration.

Nope.

We will fight to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, so that workers can stand up for themselves without worrying about losing their livelihoods.

Nope.

We will also ensure that every American worker is able earn up to seven paid sick days to care for themselves or an ill family member.

Nope.

To help workers share in our country’s productivity, we’ll expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, and raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation.

Didn’t happen. And the minimum wage hike is actually in the 2012 platform, again.

We will encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation’s spectrum.

Well, Comcast did buy NBC.

We will ensure that the foreclosure prevention program enacted by Congress is implemented quickly and effectively so that at-risk homeowners can get help and hopefully stay in their homes. We will work to reform bankruptcy laws to restore balance between lender and homeowner rights.

Larry Summers and Tim Geithner opposed cramdown, so it didn’t happen. And I think it’s safe to say that foreclosure prevention was not a priority for this administration.

We will work with Canada and Mexico to amend the North American Free Trade Agreement so that it works better for all three North American countries.

Nope.

We will put all non-emergency bills that Congress has passed online for five days, to allow the American public to review and comment on them before they are signed into law.

Nope.

We will require Cabinet officials to have periodic national online town hall meetings to discuss issues before their agencies.

Nope.

We reject illegal wiretapping of American citizens, wherever they live.

“Obama Fights to Retain Warrantless Wiretapping“.

We reject the use of national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime.

Nope.

We reject the tracking of citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war.

Nope.

We reject sweeping claims of “inherent” presidential power.

Nope.

And we will ensure that law-abiding Americans of any origin, including Arab-Americans and Muslim- Americans, do not become the scapegoats of national security fears.

Nope.

We will respect the time-honored principle of habeas corpus, the seven century-old right of individuals to challenge the terms of their own detention that was recently reaffirmed by our Supreme Court.

Nope.

~ from Broken Democratic Platform Promises of 2008 by Matt Stoller ~

To be fair, the implementation of some of these promises was thwarted by conservatives in Congress, so we can't lay the complete blame at Barack Obama's feet.  But the President had the ability to implement many of them on his own and he chose not to.  

Does this mean that you shouldn't believe ANY of Obama's 2012 campaign pledges?  That's up to you, but if you use recent history as your guide, you SHOULD be skeptical.