• FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        4 months ago

        If you mean completely change a candidate to fit your views, no it’ll never work. But protesting tends to put pressure and marginally improve candidates.

        • FIash Mob #5678@beehaw.org
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          4 months ago

          I mean the number of broken promises is so extensive with Obama that you might as well have voted Republican instead.

          • FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            4 months ago

            No. I my family would have put me in a shitty nursing home if it wasn’t for the affordable care act.

            Yes, these politicians are nowhere near my or your ideology. But having one over the other significantly impacts millions of lives. Don’t neglect that if you have the privilege not to be significantly impacted.

            • FIash Mob #5678@beehaw.org
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              4 months ago

              if it wasn’t for the affordable care act

              I’m glad it worked out for you.

              I think it’s a significant problem that it doesn’t work for the tens of millions of Americans who can’t withstand being price gouged. For them, the access promised by the ACA doesn’t exist.

              And I think it’s significant (especially now) that Obama had the problem to make major, substantial change and didn’t. He had the power to codify abortion into law and didn’t. He had the power to pass the ENDA and didn’t. He had the power to enact universal health care and didn’t.

              But he made absolutely sure no one involved in crashing the economy served any jail time, and in fact, rewarded them with our cash for their efforts.

              • Chloyster [she/her]@beehaw.org
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                4 months ago

                I won’t pretend to be an expert on much of this, but I feel it’s wrong to say that he had the power to enact universal healthcare? Obama couldn’t even get a public option (which he wanted) because he had to make concessions to get a veto proof majority. I don’t see if this was the case that he had the power to enact full blown universal healthcare

                • FIash Mob #5678@beehaw.org
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                  4 months ago

                  which he wanted

                  Correction: He said he wanted it, but based on his actions, those words were just the usual empty politicking we’ve come to expect.

                  • Chloyster [she/her]@beehaw.org
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                    4 months ago

                    I mean I suppose you can look at it that way. We can’t really prove one way or another what he actually wanted. But if we’re basing what he wanted on his actions, I don’t see how you can pin that one on him. Like he tried to get a public option, the president can’t just make universal healthcare. It needs to pass the house and Senate.

                    Idk about the others in your original comment and I won’t pretend to, but it’s pretty well documented that he would not have been able to get even a public option. How would he have been able to get universal healthcare if he couldn’t even do this?

                    http://www.politico.com/story/2009/10/lieberman-ill-block-vote-on-reid-plan-028788

      • Storksforlegs@beehaw.org
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        4 months ago

        Trump plans on installing himself as a dictator from day one. Not sure how you could protest or influence him to do anything.

        • FIash Mob #5678@beehaw.org
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          4 months ago

          I understand that.

          But the thing is, if you’re a wage earner, you’re already living in a dictatorship. You need 2-3 jobs to survive in this country, hardly the bastion of freedom it claims to be.

          The Dems can meme about joy all they want, but if you’re a wage earner chances are pretty good you’re not feeling it.

    • i_ben_fine@lemmy.one
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      4 months ago

      Protesting only works because it comes with an implicit threat. In this case the threat is “you will lose the election if you don’t listen.”