Liberal activists who helped propel Barack Obama to the White House are coming back to life after more than a year in the doldrums. But much of their support isn't aimed at the president.
Instead, they are working on a more diffuse set of objectives centered on state fights, non-presidential races and the Occupy Wall Street protest movement. Activists say that is partly because the presidential election is a year away, but they also cite disenchantment with Mr. Obama as the reason for pursuing other outlets for their political efforts.
"The activists are in the process of rallying based on their own priorities, not Barack Obama's priorities," said Roger Hickey, co-director of the liberal group Campaign for America's Future. To be sure, he added, "almost all the people that we're talking about now will probably pull the lever for Barack Obama."
In cities across the U.S., Occupy Wall Street is geared around populist protests that aren't remotely focused on re-electing the president. Other activists are focused on relatively narrow issues, such as opposing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oil from Canada. Just last week, a protester interrupted Mr. Obama during a Denver speech to voice opposition to the pipeline, and activists plan to join hands and encircle the White House on Sunday in protest.
In Ohio, unions are leading a fight to repeal a state law curbing collective-bargaining rights for public employees. Voters will decide the matter Tuesday. In Wisconsin, they are gunning to recall Gov. Scott Walker. And in Florida, budget cuts and layoffs by the Republican governor spurred "Awake the State" rallies.
Mike Podhorzer, political director for the AFL-CIO, expects national labor unions to continue their focus on state races through next year, in addition to the presidential contest, a contrast from 2008, when they focused their energy on electing Mr. Obama. For the coming election, "it's hard to imagine that there would be something that would be as inspiring" as Mr. Obama in 2008, he said.
Even in states that don't have high-profile fights with GOP governors, liberals aren't focused on the national scene. In Colorado, where Democrat John Hickenlooper is governor, activism on the left is directed at ballot-access decisions by the Republican secretary of state, said Ellen Dumm, director of Campaign for a Strong Colorado, a coalition of progressive groups. She said "it's too early to say" what role they would play in the 2012 election.
Mr. Obama's campaign recognizes the dynamic, but believes state-level activism will have a spillover benefit for the president. "These state fights are really what's motivating our people," said Jim Messina, Mr. Obama's campaign manager, who said he has "seen some benefit in volunteer hours and excitement."
The Obama campaign also said its supporters have organized 17,111 local events since the re-election campaign launched earlier this year. In Ohio, Obama staff and volunteers helped local activists to collect signatures to put a repeal of the union law on Tuesday's ballot.
"I need your help," the president said at a recent fund-raiser in San Francisco. "When you look at what's going on in Washington, it's easier to become cynical than ever before about the possibilities and prospects of change through our politics." He added: "The one way to guarantee that change won't happen is for all of us just to give up."
In recent weeks, liberal activists have been happier with the president than they were during the summer, pleased he is campaigning for federal spending on job creation and not for cuts to programs they like.
But the liberal base of the Democratic Party is never going to be as Obama-centric as it was three years ago, said Justin Ruben, executive director of liberal Moveon.org, which was early to endorse Mr. Obama in 2008. He blames the president's "split-the-difference" approach with Republicans in trying to govern.
"The best thing that can happen for the president is for the base to get fired up, but that's not what we've committed ourselves to," said Van Jones, who worked for the White House early in Mr. Obama's term but resigned after controversial past statements came to light. He is now a leader of the American Dream movement, a coalition of liberal groups trying to replicate the tea party's success.
Mr. Jones said the newfound energy on the left is there for the president to win, but added, "It's not automatically going to come to him."
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