President Obama to engage grassroots supporters to pressure Congress

President Obama about to go back on the road. Last week, the White House signalled that President Obama would be taking the lame-duck fight with Republicans on ending the Bush tax cuts for the rich to the people. That outlines of that effort are now emerging, as President Obama is planning to take the fight out of Washington, D.C., "travelling the country and leaning on Democratic activist groups to help apply political pressure."

And so, top Obama operatives are gaming out ways to squeeze political capital out of the 2012 elections, aiming to affect the lame-duck session in Congress. Obama previewed the strategy in a conference call with activists after the election, saying that a second term that will include some barnstorming across the country. [...]

And so, top Obama operatives are gaming out ways to squeeze political capital out of the 2012 elections, aiming to affect the lame-duck session in Congress. Obama previewed the strategy in a conference call with activists after the election, saying that a second term that will include some barnstorming across the country.

At a Politico Playbook breakfast, former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina expanded on what the White House plans to do to engage his grassroots operation and supporters, saying, "People just spent five years winning two presidential elections together, now they're not just walking away." He indicated that the campaign's "Dashboard" social media system could be used to engage Obama supporters to call members of Congress in the fiscal curb negotiations.

This is a great opportunity for President Obama's supporters to push for real progressive priorities, and to push the president to take a much harder line on the issues that are most at stake right now. Yes, ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy is critical in these negotiations, but just as critical is taking benefit cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security completely off of the table. Additionally, what President Obama should be fighting for in this lame-duck session includes extending unemployment benefits so there is no disruption in payments and making sure there's adequate, emergency funding for Hurricane Sandy recovery.

Those are the immediate priorities Obama's supporters can and should be asking him to fight for, in return for our help in pressuring Congress on the tax fight.