PRESIDENT Barack Obama's tilt right in the debt talks is denting enthusiasm within the army of volunteers who propelled him to the White House, and could cut into their financial support too. The president, who raised a record $745 million in cash during 2008 is likely to keep his perch as leading the fundraising race in 2012, though may rely on fewer small donations than last time around. Obama starts the 2012 race as the cash leader and is seen breaking his goal of raising $60 million in the second quarter alone, dwarfing all the Republican hopefuls combined. At the same time, liberal groups are speaking out against the president's policy positions. Moveon.org, for example, has asked its five million members to call the White House to protest any cuts to Social Security or Medicare. “The AFL-CIO opposes any cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, and there is no question that our members are going to take the position of elected officials on this question very seriously going into 2012,” said Damon Silvers, policy director for the big umbrella union. Silvers said it is not just about fundraising. “The real political clout of organized labor is not the money, it is the volunteers,” Silvers said. Obama on Monday repeated his willingness to look at changes to the pension Social Security program and Medicare health insurance in a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. Obama and congressional Republicans are at an impasse, with an Aug. 2 deadline looming by which the government's debt ceiling must be raised or the country will default on its obligations. Justin Ruben, executive director of Moveon.org, said the debt ceiling is a “crucial moment,” noting Obama's election was propelled in part by a million people giving small donations and being willing to give up hours to knock on doors. “I think that is the recipe for re-election, but people need to be inspired,” Ruben said. Many view Obama's shift to the right as a bid to court independents, who are more likely to back his efforts to cut spending and who helped him break fundraising records in 2008. One question is whether Obama's gain among independents is worth losing some backing from labor, and another important constituency, the elderly. “All told, he'd rather get the votes of independents than seniors,” said Clyde Wilcox, a Georgetown University professor. “But you need the elderly in key states like Florida so at the end of the day you wouldn't want to lose either one.” __
