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Liberals have groused about Obama since he was elected, lamenting a lack of progress on issues they hold dear. Even so, most liberal voters are expected to vote for Obama in November over Romney. But there's no guarantee that liberals
-- if they continue to be dissatisfied -- will turn out to staff phone banks and canvass neighborhoods this fall. The president's fundraising efforts also could take a hit. The liberals' latest beef is that the president needs to take the fight to Wall Street, in the style of Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic Senate nominee in liberal-leaning Massachusetts. She has built a national brand around the us-versus-them rhetoric that took root over the past year in the encampments of the Occupy Wall Street movement. For Obama, taking up the Occupy cause as overtly as that would be risky in the dozen or so competitive states that will determine who wins the White House. Turn up the heat on Wall Street too far and he may give ammunition to Romney and Republicans, who are eager to paint the president as anti-business and hostile to those who create jobs. Such was the case in May, when Obama attempted to tie Romney's record at private-equity firm Bain Capital to an obsession with profits, and added that "a lot of business people" were similarly focused. Prominent Democrats criticized the tactic, giving Romney and Republicans fodder to argue that Obama was demeaning the very people who create American jobs. "Class warfare does not work in this country. We've seen it tried time and time again. And when it does work, it doesn't sustain itself," said John Weaver, a top strategist for Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. Being more combative against Wall Street also could backfire on the fundraising front, drying up crucial cash sources. "New York banks are the ATM of American politics. It's just that simple," said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic strategist in New York. "You alienate them, you don't get the kind of campaign contributions you think you should."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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