Obama may intentionally draw fire for his SC nominee to deflect opposition from HC & Environ legis.

Obama’s Secret Supreme Court Strategy

by Richard Wolffe

The president will reawaken his dormant grassroots network to push his imminent High Court pick, The Daily Beast’s Richard Wolffe reports – a plan designed to divert attention away from his real summer agenda.
The White House is planning to revive President Obama’s 13-million-member grassroots campaign network, largely dormant since last year’s election, as it rolls out its first Supreme Court nominee as early as this week.

Senior Obama aides tell the Daily Beast that the network, which revolutionized fundraising and online political networking during the 2008 campaign, will be an important factor in a series of high-profile political struggles unfolding over the next two months. Besides the Supreme Court fight, the senior aides expect to bring universal healthcare to the president’s desk, while simultaneously making significant progress on global warming legislation, including a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases.

By drawing fire to its Supreme Court nominee, Obama’s aides believe that healthcare and environmental politics may face less intense opposition.

All three initiatives would move ahead before Congress disappears for its month-long August recess, and all three face intense opposition from a conservative movement desperately seeking to rally its own supporters.

The revival of Obama’s grassroots machine represents not only an effort to neutralize any Republican onslaught, but also something of a diversionary tactic. By drawing fire to its Supreme Court nominee, Obama’s aides believe that healthcare and environmental politics may face less intense opposition.

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Now the adversaries and the issues represent a far better opportunity to energize Obama’s supporters than the dry details of a federal budget. Conservative groups are planning to demonize the new Supreme Court nominee on a range of cultural issues, including abortion and same-sex marriage. While there is little chance for Republicans to defeat the nominee in a Senate firmly under Democratic control, movement conservatives believe they can rebuild their membership with extensive advertising and online activism.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-25/obamas-supreme-court-diversion/