As the conservative tea parties continue to dominate news about activism, their liberal counterparts are still searching for the right amount of pressure to put on their own leaders.

After eight years of Republican leadership in the White House, President Obama's election has created a challenge for the activists who helped him win: What's the proper balance between giving him the support he needs to be successful while still agitating for action on the issues most important to you?

It's an age-old problem for disparate groups that suddenly find themselves aligned with the party that's been put in charge. Liberal groups found it relatively easy to set aside individual agendas to unite against President Bush, but now each of those groups has a claim to make to President Obama for action on their top priorities. Who gets theirs first?

Meanwhile, a surge of conservative grassroots activism has surfaced in the tea parties – and, like their counterparts under Bush, they are united in their opposition to the president.

Hesitant to criticize

The biggest piece of legislation to come from the Democratic majority has been the health care overhaul, and activists on both sides played a part.

Labor unions led a coalition   of nonprofits and community groups that organized rallies in favor of the bill and tried to counter the growing tea party presence against it.

It remains unclear whether that outside pressure had any influence on the final law, which lacked the public option that many liberals supported. The pro-overhaul coalition seemed to back Obama's bill in each of its iterations.

Similarly, some anti-war activists wore their Obama campaign shirts to this year's rally   even as they tried to blast his war policies. Many of them are disappointed that President Obama has increased troop levels in Afghanistan and has not moved more quickly to end the U.S. presence in Iraq.

But they were careful in their criticism, carrying signs like, "President Obama we love you but we must tell you your hands are getting bloody."

The protesters who regularly paraded in orange jumpsuits around the White House to demand that the military prison in Guantanamo be shuttered have also stepped down their protests, even though President Obama missed his own deadline to close the controversial detention center.

“People are looking for a reason not to act,” anti-war activist Steve Lane said , noting that the anti-war camp has retreated as leaders disagree about how much pressure to put on the new leader.

Prominent Bush-era activist Cindy Sheehan tried to set up an anti-Obama camp   on the National Mall this year, but her group retreated as well when their protest permit expired days short of their original demonstration plan.

Divided on tactics
While the anti-war groups determine how best to pressure the President, gay rights activists have split on approaches.

Human Rights Campaign, the main advocacy group pushing for a repeal the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law, was also an ardent Obama supporter during his presidential campaign.

The group has been working behind closed doors and in meeting with the White House and Democratic lawmakers to gain traction for a repeal. As prominent military leaders speak in favor of lifting the law, the Defense Department has started a yearlong review of what the implications of a repeal may be.

But that’s not enough for activists like Dan Choi and those at Get Equal. The group has staged several prominent protests – including two where Choi chained himself to the White House fence – to condemn the President for not immediately lifting the restriction against openly gay and lesbian Americans serving in the armed forces.

“Freedom is never given by the oppressor voluntarily,” Choi told Congress.org . “For whatever reason, we have been allowing the President to remain silent on this.”

Climate change rift
The environmental movement is at a similar crossroads under Obama.

As large groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club continue to meet with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and await a Senate bill on climate change, others like Greenpeace have written off the legislation as too watered down.

Obama has touted nuclear energy and offshore drilling   as big concessions to Republicans and moderate Democrats who are concerned that clean energy could hurt coal industry jobs in their home states.

"The real danger is that the bill that emerges from the Senate could preempt the Clean Air Act and steps that states have taken to regulate greenhouse gases," said Nick Berning of Friends of the Earth , a group that has been critical of the Senate deliberations.

Activists have started to disrupt   Hill meetings on climate issues, alleging that oil lobbyists   are controlling the debate. But their presence remains small, and Sunday’s climate rally on the National Mall is expected to take a more conciliatory approach towards Democrats.

Constant pressure
Immigration activists seem to have the most united strategy for pressuring Democrats.

They organized a protest rally   with tens of thousands of people as lawmakers sat down for the final health care vote last month. Immigration would have to be next on the agenda if Democrats wanted the Latino vote in fall, they said.

“In order for this administration to remain in power beyond one term, they're going to need to deal with this issue,” warned Angela Kelly, who spoke at the rally on behalf of the liberal Center for American Progress.

After highlighting their concerns about immigration at town halls during lawmakers’ April recess, the activists are planning another round of protests on May 1   if Congress does not take action by then.

All that pressure appears to be helping. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid   (D-Nev.) asked Democratic leaders to consider addressing immigration before the climate bill, even though the immigration debate could prove to be lengthy and divisive.

But while immigration activists have been pressuring Democrats, they are not writing the leaders off. President Obama received hearty applause when his video message was delivered at the immigration rally.

Conservative response
As liberals try to sort out how to get the people they helped elect to respond to their concerns, a growing conservative activism movement has swept the nation.

Thousands of tea parties pledge allegiance to conservative values, demanding a return to small government, individual liberties, and free commerce. They had some success   on health care by disrupting town halls and tempering public support for the bill.

The tea party movement has become a conglomerate of conservative activism, grouping together people who disagree   on an array of issues. But where they agree is in their opposition to the Democratic leadership and in their concern about the government’s fiscal situation.

Tea Party Patriots, the largest umbrella group in the movement, has laid out a Contract From America   to unite activists along shared principles.

National Coordinator Ryan Hecker, who came up with the idea, sums up its goal: “You unify people without getting into specifics that divide us.”

Ambreen Ali writes for Congress.org.

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