With 'One Nation,' liberal groups aim to match tea party's energy, influence

Liberal leaders see "much of the progressive agenda at risk in this election," said Paul Starr, a professor of public affairs at Princeton University and co-editor of the American Prospect, a liberal magazine. "There is no choice but for these groups to get together. The historical pattern is that voter turnout falls disproportionately among minorities and young people at these midterm elections, so they are fighting a historical trend."

Leaders of the groups have been meeting for about three months in a planning process that some participants called arduous, debating everything from the name of the coalition to what the branding and logo should look like.

The coalition's first goal is to plan a march to "demonstrate to Congress that these agenda items have support across multiple demographics," Jealous said. The demonstration, to be held Oct. 2, will center on pressing for more government spending on job creation.

"This is a way to create some intensity," said Eric Rodriguez, vice president of NCLR. "Month after month, we spend time pointing to these employment figures, and we're still not breaking through on the disparities in a way that we think is important."

This week at their national conventions both NAACP and NCLR leaders will begin talking to their members about "One Nation," and they are seeking money from foundations for the effort. They hope it will be a show of force that will remind both Congress and the White House that they are out there.

Obama, who some activists say has not lived up to their expectations, could also be pushed harder, said Michael McGerr, a professor of history at Indiana University who has studied political campaigns.

The effort has a historical parallel in a story that Obama has told on the campaign trail. According to the story, when labor organizer and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph met with President Franklin Roosevelt to press his issues, Roosevelt told Randolph he agreed with him but that Randolph should "go out and make me do it."

"They are calling the Democratic party back to what has been the pattern of successful liberalism in the 20th century," McGerr said.