Heading into the 2020 primary season, voters in the Democratic party are roughly split between centrist candidates like Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg and populist candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The previous two Democratic Presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, governed under centrist principles, making candidates looking to continue along similar lines more well understood by the public; but the distance between now and the last populist Democratic President means that stakeholders need to look more closely at the people and ideas driving populism within the Democratic party to fully appreciate what a populist Democratic agenda in 2021 might look like. Further, it’s worth discussing how populist ideas might even play a key role in influencing a centrist presidency, given that so much of the Democratic primary electorate, particularly younger voters, are embracing populist candidates.
On February 5, The Capitol Forum is hosting a conference to discuss what a populist Democratic agenda would look like. Policymakers, campaign representatives, and subject matter experts will come together to discuss potential initiatives and priorities for members of Congress and the executive branch, should the Presidency be won by one of the populist Democratic candidates. As the campaign unfolds, we will look to host additional conferences focused on alternative election outcomes.
The conference will focus on policies that would reform a range of sectors of the economy, including banking, tech platforms, healthcare, energy, and agriculture. We’ll also take a look at the key personnel decisions that could determine whether or not populist policies end up being implemented.
To ensure a robust and diverse set of speakers with populist credentials for this event, we’ve partnered with groups driving a progressive populist economic agenda, including Open Markets Institute, Americans for Financial Reform, Demand Progress Education Fund, and the Revolving Door Project.
9:00 – 9:30am: Keynote Remarks by Former Congressman Brad Miller
9:45 – 10:45am: Banking & Financial Services
- Helaine Olen, The Washington Post (moderator)
- Amanda Fischer, Former Congressional Chief of Staff
- Gregg Gelzinis, Center for American Progress
- Linda Jun, Americans for Financial Reform
- Graham Steele, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- Jennifer Taub, Vermont Law School
- Teddy Downey, The Capitol Forum (moderator)
- Eileen Appelbaum, Center for Economic and Policy Research
- Kathryn Ardizzone, Knowledge Ecology International
- Alex Lawson, Social Security Works
- Phil Longman, Open Markets Institute
- Matthew Stoller, Author of Goliath
- Reed Hundt, Former FCC Chairman
- Nate Soderstrom, The Capitol Forum (moderator)
- Alex Jacquez, Bernie Sanders Campaign
- Reed Hundt, Former FCC Chairman
- Raúl Carillo, Demand Progress and Americans for Financial Reform
- Sally Hubbard, Open Markets Institute
- Nikki Usher, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, College of Media's Journalism Department
- Amit Narang, Public Citizen (moderator)
- Andy Green, Center for American Progress
- Lisa Heinzarling, Georgetown Law School
- Patty Lovera, Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment
- Joe Maxwell, Family Farm Action
- Lydia DePillis, ProPublica (moderator)
- Thea Lee, Economic Policy Institute
- Lori Wallach, Public Citizen
- Murshed Zaheed, Megaphone Strategies
- Ben Beachy, Sierra Club
- Teddy Downey, The Capitol Forum (moderator)
- Sanjukta Paul, Wayne State University
- Marshall Steinbaum, University of Utah, Economics Department
- Sandeep Vaheesan, Open Markets Institute
- Mya Frazier, Writer on Technology, Business, Religion, and Culture
- Subscribers are welcome to attend as part of their subscription.
- CLE credit pending for this event. Reach out to cle@thecapitolforum.com if you are interested in receiving CLE credit.