PAST EVENTS
The Rise and Threat of Right Wing Domestic Terrorism
Understanding the rise and threat of right-wing domestic terrorism with former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, retired FBI agent turned scholar Michael German, Vice President of the Center on Extremism, Oren Segal, and Professor Robert Pape.
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According to the Department of Homeland Security, "domestic violent extremism poses the most lethal, persistent terrorism-related threat to our homeland today." Join our stellar group as they discuss this metastasizing threat, and what can be done to fight it.
Thursday, May 20th, 2021
5:00pm-6:00pm EST
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Jeh Johnson served as President Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this, he served as General Counsel for the Department of Defense, acting as one of the legal architects for the US military’s counter-terrorism mission.
Michael German is a former FBI agent and current fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program. At the FBI, German specialized in domestic terrorism, often going undercover to investigate violent white supremacist organizations.
Robert Pape is the Director of the Chicago Project on Security & Threats, and Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, Pape is considered one of the world’s foremost experts in terrorism studies.
As Vice President of the Center on Extremism, Oren Segal and his team combat extremism, terrorism and all forms of hate in the real world and online. Recognized as the foremost authority on extremism, the Center provides resources, expertise and training which enables law enforcement, public officials and internet and technology companies to identify and counter emerging threats.
The Common Good is pleased to announce that we’re reteaming with CSPAN to air this event.
The Common Good New York City Mayoral Series with Shaun Donovan
The Common Good’s New York City Mayoral Speaker Series presents a Conversation with candidate Shaun Donovan.
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The Common Good’s New York City Mayoral Speaker Series presents a Conversation with one of the most experienced candidates, Shaun Donovan, about his race to run City Hall and one of the most powerful elected jobs in the nation.
Wednesday, May, 6th, 2021
5:00pm-6:00pm
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Shaun Donovan is a proven leader and manager. As Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama Cabinet, Shaun led the nation out of the Great Recession’s housing crisis and reduced veterans homelessness by 50 percent. And he successfully managed the four-trillion-dollar federal budget as Director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Obama/Biden administration.
From January, 2009 to July, 2014, Shaun was the 15th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he led the fight against the nation’s unprecedented foreclosure crisis. Under his leadership, HUD helped families rent or buy affordable homes, revitalized distressed communities, fought discrimination and dramatically reduced homelessness. After Hurricane Sandy hit his hometown, President Obama asked him to lead the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, leaving a stronger, more resilient region than before the storm hit.
The Common Good New York City Mayoral Series with Eric Adams
The Common Good’s New York City Mayoral Speaker Series presents a conversation with candidate Eric Adams about his candidacy. Moderated by past TCG speaker, investment and businessman Glenn Hutchins.
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The Common Good New York City Mayoral Series presents a conversation with candidate Eric Adams about his race for NY Mayor. Moderated by publisher Tom Allon.
Thursday, April 15th
5:00pm-6:00pm ET
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Eric Adams is a politician serving as the 18th and current Borough President of Brooklyn, New York City since 2014. He is a candidate in the 2021 New York City mayoral election in the democratic primary.
Adams served as an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City Police Department for over two decades, retiring at the rank of captain.In November 2013, Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough President, the first African American to hold the position.
Eric is a lifelong New Yorker. He received his master’s degree in public administration from Marist College, and is a graduate of New York City Technical College and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is also a proud product of New York City public schools, including Bayside High School in Queens. Today he lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where he has resided for over 20 years.
Tom Allon is the president and publisher of City & State, a company dedicated to covering New York’s local and state politics and policy.
Allon has over three decades of experience in New York’s media world, both on the publishing and editorial side of the business. He started his career in 1986 as the editor-in-chief of a weekly newspaper, The West Side Spirit, which won a number of awards for investigative reporting during his tenure. He then became the publisher and vice president of a public media company, News Communications, which owned 23 publications in the metropolitan area and Washington, D.C. He was involved in the creation of the daily Capitol Hill newspaper, The Hill, which became the inspiration for City & State. He also spent a decade building a private media company, Manhattan Media, which owned AVENUE magazine, Dan’s Papers, New York Family, five weekly newspapers in Manhattan and City & State.
The Common Good New York City Mayoral Candidate Speaker Series with Maya Wiley
The Common Good’s New York City Mayoral Speaker Series presents a Conversation with candidate Maya Wiley. Moderated by Honorary Advisory Board Member Tom Rogers.
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The Common Good New York City Mayoral Candidate Series presents a Conversation with candidate Maya Wiley. You may have seen Maya Wiley on MSNBC where she’s served as Legal Analyst, but she has major experience in the office of the Mayor. As Counsel to the Mayor, she fought for NYC on civil and immigrant rights, women and minority-owned business contracts, universal broadband access, and more. Moderated by media pioneer Tom Rogers.
Thursday, March 25,
5:00pm-6:00pm ET
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Maya Wiley is a nationally recognized racial justice and equity advocate. She is a leader in city government and in spurring democratic change. As Counsel to the Mayor, she delivered for New York City on civil and immigrant rights, women and minority owned business contracts, universal broadband access and more. After leaving City Hall, she held police accountable as Chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and worked to improve public education as a Co-Chair of the School Diversity Task Force. At the New School, where she served as a University Professor, she founded the Digital Equity Laboratory on universal and inclusive broadband.
Maya is a veteran of both the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the ACLU, was a former Legal Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC — where she argued against Trump’s attacks on our civil liberties and democratic norms — and was the founder and president of the Center for Social Inclusion. Maya was also Senior Advisor on Race and Poverty at the Open Society Foundations, the largest funder of human rights work the world over.
Tom Rogers, a true innovator and leader in the field of television, news and entertainment, Tom Rogers is the founder of CNBC and a CNBC contributor, as well as the founder of MSNBC, when he served as the first President of NBC cable. He is the former CEO of TiVo and is currently Chairman of Engine Media, a broad based sports, esports, and news content & distribution company. He can also be credited for as bringing Netflix and Amazon to the TV screen. He is the former Senior Counsel to the House Telecommunications Committee where he oversaw the FCC and media industry. He is also an Editor-at-Large for Newsweek.
He has been inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame and has won an Emmy Award for contributions to the development of advanced television and advanced advertising.
The White Working-Class Political Revolution
Author David Paul Kuhn and former Virginia Senator Jim Webb examined the drift of the white working-class voter from the Democratic party to the Republican party and the enormous impact it has had on U.S. politics. Together, they’ll help explain what drove these voters, and how that schism continues to exacerbate class conflict and political polarization today. In light of the most recent election, this will surely be a timely and essential conversation. The conversation was moderated by the brilliant journalist Clyde Haberman.
There’s no getting around it; this week has been a deeply troubling, emotionally draining one for most Americans. Beginning with an audio recording of President Trump pressuring the Georgia Secretary of State to find votes that don’t exist, to an armed insurrection that overtook the Capitol and attempted to derail the peaceful transfer of presidential power, and ending with a record breaking number of daily coronavirus deaths.
Our inimitable moderator, Clyde Haberman, began our conversation by appropriately asking our guests, author David Paul Kuhn and former Virginia Senator, Jim Webb, what they made of it all. The former Senator astutely observed the nature of mobs and how they differ from the actions of individuals. Kuhn correctly reminded us not to mistake a few thousands extremists with the 74 million people who voted for Trump. We have, afterall, a two party system, but we are not a two party country. Many voters are anti-liberal, and not necessarily conservative. It’s a mixed bag of voters - some support a path for citizenship and some support a wall for example.
LBJ was the last president to win the white vote, so what happened?
Kuhn emphasizes the context and chaos of the time as a contributing factor to white working-class voters leaving Democrats for Republicans. Nixon appealed to them, while Democrats focused on making inroads with African Americans, LGBT, and more recent immigrant communities. Today, the Democratic coalition includes many wealthy, college educated whites as well.
According to Kuhn, entities like The Lincoln Project were not as successful at bringing Republican voters over to Biden as they could have been because they emphasized the wrong things. Rather than highlighting how Trump, in many ways, governed like a traditional, business friendly conservative, they focused on just what a lousy president he is. Historians may very well come to that same conclusion, but that just didn’t resonate with the white working class. Ultimately, People ultimately go to their sides when forced to choose their corners - Kuhn uses feminists supporting Clinton post-affair as an example of this.
Both commended Biden for bringing down the national temperature, striking the right tone and appealing to blue collar white voters, even if it was late.
There is a sad phenomenon taking place in America's white working class. Decreasing life expectancy, increasing divorce rates, stagnant incomes, rising alcohol and drug abuse, or as Nobel Prize Winning economist Angus Deaton has called it, Deaths of Despair.
How do Democrats win back these disillusioned voters?
Kuhn and Webb argue that Democrats need to lessen the cultural weight and emphasize common cause and needs - infrastructure, social safety nets, early education and broadband. The needs of the white working class don’t look that different from those of black and brown working class communities.
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David Kuhn is a political analyst and writer who has written several books that have been heavily praised, including his most recent one that was named on The New York Times "100 Notable Books of 2020." Kuhn has served as the chief political writer for CBS News online, a senior political writer for Politico as well as chief political correspondent at RealClearPolitics. He has also written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, National Review, New Republic, among other publications, and regularly appears on networks ranging from BBC to Fox News.
His book is credited by famed strategist James Carville as “perhaps the best book ever on how Democrats lost the white working class” and in the WSJ, Senator Webb stated that Kuhn was an “unacknowledged prophet” for the “consistency” of his longtime “warnings about the reasons white working people were moving away from the Democrats [which] were largely dismissed by the news media and party elites.”
Jim Webb is the former Democratic Senator from Virginia He wrote, introduced, and guided to passage the Post-9.11 GI Bill, the most significant veterans legislation since World War II, and co-authored legislation which exposed 60 billion dollars of waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan wartime-support contracts. A long-time advocate of fixing America’s broken criminal justice system, Mr. Webb was spotlighted in The Atlantic as one of the world’s “Brave Thinkers” for tackling prison reform and possessing “two things vanishingly rare in Congress: a conscience and a spine.” He went on to give a response to the State of the Union which has been regarded as one of the stronger State of the Union responses in recent memory.
He previously served as Secretary of the Navy under President Reagan and is the recipient of the Purple Heart. Webb is also an Emmy Award winning journalist, a filmmaker, and the author of ten books. Since retiring, Webb is continued to be a prolific writer and has written for many national journals including USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Clyde Haberman has served as a journalist with The New York Times since 1977. His assignments included staff editor of The Week in Review; Metro reporter; City Hall bureau chief; and foreign correspondent in Tokyo and Rome, and bureau chief in Jerusalem. He is known and received tremendous praise for his coverage of the Attica prison rebellion, the fall of Ferdinand Marcos, the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the 1993 Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestinians, the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and the rise of Islamic terrorism in the Middle East.
He was part of a Times team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News, awarded for coverage of the prostitution scandal that led to Eliot Spitzer's resignation as New York governor. He continues to be a NYT columnist and writes the Retro Report essays for The New York Times.
Post Election Roundup
After approximately two years, $14 billion (yes, you read that right) and countless hours of our attention, the 2020 campaign is finally coming to a close. While it seems Joe Biden may have won the presidency, as of writing this, several states are still counting ballots and President Trump is still contesting the results. Today, we’re bringing you a panel that truly meets this historic moment. Our all-star panel includes The Cook Report founder, Charlie Cook, Co-Founder of the Lincoln Project, Rick Wilson, and former Senator and SNL writer Al Franken, with award-winning journalist for The Washington Post, Jonathan Capehart, as our moderator.
Post-Election Recap
Happy Friday! Well, we (almost) made it. After approximately two years, $14 billion (yes, you read that right) and countless hours of our attention, the 2020 campaign is finally coming to a close. While it seems Joe Biden may have won the presidency, as of writing this, several states are still counting ballots and President Trump is still contesting the results. Today, we’re bringing you a panel that truly meets this historic moment. Our all-star panel includes The Cook Report founder, Charlie Cook, Co-Founder of the Lincoln Project, Rick Wilson, and former Senator and SNL writer Al Franken, with award-winning journalist for The Washington Post, Jonathan Capehart, as our moderator.
“PUT A FORK IN IT”, Charlie Cook
Reassuring many, Charlie made no qualms about it - Biden won the election. While each media organization has a specific, sometimes arduous set of criteria that they must meet before calling a state (or an election for that matter), political analysts don’t, and Charlie coolly pointed out that the uncounted ballots are disproportionately from Biden-friendly districts and therefore, the only logical conclusion is a Joe Biden victory.
Al Franken, seeming to speak for many, complained that inaccurate polling made for a terrible election night.
While Charlie agreed that it was the “strangest election I’d ever seen,” he reminded us that the end result was not surprising; rather, it was the route taken that was so weird.
Presidential polls got the degree wrong, but the direction right and getting the degree wrong has implications for down ballot voting, not so much for the Electoral College, because most states are winner take all.
In summary, there was lots of party line voting, with Maine being the only state in which the Presidency and the Senate went in opposing directions (for now - looking at you Georgia).
In addition to the hyperpartisanship, there was also tremendous voter turnout. Charlie credits targeted voter registration as playing an important role.
Al Franken wasn’t having any of the sympathy for pollsters, and neither was Chris Rock apparently. Al told us about a conversation he had with Chris (we’re close like that), in which Chris described noted pollster, Nate Silver, as the closer (baseball) who the manager really likes, but always gives up a home run. Fair or not, we invite Chris to elaborate on a panel in the future.
Al added that he was unsure how the presidential election would impact the TWO senate runoff races in Georgia, but that expects an “inky,” weird period between now and then.
NOW FOR THE SURPRISE
Republicans were expected to be blown out in House races, especially in suburbs, but instead, Republicans actually gained seats.
Rick Wilson and Charlie Cook reminded us of a few factors: Many of these seats were moderate to rightward leaning in the first place, with Trump on the ballot (as opposed to 2018), voters could vote against Trump, while supporting their Congressperson, and a lot of the Democratic messaging didn’t help either.
“Defund The Police” - Although a misnomer, resonated with suburban voters who were fearful of civil unrest, moving them back to Trump.
Packing The Court - Similarly off-putting and Republicans seized.
Abigail Spanberger (VA-7) pleaded with fellow Dems to never use the word Socialism again.
More Conor Lambs, fewer AOCs if you want these moderate districts.
Green New Deal - Has become pejoritve to many, symbolizing big government and threatening older industries.
Al Franken agreed that we need more nuanced language to frame the debate about climate change, noting that most Americans recognize the scale of the threat it poses and that our response can really be a Win/Win.
CHARLIE COOK ISN’T INTO “TRUMP PORN” (new term for us)
Therefore he didn’t watch Trump’s press conference where he simultaneously claimed voter fraud and touted the GOP’s electoral victories.
Rick joined us a few minutes late as he was trying to “land the plane” that is our democracy. Rick confidentently described the next few months as such:
Donald will act like a child and do dangerous, dumb things.
*Not all children are like this*
Biden will put his hand on that bible in a covid safe ceremony and be sworn in. “It’s over except for the MAGA world’s crying.”
Litigation: At the very least, Trump will make noise with the hopes of reaching the Supreme Court and although his legal team is led by Guiliani and most constitutional lawyers think their case is spurious, The Lincoln Project is responding with their own legal team.
The Lincoln Project cannot work directly with the Biden Campaign by law. However, they anticipated this moment, so are well-prepared.
Attorney Marc Elias is also all over this, as Al Franken adds that the fight is large.
FUTURE OF THE GOP?
Rick quoted his friend and fellow Lincoln Project Co-Founder, Steve Schmidt, describing the GOP as a “Dwarf star” that gets progressively smaller and crazier (these guys love and are great with analogies)
It’s hard to scale when you have a “dear leader” model and then your “dear leader” loses. Moreover, Rick contends that the GOP is hopelessly broken and cannot be fixed. The GOP needs “a hard reconciliation with the country and with the culture.”
However, Rick does believe the country needs a center-right party, but for now he is
focused exclusively on beating Trump and then Trumpism, or in other words, to paraphrase, they “killed the big zombie, and are now going after the smaller zombies, the Ron Johnsons, Marcos and Hawleys.” The Lincoln Project will remain a political organization to fight them.
Al Franken playful interrupted Rick to remind him that the soul of the GOP that he is fighting for was never actually there, continuing with “Where were you in 2004? They’re all zombies”
Rick mostly agreed.
Q&A
Judith Miller
Trump got half of this country, his die-hards aren’t going away. Were people voting against Trump? What will it take for Trump’s supporters to break with him?
AF: Two information sources. Conservative media machine. No easy solution.
CC: Ideological silos on both sides - we need common news, common thread. This whole project doesn’t work without it.
RW: Roger Ailes - love him or hate him - he’s a television genius.
Hermetic bubble of Fox and talk radio that unifies and energizes the party completely, and then Social media exponentially amplifies the message of crazy people.
When there’s an “agenda” behind everything, nothing can’t be substantiated and we can’t function as a democracy.
Panel agrees that we have to rethink anti-trust law.
Tools are morally agnostic until they are not.
What happened in Kentucky and SC?
CC: Places in the south that are changing - some that aren’t
Changing States
Sunbelt - NC, AZ, CO TX, GA are following VA
Jamie Harrison was a great candidate, but he got a lot of votes because Lindsay proved to a fake, untrustworthy politician.
Law of diminishing returns on campaign spending. After what’s really needed, can actually be hurtful.
South Carolina is going to be South Carolina. Plausible to get close, but those last couple of points are hard.
States that Aren’t
LA, MS, AK, TN, AL KY, SC
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Charlie Cook is considered one of the nation’s leading authorities on American politics and U.S. elections. He is the editor and publisher of the Cook Political Report which serves as one of the leading sites and informational platforms for election predictions and results in the United States. He is also a political analyst for NBC News and National Journal.
Since the 1984 US presidential election, Cook has provided election night commentary for various television networks. The Wall Street Journal has referred to Cook as “the Picasso of election analysis” and the Washington Post has called him "perhaps the best non-partisan tracker of Congressional races.”
In 2010, Charlie was the co-recipient of the American Political Science Association’s prestigious Carey McWilliams award to honor “a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics."
Rick Wilson is a longtime Republican political strategist, infamous negative ad-maker, and commentator. He has successfully worked for numerous GOP campaigns including, presidential, senate, mayoral and gubernatorial. Since 2015, he's been a leading conservative critic of Donald Trump. He went on to co-found The Lincoln Project, a group of Republican and conservative leaders who are critical and oppose Donald Trump.
A pioneer of and leader in the Never-Trump movement, Wilson released the best-selling Everything Trump Touches Dies in August 2018. In the book, Wilson brings his dark humor and biting analysis to confront the absurdity of American politics in the Age of Trump. He mercilessly takes down Trump and exposes the damage Trump has done to the country, to the Republican Party Wilson served for decades, and to the conservative movement that has abandoned its principles for the worst president in American history.
Wilson writes several opinion and columns for newspapers like The Daily Beast, Politico, and The Federalist.
Al Franken is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota. He gained notoriety for his work on Saturday Night Live.
After leaving SNL, Franken went on to become a political activist including hosting a radio show, offering commentary and insights and writing several books. He supported military members and often worked on entertaining soldiers. He decided to run for the Senate and win. While in the Senate he supported same-sex marriage, abortion rights, and gun control. In addition, Franken was active in health care reform and fought to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
After leaving the Senate, he now hosts his own radio program The Al Franken Show on SeriousXM which covers global affairs, politics, the 2020 presidential election, and entertainment.
Jonathan Capehart is an American journalist and television personality. He writes for The Washington Post's PostPartisan blog and is a contributor for MSNBC.
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Capehart was a researcher for NBC's The Today Show. Subsequently, he worked for the New York Daily News (NYDN), serving as a member of its editorial board from 1993 to 2000. At the time of his hiring, Capehart was youngest ever member of that newspaper's editorial board. In 2000, he left the NYDN to work at Bloomberg News. Afterward, he advised and wrote speeches for Michael Bloomberg, during Bloomberg's 2001 run for the mayoralty of New York City.
He joined the staff of The Washington Post as a journalist and member of the editorial board in 2007. He continues in that capacity and is a contributing commentator for MSNBC. He also hosts the Cape Up podcast, in which he talks to newsmakers about race, religion, age, gender, and cultural identity in politics.
The Election That Could Break America
After Election Day, what should we expect? The list of possibilities is keeping experts on both sides of the aisle getting ready to take action. The Common Good hosts, “The Election That Could Break America” with Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Bart Gellman, and moderated by Tom Rogers. You will not want to miss Gellman dive into his most recent much-talked-about article in The Atlantic and his insights into the unprecedented scenarios that we may encounter post-election.
After Election Day, what should we expect? The list of possibilities is keeping experts on both sides of the aisle getting ready to take action. The Common Good hosts, “The Election That Could Break America” with Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Bart Gellman, and moderated by Tom Rogers. You will not want to miss Gellman dive into his most recent much-talked-about article in The Atlantic and his insights into the unprecedented scenarios that we may encounter post-election.
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The Election that Could Break America - Recap
We thought we’d keep it light and fun for you all today; that’s why we invited Pulitzer prize- winning journalist, Bart Gellman, to The Common Good to discuss the election (yeah, that one). Media legend and Editor-at-large at Newsweek, Tom Rogers, moderated this important and all too timely discussion that centered on Bart’s recent and widely discussed article in The Atlantic, entitled, The Election that Could Break America. Tom was early (if not first) to note that Trump could very well subvert the election by staying in office no matter the outcome, and he has since written extensively about the topic in Newsweek with former Congressman Tim Wirth. Needless to say, we’re lucky to have two experts join us to discuss the election and potentially the future of our democracy.
Trump’s strategy is opacity, Bart begins ominously. Moreover, He will wield the power of incumbency to benefit his own reelection in a way that we’ve probably never seen before. While Trump will have a lot less running room if he loses by a landslide, we’re likely heading towards uncharted territory.
Gift of prophecy? No, just following the evidence; Bart asserts that no matter the outcome, Trump will not concede that he was defeated.
Both in prepared and off-the-cuff remarks, Trump has flatly said that the only way he could lose this election is if it is rigged against him.
“Our Constitution does not secure the peaceful transition of power, but rather presupposes it,” Bart Gellman.
Bart reminds us that SCOTUS didn’t determine 2000, it was Gore’s decision to ultimately concede.
SCOTUS, or at least Roberts, will be reluctant to weigh in, especially in the face of the court’s waning legitimacy. However, Bart can’t say the same for Kavannaugh at this point.
Bart suggests that if you ask most state legislators if they’d be willing to discard voters in their states, they’d probably say no. It’s hard to look in the mirror and do so; however, Trump’s genius is twofold; his manipulation of attention; and he enures people into grey areas, specifically norm-busting in a way they didn’t necessarily expect. And norms are the glue that keeps most of this together.
Ingredients for a Mess
Most states don’t allow mail-in-ballots to be processed before election day - it’s a slow process, so there will be a backlog. Florida, North Carolina, Arizona are important exceptions.
Trump has deliberately undermined trust in mail-in-ballots, creating a situation where many more Republicans will vote in person, while many more Democrats will vote by mail.
His strategy seems to be to disqualify votes that are counted “late,” locking in votes that are made day of, calling them valid.
Consequently, networks may be reluctant to determine a winner.
There’s no umpire; our elections are administered by thousands of localities. Bart soberly creates a scenario for us in which Trump attempts to blatantly steal the election: we would have mass demonstrations, with tens of millions of people. If they were peaceful, they (and democracy) would win. If they were violent, Trump could call on the troops and take advantage of the chaos.
Tom asks if there’s room for the business community to step in and while Bart acknowledges its potential efficacy, he also remarks “God help us if we are dependent on business leaders to figure out our elections for us.”
Similarly, it would be hard to imagine Republican party leaders diverging too far from Trump at any point in this process - they’re too enmeshed with his narrative.
Audience Question: What reforms can fix this?
The Electoral Count Act is a mess and in need of clarity.
We have a decentralized, underfunded election system that makes it inefficient and vulnerable to foreign threats, so money and some uniformity.
Further Reading from the Transition Integrity Project: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/7013152/Preventing-a-Disrupted-Presidential-Election-and.pdf
What We’re Watching this Weekend: City So Real (National Geographic/Hulu): This 5-part docu-series depicts a complex portrait of Chicago from the historic ‘19 mayor’s race to the tumultuous summer of ‘20.
Barton Gellman is a highly respected and much-honored author and journalist, a staff writer at The Atlantic, and Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation in New York. His awards include the Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy for documentary filmmaking, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
His recent articles from The Atlantic have been widely praised for the cogent look at the turmoil and chaos that could erupt from the 2020 election.
Gellman is responsible for many important stories. He led The Washington Post's coverage of the U.S. National Security Agency, which was based in large measure on top-secret documents provided to him by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden. He published a book for Penguin Press on the rise of the surveillance-industrial state in May 2020.
Moderated by Tom Rogers, a true innovator and leader in the field of television, news and entertainment, Tom Rogers is the founder of CNBC and a CNBC contributor, as well as the founder of MSNBC, when he served as the first President of NBC cable. He is the former CEO of TiVo and is currently Chairman of Engine Media, a broad based sports, esports, and news content & distribution company.
He can also be credited for as bringing Netflix and Amazon to the TV screen. He is the former Senior Counsel to the House Telecommunications Committee where he oversaw the FCC and media industry. He is also an Editor-at-Large for Newsweek.
He has been inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame and has won an Emmy Award for contributions to the development of advanced television and advanced advertising.
Recap: Final Presidential Debate Panel
After a tumultuous first debate, the final face off will be the last, perhaps best, chance for President Trump or Vice President Biden to tell the American people why he should be elected the next president of the United States. Can we expect a serious discussion of their policy differences or another breakdown in decorum?
Whatever happens, these confrontations do shape the national conversation and the upcoming election -- and The Common Good had the extraordinary panel of political experts to analyze the impact on voters, who are already starting to head to the polls. Join ace strategist @PaulBegala and election outcome seer @RachelBitecofer. Moderated by Emmy nominated journalist @CynthiaMcFadden.
In keeping with the theme and general ethos of 2020, we had a few last-minute changes. Fortunately, the inimitable author, strategist and pollster Doug Schoen stepped in, along with the razor-sharp election whisperer, Rachel Bitecofer, as well as the brilliant, Emmy award-winning journalist, Cynthia McFadden, as moderator. And we’re lucky they did, as there’s plenty to unpack from the final (*phew*) presidential debate.
McFadden: Forget the formalities - Was there a winner?
Schoen contends that while Trump showed some much-needed discipline and restraint, ultimately Biden did what he needed to do and simply “held up.” And although the race might tighten a bit, the fundamental dynamics of the race won’t significantly change. Trump did the best he could given the facts on the ground, specifically the negative fallout of the pandemic. Ultimately, the candidates mostly spoke to their respective base, with Biden reaching out a bit to all Americans, but, notably, as a proud Democrat. With 45 million votes already, many experts are predicting record turnout for this election. Contrary to popular belief, however, Doug doesn’t see evidence that more turnout will invariably benefit Dems; and while Biden still has a clear advantage, swing states are closer than the overall popular vote.
Rachel, on the hand, said there probably wasn’t a winner of last night’s debate, just a loser - the American people. That was right before she soberly reminded us that our democracy is off the rails, that our president lies constantly and about important things, and that this enormous departure from American presidential history and norms has proven challenging for the media to cover in the face of the need for journalistic impartiality. While Trump was the consensus loser from the first debate, Rachel notes that this debate was mostly unnoteworthy. Partisans saw what they wanted to see – either a Trump win or a Biden win. Therefore, pure independents should be asked, but Rachel asserts they mostly don’t exist.
Are there still Undecided voters? (very few) What about Independent voters? (not really)
According to Doug, at this point in the race, Undecided Voters are low-information voters who feel alienated by the current system. They represent about 6% or 7% of voters.
Rachel argues that, based on her research, Independents aren’t actually independent. Actually, they almost always “lean” one way or the other (just like us, except they’re not political junkies). Moreover, Independents often are just as settled as partisans, they’re just more embarrassed about their partisanship.
Warning: Entering THE WEEDS
Rachel describes a theory that postulates: In our polarized era, Independents have an anti-status quo bias, meaning that the status quo always sucks for these voters. Therefore, they’re likely to break away from the current status quo. In this case, that would mean Independents will break in favor of the Democrats. In fact, per Rachel, the pandemic is likely to enhance the traditional 55%/44% vote for change by Independents.
Check Out Rachel’s article https://newrepublic.com/article/156402/hate-ballot
Cynthia brings up voter Trust, citing “Democracy is like Tinkerbell; once you stop believing she dies.”
Both Doug and Rachel are worried about the integrity of election and health of our democracy; however, they diverge slightly on the causes. While Doug focused on foreign interference in our election; Rachel emphasizes the institutional erosion - in the Senate, in the lack of government accountability and responsiveness, and in Trump’s open warfare on the election itself.
By the way, this warfare isn’t just Trump being Trump. Rachel also voiced concern about RNC and DOJ coordination. She paints the scenario whereby the conservative media machine declares Trump ahead on election day voting - knowing that Dems are more likely to vote by mail, Republicans in person - and then they launch a bevy of lawsuits to discredit mail-in votes that have yet to be counted.
Additional Thoughts from our Panel
Flash point? Biden’s comments on oil - specifically that we should transition away from it - could provide Trump with an opening to highlight the radical approach of The Green New Deal and Biden’s perceived equivocation on fracking.
Audience Question: Will it hurt Biden in PA?
Doug said Trump should wield that comment in a hyper-targeted way in Pennsylvania.
Rachel said those comments are more important in Texas, whose economy is more reliant on oil.
Biden has already walked it back and pivoted to ending subsidies for oil, which makes more political and practical sense. Although Trump has footage and will use it.
Switching to forecasting for Congressional Races
Rachel has the following states flipping Senate races to Dems: Arizona to Mark Kelly, Colorado to John Hickenlooper, Maine to Sarah Gideon, North Carolina probably to Cal Cunningham (very close, but early African American turnout is high).
There are tantalizing possible Tossups for Dems: Iowa to Theresa Greenfield, Alaska to Al Gross, South Carolina to Jaime Harrison, Kansas to Barbara Bollier.
But not Kentucky – White, low college-educated electorate
RE: Trump’s claim that Rs take the house – Trumps makes a lot of stuff up. No evidence, but hasn’t stopped him before. He’s just trying to keep people optimistic.
Rachel said just as there are best practices with pandemic response, there are best practices for electioneering – Base mobilizing being one of them, and usually every nominee comes out of the primary and repositions toward the center in the general election campaign.
However, Trump does things that are antithetical to winning elections:
Trump is still running a base strategy – worked last time, but it frustrates his handlers that they can’t get him to change course. He did tone down his temperament.
Final points: Rachel’s Minimal Effects Theory – Presidential campaigns don’t have a lot of room to influence voters in a hyper-partisan political landscape.
Trump has tamped down his voter erosion, but his first debate performance hurt the Senate Republicans. Trump is is seen as bad on race, empathy, police violence – not serious, empathetic voice. He’s adding to the criminality myth of black male. However, he has a bolder, better argument than Criminal Justice Reform – letting them out of prison. It’s a challenge for Trump as an incumbent to label Biden as the insider.
Rachel makes this point clear - Republicans are great at messaging, Dems struggle – they too often speak to the head, not the gut.
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Rachel Bitecofer
A true election whisperer, Dr. Bitecofer received national acclaim for her prediction of the results of the 2018 United States midterm elections more closely than most other forecasters. She has continuously helped to predict and analyze elections and data making her one of the most sought after political scientists in the country.
She continuously appears on tv, including CNN, MSNCB, along with media outlets like NYT, NPR and the Washington Post.
Dr. Bitecofer is famous for her main thesis that modern elections are not decided by the swing vote, but rather negative partisanship, which prioritizes defeating the other side over any specific policy objective. Under her theory, shifts in voter turnout decide everything, and the "swing" mainly comes from whether voters decide to vote at all rather than deciding who to vote for.
Doug Schoen has been one of the most influential Democratic campaign consultants for over thirty years. A founding partner and principal strategist for Penn, Schoen & Berland, he is widely recognized as one of the co-inventors of overnight polling.
Schoen was named Pollster of the Year in 1996 by the American Association of Political Consultants for his contributions to the President Bill Clinton reelection campaign.
His political clients include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, and his corporate clients include AOL Time Warner, Procter & Gamble and AT&T. Internationally, he has worked for the heads of states of over 15 countries, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and three Israeli Prime Ministers.
He is the author of multiple books, most recently publishing, The End of Democracy. He is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and various other newspaper and online publications. He is also a Fox News Contributor, making appearances on various news programs several times a week.
Cynthia McFadden was named co-anchor of ABC News' "Nightline" in October 2005. She joined ABC News in February 1994 as the network's legal correspondent. Two years later she was named a correspondent for "PrimeTime," and was made a co-anchor of the broadcast in 2004.
McFadden took an exclusive and rare look inside the new Ku Klux Klan and covered the tragic school shooting in Newtown, Conn. She has reported extensively from Africa and India on the HIV-AIDS pandemic; from China on the environmental costs of that country's rapid economic growth; and on the illegal sale of women and young girls into sexual slavery. Her investigation into horrific human rights abuses in several Mexican mental hospitals led to a major overhaul of that government's institutions for the mentally ill.
McFadden led the first investigation by a major news organization into one of America's darkest secrets, the forced sterilization of 60,000 to 100,000 American citizens; tracked five accused murderers to their hiding places in El Salvador, where she interviewed two of them; and investigated the use of female contraceptives to treat convicted rapists.
She left ABC in 2014 and is currently the senior legal and investigative correspondent for NBC News. She has won a Peabody and an Emmy, along with countless other awards.
Post Vice Presidential Debate Panel
In a season of surprises and unprecedented events, we heard from our VP nominees, Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris for their one-time debate this season. On Thursday, October 8th, 4pm-5pm ET, The Common Good hosted an incredible conversation to analyze the historic evening.
Democratic strategist @Hilary Rosen, Republican strategist, @Susan DelPercio, political commentator @TaraSetmayer, and legendary pollster @StanGreenberg reviewed the evening’s highs and lows and how the debate may affect their election fortunes.
In a season of surprises and unprecedented events, we heard from our VP nominees, Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris for their one-time debate this season. On Thursday, October 8th, 4pm-5pm ET, The Common Good hosted an incredible conversation to analyze the historic evening.
Democratic strategist @Hilary Rosen, Republican strategist, @Susan DelPercio, political commentator @TaraSetmayer, and legendary pollster @StanGreenberg reviewed the evening’s highs and lows and how the debate may affect their election fortunes.
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Hilary Rosen is a well-known strategist who effectively navigates the worlds of media, communications, business and politics. She is Vice Chair of the award-winning public affairs agency SKDKnickerbocker and an on-air CNN analyst.
Hilary formerly served as chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the leading trade association of America’s record companies. She became the first Washington editor-at-large and political director of The Huffington Post.
Throughout her career, Hilary has regularly been featured on power lists in a variety of sectors, including The New York Post’s Ladies Who Launch Entertainment Trends, Entertainment Weekly’s Annual Power List, The Hollywood Reporter’s Power 50 Women, The Washington Post’s Power 20 and National Journal’s Power Women in Washington. Hilary previously worked as Chief of Staff for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, as an assistant to New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne and has been an advisor to many elected officials over the years.
Tara Setmayer is a CNN Political Commentator, Contributor to ABC News and former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. She is currently the host of the "Honestly Speaking with Tara" podcast. Tara regularly appears on CNN's prime time programs and contributes to ABC's The View, Good Morning America, and Nightline.
In 2017, Tara was named as a Board Director for Stand Up Republic, a non profit organization formed in the wake of the 2016 election of Donald Trump to unite Americans behind the defense of democratic norms, ideals and institutions.
During her time as a senior congressional staffer, Tara successfully led the national effort to free unjustly imprisoned Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean through a presidential commutation issued by President George W. Bush on his last working day in office. In addition to her communications duties, Setmayer handled policy issues on immigration and federal law enforcement.
Stanley Greenberg is a New York Times best-selling author and polling adviser to presidents, prime ministers and CEOs globally and right now, is conducting deep research in multiple countries. He was the senior pollster for President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and President Nelson Mandela. Greenberg's corporate clients include Boeing, BP, Microsoft, and other global companies.
He has been described as "the father of modern polling techniques," "the De Niro of all political consultants," and "an unrivaled international 'guru.'" Esquire Magazine named him one of the most important people of the 21st century. Republican pollster Frank Luntz says, "Stan Greenberg scares the hell out of me. He doesn't just have a finger on the people's pulse; he's got an IV injected into it. He's the best."
Susan Del Percio has served as a media spokeswoman on many campaigns, both political and corporate, and frequently appears on many local and national news outlets as a political analyst. Susan is also an MSNBC contributor. She served in the Giuliani Administration. Appointed as a Special Advisor to Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2014, she initiated and implemented communication strategies, and advised and developed policy initiatives. Susan also served as Deputy Commissioner in the Giuliani Administration (1995-2001) prior to founding her firm in 2001. Her client list includes large and mid-size private corporations, Fortune 50 executives, leading elected officials, political organizations and candidates as well as non-profits.
With nearly 30 years of experience in the political, government, nonprofit and private sector arenas, she is a trusted advisor helping leaders develop and execute focused strategic communications and winning crisis management campaigns. Her unique insights on government procedure, regulatory environments and public policy is highly sought after, especially now, with public affairs, policy and media so thoroughly intertwined.
The First Presidential Debate Panel
Join us as we review the First Presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden. How are their performances going to impact voters, did it sway anyone and other insights from the night. Our panelists reviewed and analyzed the highs and lows of the face-off between the Democrat and the Republican nominee's and how the debate may affect each ticket’s election fortunes.
ABOUT THE EVENT
Join us as we review the First Presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden. How are their performances going to impact voters, did it sway anyone and other insights from the night. Our panelists reviewed and analyzed the highs and lows of the face-off between the Democrat and the Republican nominee's and how the debate may affect each ticket’s election fortunes.
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John Avlon is an author, columnist and commentator. He is a senior political analyst and fill-in anchor at CNN, appearing on New Day every morning. From 2013 to 2018, he was the editor-in-chief and managing director of The Daily Beast, during which time the site’s traffic more than doubled to over one million readers a day while winning 17 journalism awards.
Stephen Marshall wrote “Avlon talks about politics the way ESPN anchors wrap up sports highlights.” Columnist Kathleen Parker wrote, “Americans who are fed up with the Ann Coulter/Michael Moore school of debate and are looking for someone to articulate a commonsense, middle path, may have found their voice in John Avlon.”
He has written three books, one of which was hailed by TheModerateVoice.com as “the best political book ever on American centrist voters.” Avlon is also a co-founder of No Labels – a group of Democrats, Republicans and Independents dedicated to the politics of problem-solving and making government work again.
Ed Rollins is a giant in the political world, having served as campaign consultant and advisor for numerous congressional, senatorial, gubernatorial and presidential campaigns and victories.
During the Reagan administration, he served as Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and Director of the Office of Political Affairs. He would go on to lead Reagan's re-election campaign in which he oversaw the 1984 election where Regan won 49/50 U.S. states
He was the first non-member of Congress to serve as the Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Chief Political Advisor to the House Republican Leadership. He has gone onto manage successful campaigns for: Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Congressman George Nethercutt and Katherine Harris and currently serves as chairman of the Great America PAC.
He was inducted into the Political Consultants Hall of Fame in 201 and was was also the recipient in 2010 of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Doug Sosnik served as a senior advisor to President Clinton from 1994 to 2000, playing a key role in policy, strategy, political and communications decisions in the White House; his titles included Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy, White House Political Director and Deputy Legislative Director. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Sosnik was the chief of staff for Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, and later worked with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Mr. Sosnik currently advises elected officials, corporations, foundations, universities, non-profits and philanthropists on strategic planning and crisis management. Clients include the National Basketball Association, the Motion Picture Association of America and CNBC, as well as advised over 50 U.S. Senators and governors.
Doug co-authored a New York Times bestseller, Applebee’s America: How Successful Political, Business and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community.
"RNC Post-Convention Roundup" with Dan Rather, Margaret Hoover, & Alex Castellanos
Join The Common Good as we breakdown the past four day Republican National Convention. Brilliant political experts and commentators Dan Rather, Margaret Hoover, and Alex Castellanos discuss the RNC and what occurred.
Join The Common Good as we breakdown the past four day Republican National Convention. Brilliant political experts and commentators Dan Rather, Margaret Hoover, and Alex Castellanos discuss the RNC and what occurred.
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"DNC 2020" with Dan Rather, Ron Brownstein, and Karen Finney
Join The Common Good as we breakdown the four day Democratic National Convention. Brilliant political experts and commentators Dan Rather, Ron Brownstein, and Karen Finney discussed the DNC and what occurred.
Join The Common Good as we breakdown the four day Democratic National Convention. Brilliant political experts and commentators Dan Rather, Ron Brownstein, and Karen Finney discussed the DNC and what occurred.
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"The Coming Election Breakdown & Fixing an Already Broken Social Media" with Tom Rogers and Jessica Rogers Ecker
Media mogul and expert Tom Rogers, creator of MSNBC and CNBC, along with his millennial daughter Jessica Rogers Ecker joined The Common Good for a unique event where we discussed social media, the youth vote and the 2020 election. What impact will the youth vote play in the upcoming election, how will social media be a factor in this election and so much more.
Media mogul and expert Tom Rogers, creator of MSNBC and CNBC, along with his millennial daughter Jessica Rogers Ecker joined The Common Good for a unique event where we discussed social media, the youth vote and the 2020 election. The impact will the youth vote play in the upcoming election, how social media will be a factor in this election, and so much more.
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A true innovator and leader in the field of television, news and entertainment, Tom Rogers is the founder of CNBC and a CNBC contributor, as well as the founder of MSNBC, when he served as the first President of NBC cable. He is the former CEO of TiVo and is currently Chairman of Engine Media, a broad based sports, esports, and news content & distribution company. He can also be credited for as bringing Netflix and Amazon to the TV screen. He is the former Senior Counsel to the House Telecommunications Committee where he oversaw the FCC and media industry. He is also an Editor-at-Large for Newsweek.
He has been inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame and has won an Emmy Award for contributions to the development of advanced television and advanced advertising.
Jessica Ecker is a graduate of Columbia University and Columbia Law School. After law school, she clerked for Hon. Michael M. Baylson of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and then Hon. Cheryl Ann Krause of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is currently a litigation associate at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York City.
"The Law, the Vote, and the 2020 Election" with Solicitor General Neal Katyal, Moderated by Kay Koplovitz
Legal scholar and former Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal joined The Common Good to discuss all the new legal challenges facing the 2020 election. Moderated by business legend and co-founder of Springboard Enterprises Kay Koplovitz, the two led a fascinating conversation, headlined by pressing issues such as mail-in ballot and combating the spreading of misinformation.
Legal scholar and former Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal joined The Common Good to discuss all the new legal challenges facing the 2020 election. Moderated by business legend and co-founder of Springboard Enterprises Kay Koplovitz, the two led a fascinating conversation, headlined by pressing issues such as mail-in ballot and combating the spreading of misinformation.
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General Neal Katyal served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States, where he argued several major Supreme Court cases involving a variety of issues, such as his successful defense of the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, his victorious defense of former Attorney General John Ashcroft for alleged abuses in the war on terror, his unanimous victory against eight states who sued the nation's leading power plants for contributing to global warming, and a variety of other matters. As Acting Solicitor General, Neal was responsible for representing the federal government of the United States in all appellate matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals throughout the nation. He served as Counsel of Record hundreds of times in the U.S. Supreme Court. He was also the only head of the Solicitor General's office to argue a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, on the important question of whether certain aspects of the human genome were patentable.
Neal has also served as a law professor for over two decades at Georgetown University Law Center, where he was one of the youngest professors to have received tenure and a chaired professorship in the university's history. He has also served as a visiting professor at both Harvard and Yale law schools.
Ms. Kay Koplovitz is the founder and former Chairman & CEO of USA Networks, the SyFy Channel (formerly Sci-Fi Channel), and USA Networks International, today a multi-billion-dollar cable television network. Ms. Koplovitz ran the network for 21 years before stepping down in 1998. As founder of USA Networks, Kay is the visionary who created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams: licensing and advertising.
Since 2000, Kay has served as Chairman of Springboard Enterprises, where under her leadership, the venture-catalyst accelerator has been bringing women founders leading transformational businesses to full parity in raising capital. The value of Springboard Enterprises has been validated by a strong 19-year track record of success with over $10 billion capital raised, 190+ exits, and 20 IPOs. Companies in the portfolio include technology and life sciences, and in 2014, Ms. Koplovitz co-founded the New York Fashion Tech Lab bringing promising technology companies in collaboration with the fashion and retail industry.
Springboard Enterprises was born after Ms. Koplovitz’ was appointed as Chairman of the bipartisan National Women’s Business Council (1998 NWBC) by President Clinton. During that time, Kay discovered that there were few venture capital and funding options for women entrepreneurs.
"Strategies to 270" with Douglas E. Schoen, Rick Tyler & Tom Rogers
Republican Strategist Rick Tyler and Democratic Political Analyst Douglas Schoen joined The Common Good for an elaborate conversation on how the Democrats and the Republicans are working towards their goal of winning the 2020 race to the White House. We are thrilled that Tom Rogers, founder of CNBC and MSNBC, former President of NBC Cable and TCG Honorary Advisory Board member joined us to moderate the conversations.
Republican Strategist Rick Tyler and Democratic Political Analyst Douglas Schoen joined The Common Good for an elaborate conversation on how the Democrats and the Republicans are working towards their goal of winning the 2020 race to the White House. We are thrilled that Tom Rogers, founder of CNBC and MSNBC, former President of NBC Cable and TCG Honorary Advisory Board member joined us to moderate the conversations.
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Douglas E. Schoen has been one of the most influential Democratic campaign consultants for over thirty years. A founding partner and principal strategist for Penn, Schoen & Berland, he is widely recognized as one of the co-inventors of overnight polling.
His political clients include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, and his corporate clients include AOL Time Warner, Procter & Gamble and AT&T. Internationally, he has worked for the heads of states of over 15 countries, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and three Israeli Prime Ministers.
Schoen was named Pollster of the Year in 1996 by the American Association of Political Consultants for his contributions to the President Bill Clinton reelection campaign.
Rick Tyler is Co-Founder of Foundry Strategies, a political, strategic, and communications consulting firm specializing in helping their political and corporate clients reach their leadership potential by honing their communications skills. He is currently a Political Analyst for the MSNBC Cable News Network.
As the National Spokesman and Communications Director for Cruz for President, Rick was a senior member of Senator Ted Cruz’s 2016 campaign team. Before joining the Cruz for President campaign, Rick was an executive with The Strategy Group Company, an award winning nationally recognized political advertising and media placement firm.
For decades Tom Rogers has been a leader in media and technology. Rogers was the first president of NBC Cable (now NBCUniversal Cable) and executive vice president of NBC, as well as NBC's chief strategist. Among his many accomplishments, Rogers founded CNBC, the nation's leading business news channel and established the NBC/Microsoft cable channel and internet joint venture, MSNBC. He has also helped to change TV consumption through TiVo and had been a driving force in bringing Netflix and Amazon to the TV screen.
He has been inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame and has won an Emmy Award for contributions to the development of advanced television and advanced advertising
2020 Presidential Candidates Series: Governor Jay Inslee
The Common Good was proud to present a special event with Presidential Candidate Gov. Jay Inslee [D-WA], the first of our Presidential Candidates Series. Governor Inslee has made climate change a key issue of his campaign and shared invaluable insights on the 2020 race and what lies ahead for his campaign…
The Common Good was proud to present a special event with Presidential Candidate Gov. Jay Inslee [D-WA], the first of our Presidential Candidate series. Governor Inslee has made climate change a key issue of his campaign and shared invaluable insights on the 2020 race and what lies ahead for his campaign.
Governor Jay Inslee has led Washington State since 2013 and has made fighting climate change his number one priority in his presidential campaign. As governor, he has enacted policies that make Washington state a national leader in clean energy, clean air and clean water. He created a new Clean Energy Fund that has invested over $100 million in developing innovative energy techniques and growing clean energy jobs, as well as the Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington, which is pioneering research into next-generation renewable energy technologies like solar and battery storage. Prior to his governorship, Inslee represented Washington’s 1st and 4th Districts in the House, where he voted against the Iraq War and championed investments to grow America’s clean energy industries.
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Discussion with Ambassador Martin Indyk
The Common Good presented a timely discussion with Ambassador Martin Indyk, US ambassador to Israel 1995-1997 & 2000-2001, regarding the Israeli election on April 9th and the resulting impact on the region…
The Common Good presented a timely discussion with Ambassador Martin Indyk, US ambassador to Israel 1995-1997 & 2000-2001, regarding the Israeli election on April 9th and the resulting impact on the region.
“Change may be afoot in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a 10th term but faces strong competition from General Benny Gantz and his recently formed Israel Resilience Party (Hosen LeYisrael). If Netanyahu is ousted, this could reverberate across the region and the world – peace, war, it all hangs in the balance. How will this election and its potentially surprising results pan out? Ambassador Indyk will provide us with necessary insight into how the election unfolded, the results, and what it means for Israel and the world”
Ambassador Martin Indyk was US ambassador to Israel from 1995-1997 and 2000-2001, and long has been a diplomat and foreign relations analyst with expertise in the Middle East. Indyk served as ambassador during the Clinton administration, and also took on the role of Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs. During the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 2013, President Barack Obama appointed Indyk as Washington’s special Middle East envoy. His diplomatic expertise is lauded by politicians in the USA, Israel, and Palestinian alike. Presently, Indyk is the executive vice president of the Brookings Institution, an American research group specializing in social sciences.
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Political Briefing: "Election 2020: Messaging and Strategy"
The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with Guy Cecil. Chairman, Priorities USA, on “Election 2020: Messaging and Strategy”. What are the issues and messages that moved voters in 2018? What are the powerhouse approaches in 2018…
The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with Guy Cecil. Chairman, Priorities USA, on “Election 2020: Messaging and Strategy”. What are the issues and messages that moved voters in 2018? What are the powerhouse approaches in 2018? He has spent years on the forefront of the national and local political arena working with numerous campaigns across the country. This event was hosted by Karen and Dennis Mehiel.
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Guy Cecil is one of America’s leading political strategists. He is currently the Chairman of Priorities USA Action, and independent political action committee, and the Founder of Miles Strategies. Guy has more than 15 years of experience managing high-profile political, non-profit, and corporate issue advocacy campaigns, including having served as Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He is recognized as a leading Democratic strategist with experience in every region of the country, including senate races in 35 states.
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"On the Fault Lines: Decision 2018" Midterm Elections Power Panel
The Common Good was proud to present an electrifying evening of predictions on the black swans and dark horses of this year’s election season - “On the Fault Lines: Decision 2018” Midterm Elections Power Panel, co-hosted by Hunter College. America decides ramifications of one of the most consequential elections in a generation.
The Common Good was proud to present an electrifying evening of predictions on the black swans and dark horses of this year’s election season - “On the Fault Lines: Decision 2018” Midterm Elections Power Panel, co-hosted by Hunter College. What are the ramifications of one of the most consequential elections in a generation?
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Haley Barbour, Founding Partner of BGR Group, returned to BGR in January 2012 after serving two consecutive terms as Governor of Mississippi, including two years as the Chairman of the Republican Governors Association. At BGR, he heads advocacy coalitions, lobbies on behalf of his clients and remains a major force in Republican party politics and elections. (1)
David Gergen served as a White House adviser to four U.S. presidents of both parties: Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He wrote about those experiences in his New York Times best-seller, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton. He is currently a professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen has been a regular commentator on public affairs for some 30 years. He is a senior political analyst at CNN and was the former chief editor of the U.S. News & World Report
Ann Lewis is a Democratic political veteran, serving as the White House Director of Communications for President Bill Clinton from 1997-2000 and Senior Advisor to the campaigns of Hilary Rodham Clinton for Senate in 2000 and 2006, and for President in 2008. In 2016, she was Co-Chair of Jewish Women for Hillary. (3)
Gerald Seib is the Washington bureau chief for The Wall Street journal, responsible for the Journal’s news and analysis from the nation’s capitol. he writes a weekly column, “Capital Journal,” which brings an insightful, predictive and original understanding to politics, national affairs and foreign policy. Mr. Seib appears regularly on networks such as CNBC, Fox Business Network, CNN, and the BBC as a commentator on Washington affairs.
Nate Silver is the founder of the award-winning website FiveThirtyEight and a special correspondent for ABC News. Silver has established himself as today’s leading political statistician through his innovative analyses of political polling. He first gained national attention during the 2008 presidential election, when he correctly predicted the results of the presidential election in 49 of 50 states, along with all 35 U.S. Senate races. In 2012, FIveThirtyEight predicted the election outcome in all 50 states. In 2009, he was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people.
Gloria Borger is CNN's chief political analyst, appearing regularly on The Situation Room. Borger plays an instrumental role in the network's daily coverage while reporting on a variety of political and breaking news stories. Before joining CNN in September 2007, Borger was CBS News' national political correspondent and a contributor to CBS's Face the Nation, 60 Minutes II and the network's special events coverage. From 2002 to 2004, she was the co-anchor of CNBC's Capital Report. (6)
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(1) Material from the BGR Group website.
(3) Material from the Democratic Majority for Israel website.
(6) Material from the CNN website.
History in the Making: Post-Election Panel 2016
The Common Good was honored to host panelists Carl Bernstein, Kellyanne Conway, and Governor William Weld and moderator Alan Schwartz in a post-2016-election panel on the new political landscape.
The 2016 election was historic and change-making in many ways. Our panel examined the trends and events that led to the election results and how the new political landscape may shape America’s future.
The Common Good was honored to host panelists Carl Bernstein, Kellyanne Conway, and Governor William Weld and moderator Alan Schwartz in a post-2016-election panel on the new political landscape.
The 2016 election was historic and change-making in many ways. Our panel examined the trends and events that led to the election results and how the new political landscape may shape America’s future.
Carl Bernstein is a legendary journalist renown for his reporting alongside Bob Woodward at the Washington Post on the ‘Watergate’ scandal in 1972 that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. He is also author or co-author of six books, including a major biography of former Secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Kellyanne Conway is the Senior Advisor for President-Elect Donald Trump. As Campaign Manager, Ms. Conway is widely credited with playing a critical role in the Trump victory and is the first woman to lead a successful presidential campaign. Ms. Conway has worked in political strategy and polling for many years. The leaders she has worked for include Jack Kemp, Fred Thompson, Dan Quayle, Newt Gingrich, and Mike Pence.
William Weld served as Governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997, having formerly been the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and head of the US Department of Justice Criminal Division. Governor Weld was the Vice-Presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party during the 2016 election running alongside Gary Johnson
Alan Schwartz is a Managing Partner and current Executive Chairman of Guggenheim Partners, a full service financial institution headquartered in New York and Chicago with more than $250 billion under management. Schwartz served previously as the CEO of Bear Sterns.
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The Common Good has been hosting events since 2006 that cover important issues of today, highlighting speakers who have worked to bolster our democracy and can provide great insight on the issues that matter.