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Intelligence Squared U.S. Progressive Populism Will Save The Intelligence Squared U.S. 1 10/11/18 October 11, 2018 Ray Padgett | [email protected] Mark Satlof | [email protected] T: 718.522.7171 Intelligence Squared U.S. Progressive Populism Will Save the Democratic Party For the Motion: Karine Jean-Pierre, Jeff Weaver Against the Motion: Jonathan Cowan, Steven Rattner Moderator: John Donvan AUDIENCE RESULTS Before the debate: After the debate: 33% FOR 22% FOR 40% AGAINST 74% AGAINST 27% UNDECIDED 4% UNDECIDED 00:00:00 What is going to work for the Democratic party? "Work" in the sense of getting more voters to choose the color blue and then stay there, beyond the 2018 midterms, all the way into 2020. Well, some say that the Democrats need to swing more to the left, to the kinds of ideas and promises that under the rubric of progressive populism set the party up as standing for game-changing policies like Medicare for all, or tuition-free public education, or a guaranteed federal jobs program. But hold on, others say, including a lot of Democrats. Those are promises that cannot possibly or reasonably be kept. And they may sound So, radical to So, many that they will push more voters away than they will pull in. Better, they say, to let the Dems stay close to the center and let the Republicans look like the outliers. Who is right? Well, let's find out because we think this has the makings of a debate. Yes or no to this statement: Progressive Populism will Save the Democratic Party. 00:01:03 Prepared by National Capitol Contracting 8255 Greensboro Drive, Suite C100 (703) 243-9696 McLean, VA 22102 Intelligence Squared U.S. 2 10/11/18 I'm John Donvan, and I stand between two teams of two, thinkers on this topic who will argue for and against that resolution. As always, our debate will go in three rounds, and then our live audience here at the Kaye Play House at Hunter College in New York City will vote to choose the winner. And if all goes well, civil discourse will also win. Our resolution is Progressive Populism will Save the Democratic Party. We have one team arguing for that resolution. Let's meet them, starting with, first, ladies and gentlemen, welcome again, Karine Jean-Pierre. [applause] Karine, welcome to Intelligence Squared U.S. You are, right now, senior adviser and national spokesperson for Moveon.org. You are also a lecturer at Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. Before that, you were in the White House under President Obama. You worked on both of his presidential campaigns. You are a campaign manager for the ACLU's initiative on reproductive freedom and most recently the deputy campaign manager for Martin O'Malley for president. That is a lot of political experience. You have credited your career and your success to your parents. 00:02:11 Karine Jean-Pierre: Absolutely. John Donvan: Why? Why is that? Karine Jean-Pierre: Absolutely. First of all, thank you all for coming in this weather. Really good to see everybody. And thank you, Hunter College, for having us. Yeah, I accredit everything to my parents. My parents are from Haiti. They are immigrants. They came here decades ago. At the time, Haiti was a dictatorship. And they -- they wanted the American dream. They had heard about the American dream. And So, through that -- through their travel, they ended up here in New York City. Grew up in New York. And they've worked So, hard, and their heart and determination, their love for this country and the country where they were born really gave me kind of the fuel to do everything that I've done as John was listing in my career. And without them, I don't think I would have ever ended up in the White House. And because of them, I still continue the work that I do through Moveon. 00:03:06 Prepared by National Capitol Contracting 8255 Greensboro Drive, Suite C100 (703) 243-9696 McLean, VA 22102 Intelligence Squared U.S. 3 10/11/18 And So, it's my parents and my daughter that really fuels me today. And my hope is that not only will she go for the American dream, but that she will realize the American dream because So, many people in this country are trying to realize the American Dream themselves. John Donvan: Thank you, Karine Jean-Pierre. Karine Jean-Pierre: Thanks. [applause] John Donvan: And your partner is Jeff Weaver. Jeff, welcome to Intelligence Squared. You are a long-time adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders. When he ran for president in 2016, you were his campaign manager. [applause] You also managed his Senate election campaign in 2006. You are the author of a book, new book, called "How Bernie Won: Inside the Revolution that's Taking Back Our Country and Where We Go from Here." It came out in May. Jeff, Bernie didn't win, So, what do you mean when you say he won? Jeff Weaver: Well, Bernie did win. If you look, Medicare for all is now supported by 80 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans. The minimum wage is being raised to $15 all over this country. 00:04:02 People are talking about free college -- free tuition in public colleges and universities. And we're having a debate like this tonight, and this is a testament to how Bernie won. 00:06:06 John Donvan: Thank you very much, Jeff Weaver. [applause] Again, our resolution is Progressive Populism will Save the Democratic Party. We have two debaters arguing against it. First, please welcome Jonathan Cowan. Prepared by National Capitol Contracting 8255 Greensboro Drive, Suite C100 (703) 243-9696 McLean, VA 22102 Intelligence Squared U.S. 4 10/11/18 [applause] John, welcome to IQ2. You have over 25 years of experience at senior levels of politics and government. You're a Democratic press secretary in Congress. You're a chief of staff at the Department of housing and Urban Development during the Clinton administration. You're here tonight most specifically, though, because you're the cofounder and president of a moderate Democratic think tank called Third Way. Tell the moderator what "moderate" means to you. [laughter] Jonathan Cowan: "Moderate" Democrat to me means a commitment to bold, modern ideas and a willingness and a conviction to think outside the blue bubble. 00:05:04 John Donvan: Thank you, John Cowan, very short and sweet. [applause] And you also have a partner in this debate, Steven Rattner. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Steven Rattner. [applause] Steven, welcome back to Intelligence Squared. You've debated with us before. It's wonderful to have you back. You are chairman and CEO of Willett Advisors and an economic analyst for MSNBC. You also have a lot of experience in politics. You were counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury. You were most notably President Obama's car czar. You've defended the motion last time you were with us, "Obama's economic policies are working effectively." That was back in 2009, nine years. So, curious, under President Trump, are we still feeling the effects of Obama's policies? Steven Rattner: You know, it's So, interesting to think back to 2009 and the idea that that was actually a debatable subject because I think the last nine years would eliminate any debate as to whether his policies were effective. And if you need any proof of that, Donald Trump is trying to take credit for it pretty much every day. 00:06:10 John Donvan: Prepared by National Capitol Contracting 8255 Greensboro Drive, Suite C100 (703) 243-9696 McLean, VA 22102 Intelligence Squared U.S. 5 10/11/18 All right. Again, short and sweet and to the point. Ladies and gentlemen, Steven Rattner and the team arguing against the motion. [applause] So, let's move on to debate. Debate begins with round one. Those are opening statements by each debater in turn. Speaking first for the motion, Progressive Populism will Save the Democratic Party, here is Jeff Weaver, senior political adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders. Ladies and gentlemen, Jeff Weaver. [applause] Jeff Weaver: I want thank you all for coming out. This is a very important question at this very difficult time in our nation's political history. Every day we are reminded that in many ways our country is on the edge of a knife. And we can slide either way. I think all of us recognize the great harm that Trump is doing in this country, the type of hateful rhetoric he's injecting into our country and the way he is changing the mindset of So, many people in this country toward a more divisive and destructive mentality. 00:07:07 And it is our job -- but I -- you'll hear some allusions from me later, like comments about the 1930s in America. But in many ways, we are confronting something that our allies confronted in western Europe in 1930s in Europe. And they failed in their attempts to strike down sort of ultra-nationalism and xenophobia and racism, and we cannot afford to fail. There's no one to come. There's no greater -- greatest generation somewhere else to come here and protect us. What does that mean? That means we have got to galvanize the American people, the grassroots of the American people. We've got to unify the American people and create a country that, as Bernie says, that in a government and an economy that works for everyone.
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