La Pietra Dialogues´s annual dialogue on U.S. politics this year will focus on the outcome of the recent U.S. midterm elections, what the results mean for the concluding years of the Obama presidency, what we can expect in the upcoming presidential elections and who the likely primary and general election candidates will be. Top U.S. Republican and Democratic political consultants and advisors, like President Obama´s pollster Joel Benenson and 2012 Mitt Romney presidential campaign manager Kevin Madden, will join The New York Times political correspondent Jonathan Martin, CNN contributor Stephanie Cutter, and former ABC News chief capitol hill correspondent Linda Douglass, for a conversation that takes students inside the current political situation.
LPD´s annual politics dialogue has become an important meeting point for an in-depth discussion of high level experts and actors from both sides of the aisle and the Atlantic, who meet at NYU Florence´s La Pietra campus to engage with eachother and NYU Florence students. In the lead up to next week´s conference, this page will feature highlights from past years. We are looking forward to another important conversation at this critical juncture in American politics. The conference will be live streamed here.
Follow NYU Florence students´ series Introducing the Inside American Politics Speakers on the LPD blog.
10.00 Conference Opening Ellyn Toscano, Executive Director, New York University Florence
10:10 The Media’s Role in Voter Decision-Making What role does the media play in driving voter decision-making? The 24-hour news outlets trend more toward entertainment and prognosticating than actual reporting. How does this influence the decision of the voter? Moderator: Linda Douglass, Former ABC News Chief Capitol Hill Correspondent, former Director of Communications for the White House Office of Health Reform in the Obama administration Jonathan Martin, National political correspondent, The New York Times Betsy Fischer Martin, President of Fischer Martin Media and former Senior Executive Producer and Managing Editor of NBC News political programming Stephanie Cutter, Founding partner of Precision Strategies, CNN contributor, and former Deputy Campaign Manager for Obama 2012 Todd Harris, Media and communications strategist for Senator Marco Rubio and other top Republican elected officials David Kochel, Founder of Redwave Communications and Redwave Digital and Senior Advisor to the 2008 and 2012 Romney for President campaigns
11:15 Coffee Break
11:30 The Midterm Results: What Can We Learn? What were the biggest surprises during the 2014 election cycle? As expected, the Republicans gained control of the Senate and picked up seats in the House. However, the media and pollsters misjudged the decisiveness of the Republican victory and completely missed covering some close races altogether. Was this a “wave” election? Was this midterm similar in result to other midterms in a second term presidency? Moderator: Steve McMahon, Co-founder of Purple Strategies, LLC and Democratic strategist and public affairs consultant Maria Cino, Vice President for the Americas, Government Relations, Hewlett-Packard CompanyTodd Harris, Media and communications strategist for Senator Marco Rubio and other top Republican elected officials Kiki McLean, Leading public affairs and political strategist and veteran of six presidential campaigns including the historic 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign Stephanie Cutter, Founding partner of Precision Strategies, CNN contributor, and former Deputy Campaign Manager for Obama 2012
1:00pm Lunch
2:15 Money and Messaging in the Wake of the Supreme Court Campaign Finance Ruling Money in politics is nothing new. In light of the Supreme Court ruling Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, third party groups are having a growing impact on the outcomes of elections. What effect does money have on the coherency of campaign messages? Is this dynamic here to stay? How can candidates overcome this dynamic and advance messages or themes? What are the prospects for campaign reform? Moderator: Dale Hemmerdinger, Chairman of Atco Properties and of The Hemmerdinger Corporation Kevin Madden, Partner at Hamilton Place Strategies in Washington D.C., Senior Advisor to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign Joel Benenson, Founder and CEO of Benenson Strategy Group and Democratic political strategist and pollster serving Presidents Obama and Clinton Stephanie Cutter, Founding Partner of Precision Strategies, CNN contributor, and former Deputy Campaign Manager for Obama 2012 Betsy Fischer Martin, President of Fischer Martin Media and former Senior Executive Producer and Managing Editor of NBC News political programming David Kochel, Founder of Redwave Communications and Redwave Digital and Senior Advisor to the 2008 and2012 Romney for President campaigns
3:45 Legislating: Is There Hope for Bi-Partisan Compromise in a Republican Controlled Congress? Will the Republican and Democratic parties be able to work together to legislate? President Obama has already signaled a willingness to use executive orders to advance his agenda. How will Congress react? What is the legislative outlook for the next two years? Moderator: Lynne Brown, Senior Vice President for University Relations and Public Affairs, New York University Maria Cino, Vice President for the Americas, Government Relations, Hewlett-Packard Company David Kochel, Founder of Redwave Communications and Redwave Digital and Senior Advisor to the 2008 and 2012 Romney for President campaigns Kiki McLean, Leading public affairs and political strategist and veteran of six presidential campaigns including the historic 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign Steve McMahon, Co-founder of Purple Strategies, LLC and Democratic strategist and public affairs consultant Betsy Fischer Martin, President of Fischer Martin Media and former Senior Executive Producer and Managing Editor of NBC News political programming
NOVEMBER 14
10:00am Issues and Polling: What Will Matter to Voters Between Now and 2016? With a divided government and a presidential election cycle beginning what issues are likely to be addressed? The midterms were dominated with talk of ISIS and Ebola, changing the conversation from issues like the economy, healthcare and immigration. How did this effect the outcome of the 2014 midterms and what can we expect in 2016? Was the polling data reliable? Were there indicators that may lead to changes in how campaigns organize for 2016? Moderator: Joshua Tucker, Professor of Politics, New York University, co-Director of NYU Social Media and Political Participation (SMaPP) lab, and co-author of The Monkey Cage blog at The Washington Post Kevin Madden, Partner at Hamilton Place Strategies in Washington D.C., Senior Advisor to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign Maria Cino, Vice President for the Americas, Government Relations, Hewlett-Packard Company Steve McMahon, Co-founder of Purple Strategies, LLC and Democratic strategist and public affairs consultantJonathan Martin, National political correspondent, The New York Times Joel Benenson, Founder and CEO of Benenson Strategy Group and Democratic political strategist and pollster serving Presidents Obama and Clinton
11:15 Coffee Break
11:30 The 2016 Presidential Election: Who Will the Likely Candidates Be? What does the field look like for 2016 and what will be some factors that determine who runs and who doesn’t? Who are the likely Republican candidates and are there Democrats who will challenge Hillary for the nomination? What happens if Hillary doesn’t run? Will the tea party play a prominent role in picking the Republican candidate? Moderator: Joe Pichirallo, Chair of Undergraduate Film and Television at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, former reporter for The Washington Post Todd Harris, Media and communications strategist for Senator Marco Rubio and other top Republican elected officials Kevin Madden, Partner at Hamilton Place Strategies in Washington D.C, Senior Advisor to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign Jonathan Martin, National political correspondent, The New York Times Kiki McLean, Leading public affairs and political strategist and veteran of six presidential campaigns including the historic 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign Joel Benenson, Founder and CEO of Benenson Strategy Group and Democratic political strategist and pollster serving Presidents Obama and Clinton
