News Release
For Immediate Release: Monday, May 19, 2014
In his new book Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State Ralph Nader explores the emerging political alignment of the Left and the Right against converging corporate-government autocracy and crony capitalism. The next critical step in launching coalitions of change is to bring together these unlikely political allies. On May 27, 2014, the Center for Study of Responsive Law will sponsor an unprecedented one day gathering that will convene leading experts from the left and right of the political spectrum to find common ground on some of the key issues of our time.
Large segments from the progressive, liberal, conservative, and libertarian political camps already find themselves aligned against issues such as the destruction of civil liberties, the bloated and economically draining corporate welfare state, the imperial perpetuation of America’s wars, sovereignty-shredding free trade agreements, and the unpunished crimes of Wall Street against Main Street.
The aim of the gathering is to take the bold ideas of convergence around these issues presented in Unstoppable and turn them operational.
The day’s agenda is as follows:
Unstoppable Right/Left Convergence Event Agenda
May 27, 2014
Carnegie Institute of Washington
1530 P Street NW
Washington, D.C
9:00 AM Opening Remarks by Ralph Nader
9:10 AM Jim Hightower Remarks
9:20 AM Commercialization of Childhood 30 min.
Moderator: Ralph Nader
Jim Metrock, Obligation, Inc.
Josh Golin, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
10:00 AM Minimum Wage 30 min.
Moderator: James Glassman
Ron Unz via Skype
Jim Hightower
BREAK
11:00 AM Civil Liberties 30 min.
Moderator: Marc Rotenberg, EPIC
Fred Smith, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Heidi Bogoshian, National Lawyers Guild
11:40 AM Corporate Welfare 50 min.
Moderator: Ryan Alexander, Taxpayers for Common Sense)
Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen
Greg LeRoy , Good Jobs First
Pete Sepp, National Taxpayers Union
James T. Bennett , George Mason University
12:30 PM
LUNCH
1:30 PM Defense Budget 50 min.
Moderator: Angela Canterbury, POGO
Daniel McCarthy, American Conservative
Chris Preble, Cato
Miriam Pemberton, Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)
Dan Smith, US PIRG.
2:30 PM Trade 30 min
Moderator: Ralph Nader
Lori Wallach, Global Trade Watch
Judson Phillips, Tea Party Nation
3:10 PM Empire 50 min.
Moderator: Ralph Nader
Medea Benjamin, CODE PINK
Bruce Fein
4:10 PM Wall Street Crime and Misdeeds 30 min.
Moderator: Russell Mokhiber
Bill Black, UMKC School of Law
TBD