CMD at Netroots Nation, June 16-19, Minneapolis, MN

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Center for Media and Democracy's Executive Director, Lisa Graves, the Director of our Real Economy Project, Mary Bottari, and Senior Fellow on Health Care, Wendell Potter, will be speaking at this year's Netroots Nation convention. The conference will take place from June 16-19 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Further details and the agenda click here. Stop by the CMD table at the Exhibition Hall and sign up for our IPad 2 raffle. For the very lucky, there may even be cheese curds!

Lisa will be co-hosting the session on Undoing Citizens United: A Comprehensive Plan to Prevent Corporations from Buying Elections panel. From the description: If you think corporations have too much influence in politics, just wait. In January, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that giant corporations can pour money directly into elections. They can spend billions on attack ads and robocalls to support or oppose candidates, all the while avoiding disclosure. Progressives cannot let this stand. The panel will present the full spectrum of remedies to Citizens United—including federal, state and local legislation to restrict corporate spending in elections, public financing of campaigns and a constitutional amendment—and a plan for implementing them.

Mary will moderate the panel on The Empire Strikes Back: The Fate of Wall Street Reform panel on behalf of Americans for Financial Reform. From the description: The Big Banks are biting back and trying to undermine the Wall Street Reform bill that President Obama signed it into law in July 2010. An army of Big Bank lobbyists are descending on an alphabet soup of agencies--the CFPB, the CFTC, the SEC and the FDIC--demanding an array of loopholes large and small. In the first quarter of 2010, the top 25 banking firms spent $11 million re-fighting the same issues already won with the passage of financial reform. But Americans for Financial Reform and its allies are fighting back to preserve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other important gains. Leading policymakers, grassroots leaders, and experts will discuss what we are working on and what we are up against, almost one year after the passage of financial reform.

Wendell will be speaking at the Healthcare Reform 2.0: Americans Confront a Brave New World session. From the description: The implementation of the Affordable Care Act is moving forward on many fronts. The states will take the lead in establishing the all-important exchanges, and the federal government will establish oversight of the health insurance corporations; but many questions remain. Will California enact single payer, and how will the insurance industry fight to keep the camel from getting its nose under the tent? What happens to the millions of Americans who will inevitably fall through the cracks? How will insurance corporations try to skirt regulations, and how will the government enforce consumer protections? This panel will address these questions and more.

Thanks for supporting CMD, we hope to see you there!