Bringing together top Republicans and Democrats to transcend partisan divisions and explore solutions to our most pressing national and global challenges
The Bully Pulpit has merged with the Let’s Find Common Ground podcast. As the tone of public discourse becomes increasingly angry and divisive, Let’s Find Common Ground offers a healing path to reaching agreement and moving forward. At the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, we bring together top Republicans and Democrats to transcend partisan divisions and explore solutions to our most pressing national and global challenges. Join veteran strategists Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy along with other Center staff and major voices for fun conversations that advance civil dialogue and practical politics. The conversations go behind the curtain with elected officials, campaign staff, journalists, academics, pundits, and political operatives. Every exchange is guided by standards central to the Center’s mission: Respect each other and respect the truth. Opponents are adversaries, not enemies. And if you lose, don’t burn down the stadium.
Author Sasha Issenberg joins political and media experts, Jane Coaston, Reince Priebus, Simon Rosenberg, and Chuck Todd, for a conversation on what to expect during Donald Trump's second term as president. They discuss Trump's first actions as president, his influence on politics, how the Democratic Party has changed over time, and how politics is always shifting. This discussion is part of the Warschaw Conference on Practical Politics “The Trumping of America: Why and What's Next?” in partnership with POLITICO, PBS’ "Firing Line with Margaret Hoover," and C-SPAN.
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Democratic Strategist Tad Devine joins political and polling experts, Dale Butland, John Della Volpe, Mike Madrid, Carissa Smith, and Stephanie Young, for a conversation exploring how Kamala Harris and Democrats performed during the 2024 general election. They discuss the Democratic Party's messaging, how candidates connected—or didn't—with key voting demographics, and what polling revealed about voters. This discussion is part of the Warschaw Conference on Practical Politics “The Trumping of America: Why and What's Next?” in partnership with POLITICO, PBS’ "Firing Line with Margaret Hoover," and C-SPAN.
Featuring: Tad Devine (Moderator): Chief Strategist, Bernie Sanders' 2016 Presidential Campaign Dale Butland: Democratic Strategist; Former Press Secretary and Ohio Chief of Staff for US Senator John Glenn John Della Volpe: Author; Director of Polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics Mike Madrid: Latino Pollster and Voting Expert; Author of “The Latino Century” Carissa Smith: Former Senior Public Engagement Advisor in the White House Office of Public Engagement Stephanie Young: Former Deputy Assistant to President Biden; Senior Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris
CPF Director Bob Shrum joins immigration experts, Andrew Arthur, Steven Davis, Deisy del Real, Ed Goeas, and Ehsan Zaffar, for a discussion on the future of immigration policy. They discuss the current immigration system and policies, amnesty, immigrant's contribution to the U.S. economy, and immigration reforms possible in today’s political climate. We are immensely grateful to Sue and Jeff White for launching this nonpartisan dialogue series at USC.
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Robert Shrum is the Director of the Center for the Political Future and the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics at USC Dornsife. A legendary political strategist, he was once described as "the most sought-after consultant in the Democratic Party," by The Atlantic Monthly. He was a speechwriter for Senator George McGovern in the 1972 presidential campaign and for Senator Edward Kennedy in the 1980 presidential campaign. He served as the Senator’s Press Secretary in the early 1980s and as a political consultant and strategist in his subsequent Senate campaigns. He was also the strategist in over 25 other winning U.S. Senate campaigns, eight successful campaigns for governor, successful campaigns for mayors in major American cities, and numerous campaigns for Congress and other statewide offices. His clients included Joe Biden, John Glenn, Barbara Mikulski, David Dinkins, and Tom Bradley - and John Kerry and Al Gore in their presidential races. Overseas his clients included Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, the British Labour Party, the Prime Minister of Ireland, and the Presidents of Colombia and Bolivia. In 2005 he shifted his attention to the academic world. Professor Shrum teaches several classes at USC on domestic policy, applied politics, and elections. He had previously taught at New York University, was a Silliman Fellow at Yale, and Kennedy Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Edward M Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
Mike Murphy is the Co-Director of the Center for the Political Future at USC. Murphy is one of the Republican Party’s most successful political media consultants, having handled strategy and advertising for more than 26 successful gubernatorial and senatorial campaigns. His record in helping Republicans win Democratic states is unmatched by any other GOP consultant. Murphy has been called a “media master” by Fortune magazine, the GOP’s “hottest media consultant” by Newsweek, and the leader of a “new breed” of campaign consultants by Congressional Quarterly. He is a widely known political pundit, appearing frequently on NBC, CNN, and NPR. Previously, he served as a regular on the Meet the Press political roundtable and wrote the “Murphy’s Law” column for TIME Magazine. Murphy served as senior strategist for both John McCain’s first campaign for President in 2000 and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s historic election as Governor of California. Murphy has worked on successful campaigns for many GOP Governors and Senators including Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, Terry Branstad, Lamar Alexander, Jeff Sessions, Slade Gorton, Dirk Kempthorne, Tommy Thompson and John Engler. In the 2016 primary season, Murphy served as the chief strategist to the Right to Rise PAC, which supported Jeb Bush’s candidacy. In 2020 Murphy joined former aides to George W. Bush and John McCain to endorse Joe Biden for president. He has advised political leaders in six foreign countries, too. A partner in the Washington, DC based Revolution Agency, Murphy also advises several Fortune 500 corporations and several of America’s largest trade associations.
Is democracy truly in danger? Explore expert insights on the four pillars of democratic systems, historical patterns of decline, and five warning signs threatening democracies today. Learn how polarization, inequality, and executive overreach impact democratic institutions and discover practical actions citizens can take to strengthen democracy before it's too late. An essential guide for understanding global democratic backsliding and the path forward.
Freedom Over Fascism joins The Democracy Group!
We're excited to welcome the newest addition to The Democracy Group: New Faces of Democracy — a series of conversations with modern-day heroes and regular citizens from all walks of life who are using their talents and skills to transform the political landscape.
The States United Democracy Center, recipients of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy's Brown Democracy Medal, recently surveyed nearly 8,000 Americans to gauge their attitudes about elections, voting and political violence.
We're excited to welcome the newest addition to The Democracy Group: Democracy Fix — a new podcast by Issue One that highlights how organizations and individuals across the country are working to fix our political system.
Grab a drink and find a cozy spot because we’re bringing you a list of books you should read this summer!
Student affairs staff and campus administrators were unprepared when election polarization and toxicity took campuses by surprise in 2016.
Waves of student protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza swept American campuses last week and along with them the debate of free speech and the freedom to peaceably assemble on campus grounds.
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Join us in extending the warmest welcome to the newest cohort of fellows from The Democracy Group Podcast Fellowship!
A common narrative about the 2024 election is that “democracy is on the ballot” and that American democracy could be in very dire shape if the election doesn’t go a particular way. At The Democracy Group, we understand those risks and take them seriously. But we also know that many other media outlets will be covering the election through this lens.
Teen podcast builds empathy, bridges generational divides
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Welcome to the Best of 2023!
"College classes are a place for students to feel uncomfortable and grapple with difficult concepts in the world. Students need the opportunity to correct one another and have hard and sometimes offensive conversations with one another."
States and counties across the nation held key elections in early November 2023 where abortion access took center stage.
The Democracy Group's podcast fellowship program is in full swing! Here’s a glimpse at what our 2023 fellows were working on during their fellowship.
We're excited to share a new podcast in the democracy space — Vital Signs of Democracy. Community Manager Megan Goldstein talked with hosts Debilyn Molineaux and David Riordan to learn more
Community manager Megan Goldstein caught up with Bruce Bond and Erik Olsen, co-founders of the Common Ground Committee
On June 29th, the supreme court ruled to make affirmative action unlawful in The Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.
Looking for a new book to read this summer? Here are 10 recommendations from our network's hosts and producers.
News, news, news. Right news, left news, fake news, and more. America's news landscape is a hot topic of conversation.
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Civic education is critical to a healthy democracy, which is why we're excited to be part of national Civic Learning Week!
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"Love thy Neighbor" until they think differently from you, vote differently than you, and have different beliefs than you. Is this what the United States has come to?
Engaging in civil discourse. Inspiring civic engagement. Exploring the future of our democracy.
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