Grassroots activists worked to elect Democratic majorities in 2006 and 2008 by supporting Democrats across the political spectrum—from conservatives to progressive and everything in between. Now that Democrats have majorities in both Houses of Congress and the White House, the grassroots that brought the Democratic Party back to power are working to elect not just more Democrats, but better Democrats. This is a panel discussion from the progressive leaders supporting better Democrats across the country and in Congress.

The rising tide of populist anger in the face of Wall Street bailouts and continued high unemployment threatens to take an ugly reactionary turn unless it is channeled to more progressive policies of job growth. This panel will address current public attitudes and ideas for steering opinion and action more progressively.

Citizen Radio Live! hosted by comedian Jamie Kilstein and political writer Allison Kilkenny. Featuring special guests. It's like CNN, but with way more swearing. "Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny have created an important political radio show that balances humor and unreported news. At a time when media conglomerates dominate the airwaves, independent media like Citizen Radio is vital to national discourse." -Noam Chomsky

Guests will include Markos Moulitsas and others TBA.

Panelists will discuss how meaningful immigration reform will be beneficial to our economy and society, due to overwhelming evidence that the current policy of enforcement-only action does not work and costs our country billions of dollars. This cycle creates a system of virtual slavery for many undocumented workers in the U.S. and drives down wages and benefits for all workers, immigrant and native-born, in many industries. Panelists will discuss various aspects of reform and how enforcement-only tactics are ineffective and hurt our economy, as well as ways in which the netroots can build coalitions around the issue.

Few would argue with the fact that the migrant youth movement in the U.S. is a case study in organizing against the odds. With a mainstream media hostile to its very existence, very little money and an online space that is more nativist than pro-migrant, migrant youth have been forced to think outside the box when it comes to using social media to make change. From stopping friends' deportations through Facebook to walking over 1,500 miles to Washington D.C. to demand federal reform (and putting it on YouTube), migrant youth have successfully created a growing online and offline movement—one story at a time. As the stories of most of panelists will illustrate, the U.S. immigration system is broken, decisions made in the name of "the law" are arbitrary and every day people and their families are suffering because of it. This interactive session will investigate both the challenges and opportunities of organizing against the odds. It will introduce attendees to some of the most inspiring young activists of our time and include plenty of time for questions and contributions from the audience.

Sometimes we progressives need to laugh to keep from crying. Sometimes we get the last laugh, and thus laugh loudest. And sometimes, we just want to celebrate the fact that we're funnier than conservatives.

Whatever your motivation, come out and laugh...liberally. Our all-star line-up has been seen on Comedy Central, contributed to the Onion and been kicked off Fox News. Check them out live.

Featuring comedy and video from Netroots Nation veterans Baratunde Thurston (The Onion), Lee Camp (Comedy Central), Katie Halper (Huffington Post), Matt Filipowicz (Headzup) and newcomers Elon James White (This Week in Blackness) and Jamie Kilstein (Citizen Radio).

This show is brought to you by Laughing Liberally, saving democracy one laugh at a time. Laughing Liberally tour nationally and sets up Laughing Liberally Locals around the country to give comedians a chance to work political material and build progressive audiences. It is part of the national Living Liberally network.

Join us for a discussion between the Executive Directors of the of the organizations that will shape the election outcomes this fall, moderated by Sam Stein of the Huffington Post.

The catastrophic explosion that caused an oil spill from a BP offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico is now the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Even as representatives from the oil industry and the government work to manage the crisis, we still don't know what the full long-term impact will be to the fragile Gulf Coast. We'll discuss what the current situation looks like, what environmental groups and activists are doing to help with the cleanup and, more importantly, how to break our country's addiction to oil and move toward developing alternative energy sources.

The editors of Daily Kos and the Swing State Project invite you to join them for an in-depth Q&A about the 2010 elections. We’ll take questions on all subjects, from the nitty-gritty—polling, fundraising and redistricting—to the big picture—marquee races, key themes and the impact on progressive goals. If you want to know more about what’s going to happen in November and what it will mean for Democrats, Republicans and the entire country, stop in!

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.

In 2008 and 2009, nearly two million American families lost their homes and Americans are currently entering the foreclosure process at a rate of almost 50,000 per week. Even as the crisis continues to wreak havoc in communities across the country, there has yet to be any effective action underway to slow the rate of foreclosures. The panelists will discuss what went wrong in the fight for bankruptcy modification in 2008 and what steps must be taken to prevent a future housing crisis. They’ll also discuss the role of the netroots in the upcoming congressional battle to enact housing reform and how they can effectively pressure members to take action.

Democrats have seen one bill after another watered down in pursuit of 60 votes in the Senate, where a lock-step Republican opposition has mounted more filibusters and filibuster threats this session than in all of post-war history combined. Quite simply, the Senate is broken. We will examine the options and prospects for reform of Senate rules.