Despite her absence, Clinton’s ghost defined much of the proceedings here. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts progressive who is beloved among the Netroots crowd, said in a speech on Friday that all the presidential candidates should move to stop the revolving door between Wall Street and the Cabinet, an applause line that was largely seen as aimed at Clinton. Many of the activists spoke about “moving Hillary to the left,” a common refrain among Democrats.

For Clinton, who is establishing her progressive credentials but has not yet managed to capture the imagination of the Netroots demographic, the key will be driving them out in heavy numbers to vote for in a general election. Sanders may know how to rile up the base. But if Netroots is a barometric reading of devotion, then Clinton may have some work to do.

“It’s a degree-of-enthusiasm question,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Democratic activists here will probably go out and vote for her. But will they go out to canvass for her, mobilize for her and make calls for her? It really depends on her.”

In a fiery speech at Netroots Nation, the country’s largest gathering of progressive activists, the senator from Massachusetts railed against Wall Street “banksters” who deserve to be in jail. She decried an economic system “rigged for the rich and powerful.” And she vowed to fight an “insider Washington” that doesn’t realize how progressive the country really is. …

“Progressives are looking for a candidate speaking Elizabeth Warren’s rhetoric and embracing her policies,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a Washington-based group whose agenda overlaps with Warren’s on issues such as debt-free college, expansion of Social Security benefits and Wall Street reform.

Taylor said that Warren’s “role right now is agenda-setting, policy-setting. When she picks a fight, it’s a signal it will be a major one, not only for her but for the party.”

In recent months, Clinton — the Democratic front-runner — has borrowed some Warren catchphrases, including her declaration that the economic system is “rigged” against working families.

But Adam Green, the other co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said it remains to be seen whether Clinton will move beyond slogans to champion bold policies.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren drew a red line on Friday for 2016 presidential candidates, calling for them to commit to end the so-called “revolving door” between Wall Street and the Cabinet. …

“Elizabeth Warren offered a framework for how Democratic presidential candidates can reduce Wall Street influence in key appointments,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee after Warren’s speech.

Unhappy with President Obama’s less aggressive approach to Wall Street, the Democratic left has searched for a liberal champion who can address issues like income inequality and campaign finance reforms and found some of its voice in Warren, a former Harvard law professor and consumer protection advocate.

This is the first time Warren has decided to engage in the presidential election, which activists tried for months to get her to enter. Instead of asking candidates to endorse one of her particular policies on bank reform or student loans, Warren is focusing on the personnel who will implement those policies. It’s a notable choice that dovetails with Warren’s interest in ensuring that executive branch appointments will not tip the scales in favor of Wall Street or private industry, seen most directly in the fight to block Antonio Weiss from the No. 3 position in the Treasury Department. …

Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee responded to Warren’s remarks by saying they “offered a framework for how Democratic presidential candidates can promise to reduce Wall Street influence in key appointments.” The PCCC added that they would “ask all Democratic presidential candidates to make specific commitments—and to make down payments on that promise by ensuring progressive economic thinkers are on their campaign policy teams.”

With Bernie Sanders drawing huge crowds with his fiery socialist-y speeches, Hillary Clinton leaning further left than any Democratic frontrunner in decades, and Martin O’Malley pitching himself as the wonk of the people, it’s been an all-out contest in the Democratic Party to claim the mantle of progressive hero.

But on Friday, Elizabeth Warren wanted to make one thing clear: I was the original. …

Even if many other Democrats here are not yet sold on Clinton, it’s clear the former secretary of state’s recent leftward lurch has been appreciated. …

“I think we’ve seen progress,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “I do think that she’s made some stabs toward economic populism.”

The various Draft Warren campaigns, in concert with the Massachusetts senator’s rapid rise in the party, leave her in a unique position to influence the direction of the presidential primary debate. Warren cashed in some of those chips during her speech Friday, issuing a direct challenge to presidential candidates (read: Hillary Clinton) to support specific legislation that would curb some of the financial sector’s influence at federal regulatory agencies. …

Activists are ready to take up Warren’s charge, however—the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy for America, and Americans for Financial Reform began circulating a petition demanding that a specific list of financial regulatory positions, along with presidential campaign staffing, be staffed by people “a strong commitment toward holding Wall Street accountable.”

Demos, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and the American Federation of Teachers will announce today a six-point “Debt-Free College Checklist” designed “to assess any debt-free college proposal” put forth by 2016 presidential candidates and members of Congress. Strictly speaking, “Debt-free college means all students in America should be able to graduate without debt.” Such a policy plan, the groups say, should: apply to all undergraduate students at public colleges and account for all college costs, ensure that aid is directed toward the least privileged students, and avoid economic hardship for families and academic hardship for students.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Demos, and the American Federation of Teachers is releasing a new “checklist for debt-free college,” listing a series of policies that the groups will use to judge the Dem presidential candidates’ commitments to expanding the availability of higher education, a key progressive cause that’s gaining momentum.

Debt-free college means all students in America should be able graduate without debt. This big idea would expand economic opportunity, expand America’s economy, and improve quality of life for millions of people. Debt-free college is a result that can be achieved through multiple means.

Below is a checklist that Demos and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee will use to judge any plan by presidential candidates or Congress.

A true debt-free college plan should affirmatively check all of these boxes:

DoAi??allAi??undergraduate students have access to debt-free college?
Does debt-free college apply toAi??allAi??undergraduate public institutions?
Does debt-free college apply toAi??allAi??college costs, not just tuition?
Does the ai???debt-free collegeai??? plan facilitate all students having equal access to high-quality public education — i.e. incentivizing investment in instruction and student support services.
Does the formula used to calculate “debt-free” avoid academic hardship for students and economic hardship for everyday families? (i.e. Low-income students are not forced to hurt their academic performance by working excessive hours while wealthier students study. Middle-class families are not assumed to have savings and disposable cash they do not truly have.)
Is aid distributed progressively — investing most in those who may not attend or complete college, or not maximize their participation in the economy after college, due to student debt?

The G.I. Bill resulted in a 7-to-1 return on investment for our economy. By unshackling students from crushing debt — freeing them to start the next Google, start a small business, or buy a first home — we will see similar economic expansion. Quality of life will also be improved for millions of Americans who will be more able to get married, enter the career they are passionate about, or even do something as simple as moving out of their parents’ home.

That’s why a national poll by the Progressive Change Institute in January 2015Ai??showedAi??this issue is popular …

Progressive groups such as Democracy For America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee are ramping up the pressure on Hillary Clinton to support reinstating Glass-Steagall, another sign the left is remaining vigilant for any signs of a weak commitment to Wall Street reform.

The Democratic front-runner lambasted a marketplace she said is too obsessed with second-to-second stock trading and quarterly earnings reports, at the expense of long-term growth and stability in a speech that was heavy on politics and light on policy specifics.

Clinton even took a veiled shot at President Barack Obama’s administration for failing to prosecute individuals for banking crimes in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn.

She accused hedge funds and high-frequency traders of “criminal behavior,” and promised to “prosecute individuals as well as firms” when they break the law — which liberals have long clamored for, but the Obama administration largely didn’t do. She also said she’d seek to expand on the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory law designed to prevent future economic crises.

“‘Too big to fail’ is still too big a problem,” Clinton said.

The assault on Wall Street pleased liberal groups that have often criticized Clinton. “There were notable overtures to the Elizabeth Warren wing of American politics, and nothing major for the dwindling DLC corporate crowd — which shows that Clinton sees a rising economic populist tide in our politics and wants to be part of it,” said Adam Green, a co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee who has at times been a thorn in Clinton’s side.

Regarding Wall Street, Clinton said that the financial sector has an important role to play in the economy, but added that she would not tolerate the kind of “criminal behavior” that sometimes occurs and lamented when executives are let off the hook.

“We have to go beyond Dodd-Frank,” she said of Obama’s Wall Street reform law. “Too many of our major financial institutions are still too complex and too risky.” …

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee praised Clinton “for the first time … acknowledging that corporate criminals often escape accountability while pocketing ill-gotten gains,” as the group’s co-founder, Adam Green, said in a statement.

“Martin O’Malley’s belief that debt-free college must be accessible to all students, and must apply to all public colleges and universities, is spot on and we look forward to seeing the plans of others,” Adam Green, co-founder of PCCC — which is expected to announce its own debt-free college plan at the annual Netroots Nation progressive confab next week — told BuzzFeed News in an email.

Green said he hoped O’Malley’s rivals will unveil plans that rival the former Maryland governor’s. For now, the debt-free plan puts O’Malley in the progressive spotlight, even against Sanders.

“To her credit, Hillary Clinton has mentioned debt-free college multiple times on the campaign trail, and Americans await a bold policy speech on debt-free college in the near future,” Green said. “We hope Bernie Sanders and others endorse this game changing goal of debt-free college as well.”

Mr. O’Malley’s plan — to make college free of debt for all, as well as enhancing public education systems — won praise from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which is closely aligned with Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat and a champion of the left. The committee had stirred up interest in the issue of debt-free college over many months …

“Martin O’Malley’s belief that debt-free college must be accessible to all students, and must apply to all public colleges and universities, is spot on — and we look forward to seeing the plans of others,” said Adam Green, who co-founded the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and described debt-free college as crucial to “what our economy needs to grow.”

While Mr. Green noted that Mrs. Clinton had also discussed the issue on the campaign trail, she had said she would lay out her policy proposals in the coming weeks.

O’Malley’s plan sets a goal “that all students have access to a high-quality, debt-free college education within five years, attainable at any in-state college or university,” according to a white paper on the candidate’s website.

Liberal groups such as the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) have spent months calling on Democratic candidates to work on reducing student debt. The group, in a Wednesday statement, hailed O’Malley’s proposal as “the most progressive plan to tackle crippling student debt offered so far on the presidential campaign trail.”

“To her credit, Hillary Clinton has mentioned debt-free college multiple times on the campaign trail, and Americans await a bold policy speech on debt-free college in the near future,” said PCCC co-founder Adam Green. “We hope Bernie Sanders and others endorse this game changing goal of debt-free college as well.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has thrust anti-big bank policy into the 2016 presidential Democratic primary, presenting a new political challenge for front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Warren’s re-introduction on Tuesday of Glass-Steagall, which would require big banks to split up commercial and investment banking, is popular among the liberal base. …

Adam Green, co-founder of the liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said that the bill’s re-introduction “is great news and a reminder the Wall Street’s irresponsible actions deprived millions of people of their homes and life savings.”

“Wall Street reform should be among the economic populist issues at the center of the 2016 debate, we hope to see bold proposals from presidential, Senate and House candidates,” said Green, who is pushing for Democratic candidates to adopt a more progressive agenda, similar to Warren’s.

Sanders is not just persuading progressives to open their wallets: he has a rabid fan base showing up to campaign events as well, drawing larger-than-expected crowds across the country. At a rally on Wednesday night, Sanders sounded almost taken aback by his welcome – nearly 10,000 supporters attended the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin, to hear him speak. …

Adam Green, co-founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a group that has hailed the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren as its “north star”, said that Sanders is hitting the right notes for his left-wing base with ideas on how to unburden college students from massive debt and tackle wage inequality – and that Clinton would be wise to pay attention.

“Bernie Sanders is smartly taking advantage of the rising economic populist tide,” Green said. “And the path to success for Hillary Clinton is to be bold and populist in her campaign platform.”