POLITICS

Speaker: JP

• Know what a conference committee does – constant knowledge of updates

• Expert on domestic politics
• Effective politics debates
o Timely, coherent mechanism
o Applies to virtually every case
o NB to CPs
o Large magnitude – myriad of impacts
o Showcase your knowledge of politics
o Be informed, be an expert, be a junkie = win
• Politics research
o Politico, Mike Allen
 Playbook – 7AM ET everyday (rundown of everything politics)
o Ezra Klein
 Wonkbook – more policy focused politics journal
o Nate Silver – 538.com
 Former debater – statistical analysis of politics
o Politicalwire.com
o The fix – non-partisan/generic
o Partisan blogs
 Moveon.org
o Realclearpolitics.com
 Good links
o Twitter
 A more efficient google reader
o Google news, Lexis, Twitter
o Larry Sabato – Crystal Ball
o Charlie Cook
o CQ politics
o Rothenberg
• DA
o Top of agenda – more truth value to priority (unq.)
 currently financial reform
o economy impacts, etc.
o impact flexibility
 magnitude, timeframe, probability
 make the DA your “aff” on the neg
o Structuring
 Read best cards in 1NC – cx and block ext.
 Make links as specific as possible
 Decide how many impacts you want to read
 DA turns case arguments – 1NC
• Debating the Impact(s)
o Always do impact comparison – turns every adv. (try to have cards)
o Debating impact – turns on pltx
o 1NC impact – only read impacts you can defend against impact turns
o Attack the impacts – fringe v. mainstream
o Always emphasize the 1NC impacts
o Read new impacts in 2NC – don’t be afraid of impact turns
  X impact solves turn
• Econ reform = terrorism, 2NC reads heg adv. Which solves terrorism
o Compare
 Don’t just read more cards – make meaningful comparisons
• Debating uniqueness
o Vital part of politics
o Read ev, make meaningful comparisons
 Insert knowledge
o Date
 sometimes relevant, other times not
• only if some epic change occurs in the timeframe
• make a point to say what their cards don’t account for because of unq.
 recent ev does not necessarily mean it’s better
 descriptive v. predictive evidence
• predictive ev better than a snapshot – assumes final result
o snapshot influences predictive results
• if neg reads unq. cards not related to i/l – in 2AR advance unq. overwhelms the link
o Evidence distinction
 Qualifications – FOXNews v. Washington Post
• Partisan blogs, journals, etc – look at motivations
• Look for solid, non-partisan, predictive evidence
• Sift through the junk to get to the quality ev
• Specific ev like vote counts – hard/solid number/chances
o Objective unq. Arg – emphasize
• Take at least a little time to highlight how inadequate their ev is
• Lobbies paid to support things – not good ev
• Issue-specific unq. o/w (what issues tradeoff)
• Strength of your link – read another link in 2NC
• Link unq. –ie withdraw now
o Deny
o Magnitude of the link arg
o Issue-spec unq. o/w
o Debating the link
 Winners win
 Plan popular
 Turn- bipartisanship
• AT turn: n/u bipart high, turn - plan not bipartisan, bipart not key, turn – gop moderates
support bill, turn – moderates hate plan, not key to vote, won’t switch, your link acess
theirs – PC key to snowe/Collins
• Magnitude of link
• Ev comparison
• Read new links
o Midterms DA
 Senate
• 57 to 41 D - R
 House
• 235 to 178 D - R
 cotell args – obama will mirror pattern of other candidates
• senate and house spots
 research history of handicappers
 define what matters
 AT: TURN – GOP MODERATES
1. N/U – snowe/Collins

2. Turn – moderates hate plan

3. not key to vote

4. won’t switch

5. PC key to snowe/Collins

6. Magnitude of Link

7. Evidence comparison

8. New Links