Debating and Researching Politics

1. Debating and Researching Politics Hays Watson

2. Helpful Politics Websites General political information • realclearpolitics.com • The National Journal nationaljournal.com • Politico politico.com • Drudge drudgereport.com (also entertainingly insane) Election information (presidential, House, and Senate races) • fivethirtyeight.com • pollster.com • Rothenberg Political Report rothenbergpoliticalreport.com • Cook Political Report cookpolitical.com • Sabato's Crystal Ball www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball Liberal • American Prospect (prospect.org) • The New Republic (tnr.com) Conservative • National Review (nationalreview.com) • Weekly Standard (weeklystandard.com)

3. Politics 101 • What do we mean when we say “politics”? • Why is contemporary debate so concerned with “politics”? • Are there different types of “politics” arguments? If so, what are the types?

4. Politics 101 • Terms you should now (a VERY non-exhaustive list): • top of the agenda/docket = what issue or issues are first on the legislative calendar in Congress (it’s “first order of business”) • political capital = simply put, a measurement of a politicians credibility/influence with other politicians (synonyms include political clout, political chits, political muscle) • presidential leadership = the president’s exertion of influence/pressure to prioritize a particular agenda item • horse-trading/arm-twisting = negotiating in order to secure one’s priority (typically with political opponents) • concessions, olive branch, compromise = supporting particular policies with the hopes of gaining the support from other groups or individuals (typically political opponents) • Approval rating/job approval = a statistical measure of the president’s popular support (using polls) • Electoral votes/count = a projection of candidates political standing in the presidential race (using statistical models) • Battleground states = states that carry tremendous weight in elections (lots of electoral votes, they project trends in other states, historically they’ve been crucial in deciding elections, etc.) • Lobbies (interest groups) = groups of individuals (or voters) who have strong legislative preferences and who also have significant political influence

5. Politics 101 • Agenda politics • Election politics (presidential elections, congressional elections, midterm elections) • Legislative riders (*not common*) • Given the prominence of the politics DA in contemporary debate, knowing its variations, how to research it, and how to debate it (answer it) is vital

6. Politics 101 • Agenda politics = two general types, one based on an agenda item being “good.” For example, Obama wants to pass the Korean free trade agreement and that trade agreement is good (Asian stability, global trade, US economy, etc.) The other type says an agenda item that Obama wants would be “bad.” For example, Obama wants to raise taxes and those tax increases would be bad (hurt US economy). • The Obama “good” version of politics = predominant; 90-95% of all agenda politics DAs are premised on the plan preventing Obama from passing his “good” agenda item (debt ceiling = example you’re familiar with from the camp).

7. Politics 101 • Elections = less common version, but will be more salient and strategic as this year progresses (i.e. when we get closer to the election). Two common versions will be based on the presidential election: Obama’s reelection being “good” (which the plan undermines) or Obama’s reelection being bad” (which the plan enables). • Agenda politics will still dominate over the course of the year due to two factors: people generally don’t think election-based politics arguments are as effective/strategic as agenda-based arguments AND the agenda-based links (plan controversial/popular with Congress) will be of much better quality than elections-based links (space policy likely only affects voters in space-heavy areas of the nation, which isn’t many) • Even though elections will be less common, it should still be researched before every tournament because other people will still run elections-based politics arguments (which you need to answer) and there might be situations where the elections DA is more strategic against an Aff than an agenda politics DA

8. Researching Politics • Same tips for normal research apply to politics research: planning/brainstorming, surveys of the literature base, patience, etc. • I use two research tools: Google News and Lexis-Nexis (whichever version you prefer) • You should use what works best for you, obvi…

9. Researching Politics • Google News = my preferred choice for doing politics work • Advantages: a substantial amount of news/politics sources, it’s constantly updated (by the minute), fairly easy to use (same tricks as Google), etc. • Disadvantages: includes “sketchy” sources, arguably too expansive, not as easy to search as Lexis-Nexis

10. Researching Politics • Lexis-Nexis • Advantages: very easy to research and narrow your searches, contains most major news/politics publications, law review access, debate “cred” • Disadvantages: codes/subscriptions can be difficult/expensive to acquire, excludes some important periodicals, only updated daily

11. Researching Politics • Need to identify the most salient political issue(s) in order to find a truly good agenda politics DA • Need to be aware of electoral trends and opinion to identify whether to run elections/which elections (Obama reelection good or bad) to run • Let the literature guide your choice of politics scenario, NOT your personal preference (square peg/round hole)

12. Researching Politics • My standard procedure when researching politics: I start at least one week in advance, I check news/politics websites daily to keep an eye on agenda/election trends, I prioritize having at least 2 politics scenarios (one agenda, one elections, one Obama good, one Obama re-election bad, etc.) • I prioritize Aff answers, making sure I have both generic evidence (political capital low, fights coming now) and specific scenario answers (Korea FTA, etc.). This should also include elections answers (uniqueness both ways, impact takeouts to popular scenarios, among others) • I wait until the Thursday before a tournament (sometimes Friday morning) to do the vast majority of my research (so that it’s as up-to-date as possible) • I do updates during each tournament (nights/early mornings) to make sure each scenario remains viable/strategic • I talk to other people (friends, coaches, competitors) in order to identify the scenarios/versions being run at each tournament (to be sure we are prepared to debate any possible variation)

13. Debating Politics - Neg • Read evidence…and lots of it; politics arguments are one of the most evidence intensive of any position • Know as much as you can about your preferred scenarios; helps you explain away “good” Aff answers • Choose strategic scenarios: ones with strongest uniqueness, the most logical internal link story, the biggest impacts/best impact diversity, etc. • Have theory blocks/know how to answer the resurgent Aff politics theory args (fiat solves the link, bottom of the docket, “vote no”, intrinsicness) so that you don’t waste prep time and so that you can eliminate them as threats

14. Debating Politics - Aff • Read evidence…and lots of it (echoing Neg) • YOU MUST HAVE OFFENSE: link turns are generally preferred (because you’re more likely to have specific link turns than the Neg has specific links), but read impact turns if strategic (if you’re on the right side of the literature, if link turns aren’t viable, etc.) • Interrogate (via evidence or analytical arguments) the internal link(s), almost always the weakest link in any politics argument (cross-examination is a VITAL tool) • Attack each and every aspect of the scenario—link and impact and scenario (issue) uniqueness, internal link, impact • Utilize theory…but know your stuff (read up on intrinsicness, have blocks defending fiat takes out the link, know how/when to use it to gain time tradeoffs, etc.) • DEFEND THE AFF: it’s the most effective way to defeat the politics DA (and any DA for that matter)