The Politics DA

Why Politics? It’s an uber-generic opportunity for comparative advantage: better understanding and cards Counterplan opportunities

What is it? A disadvantage tied to the political ramifications of the plan’s passage Types (not exhaustive) Presidential Agenda Good (Trump Good) Presidential Agenda Bad (Trump Bad) Other Congressional Agenda – GOP Unity, Dem Unity, etc. Elections – Either General (2020) or Midterm (2018) Courts Politics State Elections (Aff vs. State CP)

What makes a good politics scenario? It’s current, soon, “top of the agenda” It’s likely to occur, but also controversial/uncertain There’s a big impact

Uniqueness The DA’s legislation/election will be successful (or fail!) now Good evidence characteristics Recency, recency, recency conclusive ‘predictive’ ‘assumptive’ or ‘priced-in’ language ‘insider’ or ‘secret’ information ‘vote counts’ and polling Non-biased Expertise Does uniqueness overwhelm? (aff link defense) Uniqueness-link ‘consonance’ – the plan affects the warrants in the uniqueness evidence. Example of success: “Animus” in the Court Politics DA Example of Failure: many fiscal disadvantages – debt ceiling, etc.

Link uniqueness: a.k.a. ‘thumpers,’ ‘pounders,’ ‘trumpers,’ and other silly names Every disad has multiple types of uniqueness – link, internal link, impact, etc. Aff link uniqueness argues other issues/legislation/scandals, etc. trigger the link Neg responses Issue-specific uniqueness prices in the link Distinguish the other issue from your link/the plan Mitigate the other issue’s importance (cards!)

Link examples Basic Political Capital Link (Winners Lose): legislation gets through but it hurts political capital and reduces the chances of future legislation. Example: The plan is unpopular and takes away the political capital he needs for tax reform. Winners win: political capital goes up when a piece of legislation is passed. Example: The plan is a win for Trump, which then allows him to pass the border wall bill in Congress Losers lose: president spends political capital but the bill doesn’t pass. Example: Trump’s healthcare push will fail now, which will hurt the rest of his agenda. Horse trading: one party will pass bill X for another party if that party is willing to pass bill Y for them. Example: GOP pass Dem-friendly education in exchange for GOP-friendly tax reform. Olive branch: similar to horse trading, one party passes a bill in an attempt to gain favor with the other party in hopes of them passing a bill for them in the future. Example: Trump passes progressive policies to build support for his agenda. Rider: Another, bad piece of legislation will be attached to the plan. Example: The border wall will get attached to the plan.

impact One good, primary impact scenario A back-up external impact (econ = too common) Several non-impact-turnable options for the block Be ready for an impact turn debate Impact Calc Turns case, turns case, turns case timeframe

Example Affirmative Responses Uniqueness overwhelms the link: Plan doesn’t change the outcome Neg: 1. They just conceded uniqueness. 2. Uniqueness doesn’t assume the link of plan. 3. Uniqueness warrants match the link. 4. Read more links. Plan popular: Congress/the public like the plan, not dislike it Neg: 1. Some people like the plan, others don’t – that’s why it’s a fight. 2. the wrong people like the plan. 3. public opinion doesn’t matter Winners win: Plan sets Trump up for more wins Neg: 1. Plan isn’t a win – see the link. 2. Winners win theory is wrong Issues are compartmentalized: Plan’s debate doesn’t affect other issues Neg: This is the internal link. Issues are connected by political capital, party unity, etc. Political capital is wrong: Other factors determine votes Neg: Again, the internal link. Read cards. Explain internal link outside of PC theory.

Politics under trump What’s the issue? What to do? Political capital – where is it? Uniqueness – where’s the agreement? Link uniqueness – see twitter Agenda items and the impact Impact turns – is trump’s pc good? What to do? Innovate on the classic scenario: Trump Bad w/ winners win, Horse Trading, etc. Move away from Trump: The Ryan DA, The Party Unity DA, etc. Elections: The 2018 Midterms, Specific Congressional Races, etc. Don’t force politics to work – some weekends will be viable, others won’t.

A short note on theory Affirmative arguments Not intrinsic. A logical policy maker can choose to vote for the plan and for/against the other legislation. Fiat avoids the link. Fiat means we debate the benefits of the plan, not political realities. Fiat solves the link. The plan passed, so people must have liked it. Vote no. Plan has already been introduced to Congress, voting against it doesn’t solve the link. Bottom of the docket. The plan is introduced to Congress, but not until after bills currently being discussed. Negative – is the politics da good? It encourages useful, up-to-date research It’s real world. Why haven’t we done major education reform? Politics. Negative equity. There’s a reason it’s a negative staple.