DA Aff Elections 17

8/14/2019 DA Aff Elections 17

1/18

WNDI 2008 1Elections DA Aff

Elections DA Aff

Elections DA Aff.........................................................................................................................................................1

Elections DA Aff .............................................................................................................................1

2AC AT: Elections......................................................................................................................................................3

2AC AT: Elections .........................................................................................................................3

Yes McCain.................................................................................................................................................................4

Yes McCain .....................................................................................................................................4

Yes McCain Ohio.....................................................................................................................................................5

Yes McCain Ohio .........................................................................................................................5

Yes McCain Virginia................................................................................................................................................6

Yes McCain Virginia ...................................................................................................................6

Yes McCain NV ......................................................................................................................................................7

Yes McCain NV ..........................................................................................................................7

AT: Deep South..........................................................................................................................................................8

AT: Deep South ..............................................................................................................................8

AT: Link Nuclear Power.........................................................................................................................................9

AT: Link Nuclear Power ............................................................................................................9

AT: Link Cap and Trade........................................................................................................................... ...... ...... .10

AT: Link Cap and Trade .........................................................................................................10

AT: Link-Uniqueness ..............................................................................................................................................11

AT: Link-Uniqueness .................................................................................................................11

Economy Key............................................................................................................................................................12

Economy Key ................................................................................................................................12

AT: Bush/Issues Key................................................................................................................................................13

AT: Bush/Issues Key ...................................................................................................................13

AT: Bush Key...........................................................................................................................................................14

AT: Bush Key ...............................................................................................................................14

McCain Solves PHEVs.............................................................................................................................................15

McCain Solves PHEVs ................................................................................................................15McCain Solves Warming..........................................................................................................................................16

McCain Solves Warming .............................................................................................................16

McCain Solves Nuclear............................................................................................................................................17

McCain Solves Nuclear ................................................................................................................17

AT: Universal Health Care................................................................................................................................ ...... .18

AT: Universal Health Care .........................................................................................................18


2/18



3/18


2AC AT: Elections

( ) Obama wont necessarily win and issues arent key

Steven Stark, culture commentator for NPR, 6-12-2008, Will the Election Be All About Obama?RealClearPolitics, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/going_dutch.html

Sure, he'll occasionally get the spotlight, and there are things he can do to improve his chances marginally.But in the end, this election is about Barack Obama. The country wants a significant change in

direction and Obama and the Democrats are the only ones who can credibly promise to deliver it. Thus,the results in Novemberare going to come down to one question: can a significant portion of theelectorate abide Barack Obama as its next president? Right now, it's an open question. And for Obamato get the answer he wants, he's going to have to be another Ronald Reagan or another Franklin

Delano Roosevelt. There is always a threshold over which nominees must pass when the electorate decideswhether a candidate can be trusted with the most powerful job in the world. For some, like General DwightEisenhower in 1952, doing so is a cakewalk. For upstarts and more ideological purists, it's harder. Obama, ofcourse, is the upstart of upstarts. The good news for Obama is that most nominees do, in fact, successfullymake the transition, especially when there is an overriding desire for change. John F. Kennedy in 1960,Jimmy Carter in 1976, Reagan in 1980, and Bill Clinton in 1992 all faced an initially skeptical electorate and,through favorable debate performances and constant exposure in the general-election campaign, graduallyreassured the public that it had less to fear from the unknown than from the known. Upon closer

examination, however, the Kennedy, Carter, and Clinton comparisons may not offer much of aprecedent for Obama. After all, each of the three was a centrist who ran at his challengerfrom the rightas well as the left. Clinton and Carter came from the Southern GOP base and founded their appeal, in part,on their willingness to deviate sharply from party orthodoxy. JFK, too, was a hawk on military policy,running against Nixon from the right on the basis of a purported missile gap. In contrast, as his Senate votingrecord and positions demonstrate, Obama is as liberal as they come, without any public record of strayingfrom his party's left-leaning causes and constituencies. That means to win, he'll have to replicate theReagan experience and basically lead an ideological revolution that will redraw the electoral map.Risk assessment It's a highly risky strategy, to say the least . It's risky, in part, because Americans -- evenwhen they say they want change -- often don't endorse a sharp turn in direction. Yes, FDR's election in1932 signaled a transformation, but the nation was in the midst of its worst depression. Reagan fomented ashift in the other direction, but the economy was in tatters and another nation held our citizens hostage. Arethe Iraq War and current economic situation commensurate woes? If precedent is any guide, for the

Democrats to win, the voters will have to think so. Then there's Obama himself. FDR and Reagan were well-known figures on the national scene for years before they finally made it to the Oval Office; they each had atrack record as governor of the nation's then-largest state (New York and California, respectively) that, in theend, reassured voters they could be trusted with the nation's highest office. Obama, by comparison, has ashort rsum. Yes, experience can be overrated (as Hillary Clinton discovered) but if you're promising todrastically refashion our politics, it may be more of a prerequisite than usual. Obama's uphill battle ismade even trickier by the opponent he faces. Both FDR and Reagan won the office against damaged

incumbents who, to a large number of Americans, had virtually disqualified themselves for a second term.McCain may not be a particularly vibrant candidate (especially if his Louisiana speech of this past weekis any indication), but he's not the incumbent. Those focusing on Obama's challenges so far have tended todwell on the issue of race. But race isn't really the main issue. Anybody would find it difficult to do whatObama is trying to do. He has a hard sell ahead of him, and there have been far more instances when such"revolutionary" candidates (think William Jennings Bryan, Barry Goldwater, or George McGovern)

have found the general-election mountain far too steep to climb. Support him or not, give Obama creditfor this: he thinks big, which is why the upcoming campaign will focus almost exclusively on his ideas andhis persona. If only by doing that, he's already changed our politics.


4/18


Yes McCain

( ) McCain will win Electoral College heavily tilted towards GOP

Robert Novak, Syndicated Political Columnist, 5-28-2008, Electoral College Outlook: McCain 270, Obama268, Human Events, http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26723

Electoral College: While national polls garner attention, they have no direct bearing on choosing ournext President. A state-by-state count of electoral votes is the key to analyzing the presidential race.

For the first time this year, we run through all 50 states plus the District of Columbia in order to handicap thepresidential race. Outlook: If the election were held today, we see a McCain victory by the narrowest ofmargins.


5/18


Yes McCain Ohio

( ) McCain will carry Ohio

Robert Novak, Syndicated Political Columnist, 7-16-2008, New Electoral College Analysis: Obama 273,McCain 265, http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27570&s=rcme

Ohio (20): No matter what, Ohio can't escape its role as battleground. This year, however, McCain seemsto be slightly stronger here than Bush was in 2000 and 2004. Central to McCain's success is Obama'sreputation among "bitter" gun owners and religious votersHillary's Democrats. Much of Obama'scampaign will be an outreach to bitter Ohio Democrats, but fornow, the Buckeye State tilts Republican.Leaning McCain.


6/18


Yes McCain Virginia

( ) McCain will carry Virginia

Robert Novak, Syndicated Political Columnist, 7-16-2008, New Electoral College Analysis: Obama 273,McCain 265, http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27570&s=rcme

Virginia: Virginia is possibly the most talked-about Red state to be making a pilgrimage to Blue . Giventhe Democratic takeover of the governorship, a Senate seat, and probably the other Senate seat, it seemsfitting that Obama should have a strong play for Virginia's 13 electoral votes. But given the Southernnature of much of this state, and the high portion of undecideds, McCain should still feel confident

about the commonwealth. Leaning McCain.


7/18


Yes McCain NV

( ) Obama not leading in Nevada

Don Frederick, LAT Political Blogger, 7-7-2008, In Nevada, the numbers game tilts Democratic, LA TimesBlog, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/07/in-nevada-the-n.html

As heartening as all this may be to Barack Obama's presidential campaign -- which included Nevada as oneof the 18 states where his opening general election ads have aired -- few analysts will yet make [Obama]the favorite to capture it. Two polls in June showed the race for Nevada's five electoral votes very close,but with John McCain holding a slight lead. The Republican White House contenderbenefits fromresiding in a neighboring state. And, as underscored by a McCain radio ad unveiled late last week on

Spanish-speaking stations in Nevada and New Mexico, he will aggressively court the Latino vote in the

Southwest.


8/18


AT: Deep South

( ) Obama wont break solid south

Dahleen Glanton, correspondent, 7-13-2008, Chicago Tribune, In Deep South, Obama sees new shades of blue,http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-southjul13,0,1063903.story

Obama recently began running television ads in 18 states, including Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.While political observers say there is a chance he could succeed in Virginia and North Carolina, it is lesslikely that he can break the Republican stranglehold in Deep South states.

.


9/18


AT: Link Nuclear Power

( ) Nuclear power isnt popular enough

Alex Kaplun, E&ENews PM reporter, 3-10-2008, ENERGY POLICY: Poll shows voters united on alternatives,split on nuclear, oil industry incentives, E&E News, nexis

About 59 percent of Republicans say they support increased use of nuclear power, compared to 34percent of Democrats and 46 percent of independents. Fifty-two percent of Republicans also favored taxcuts for oil exploration, compar


10/18


AT: Link Cap and Trade

( ) McCain wont support cap and trade wont take credit

Matthew Yglesias, Political Blogger for the Atlantic Monthly, 7-12-2008, McCain and Climate, MatthewYglesias Blog, http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/07/mccain_and_climate.php

I have to agree that it's incredibly unhelpful to have Bill Clinton and Al Gore praising John McCain onclimate change. It's true, in a sense, that McCain is better than your average Republican on this issue. Butthat was much more true a couple of years ago when he was cosponsoring the McCain-Lieberman climatechange half-measures bill. These days, though, that bill, inadequate as it is, has become the Lieberman-Warner bill because McCain dropped his support for it. If McCain's not even going to support themost conservative cap-and-trade bill in the mix, then what is his nominal support for cap-and-trade

worth, exactly? It's hard to construct an appropriate analogy here, but if Barack Obama claimed to be "for"something, and yet opposed every concrete effort to make it happen, I doubt GOP eminences grises would beleaping forward to praise him.


11/18


AT: Link-Uniqueness

( ) McCain benefits from energy debate now

James Pethokoukis, Capital Commerce Correspondent, 7-15-2008, 4 Reasons the Weak Economy Is NowHelping McCain, US News World Report, http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2008/7/15/4-reasons-the-weak-economy-is-now-helping-mccain.html

1) Gas prices. Polls show the public wants lower gas prices and thinks oil drilling can help get them. AndMcCain and the Republicans have positioned themselves as the party of more energy and lower prices.

They want to drill, and they want to build more nuclear plants. But instead of opening up new areas todrilling, Democrats want to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And who can forget Obama's response whenasked what he thought of higher gas prices: "I would have preferred a gradual adjustment." One problem maybe that Obama fashioned his energy plan when oil was a mere $60 a barrel. McCain seems to be smartlytweaking his policies on the flydrilling, the gas tax moratoriumto appeal to voters furious about

higher prices at the pump.


12/18


Economy Key

( ) Economy is key to the election

Megan Thee, Staff Writer, 7-16-2008, More Poll Findings: The Economy Trumps the War, by Far, New YorkTimes, http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/more-poll-findings-the-economy-trumps-the-war-by-far/

With the campaign now in full swing and a two-man race under way, voters say they worry most about theeconomy and far less about the war in Iraq, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. In anenvironment where gas prices now top $4 a gallon, mortgage companies are failing, and the financialmarkets prove consistently shaky, more than half of those polled cited an economic issue as the most

important problem facing the country. The war in Iraq fell into the background, with only 13 percent ofthose polled citing it as most important. Before the 2006 midterm elections when the Democrats won controlof Congress, only 7 percent of Americans said the economy was of paramount concern to them. Fifty-onepercent of those polled said the Democratic party is more likely than the Republican party to ensure a

strong economy, suggesting a liability for John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee. Votersclosely associate Mr. McCain with Mr. Bush. Six in 10 voters said they expect that if elected, Mr. McCainwould generally continue his predecessors economic policies.


13/18


AT: Bush/Issues Key

( ) Public perception of Obama is the most important question for the election issues

arent key

Myron Pitts, political columnist, 7-24-2008, General Election Really a Referendum on Obama,

FayObserver.comhttp://www.fayobserver.com/blog/comments?bid=7&eid=6969The more I think about it, the more I thinkthe general election is all about Obama. This is not an originalthought. MSNBC's Pat Buchanan and others have been saying the same thing. I think that you could havetaken any Republican from the primary, except perhaps the radical Ron Paul, and the poll numbers wouldbe roughly the same -- Obama with a slight edge or about even. I frankly think the GOP side could be blank-- no nominee yet -- and the poll numbers would be the same. I don't doubt that McCain is probably the bestof a weak field on the other side, but really, the general election to date is not about him or his ideas. (Heshould be thankful for the latter, considering that on the two major issues, the war and the economy, his ideasare similar to Bush's.) The entire election is whether or not people will vote for the dramatic changethat Obama represents, or whether they won't. It all comes down to whether they see that change aspotentially good or potentially bad. This makes the GOP strategy fairly simple and conventional: Bringhim down. (Another Buchanan notion.)


14/18


AT: Bush Key

( ) McCain needs the environment to distance himself from Bush

LesterFeder, staff writer, 6-20-2008, Huffington Post, McCains Incoherent Environmentalism Is a Sign ofLarger Problems,AlterNet,http://www.alternet.org/environment/88885/?ses=8376171a6d7c9bae0dcb1e63ae0b3b59

Distancing himself from President Bush, John McCain pledged a new era of environmental stewardshipMonday as he outlined his plan to address global warming, a cause he has embraced since activistshounded him during his 2000 run for president. This week, however, McCain infuriated environmentalgroups by reversing his opposition to off-shore oil drilling and tying himself to President Bush, whopromptly called on Congress to lift the drilling ban. The McCain campaign has expended tremendousresources on the global warming issue; it organized a "green" tour in May, and has just released a new adhighlighting the candidate's position on the issue. From his campaign's perspective, the issue is a way toshow McCain's independence from President Bush while simultaneously signaling sympathy forAmericans who are struggling to fill their gas tanks . McCain's wholesale abandonment of a month-longenvironmental PR strategy is more than a knee-jerk response to a new peak in oil prices. It is a sign that theMcCain campaign's efforts to define the 2008 election narrative are in disarray. Oddly, the political press --which has a Midas touch for turning policy disputes into process stories -- seems to have missed the fullpolitical significance of this policy shift.


15/18


McCain Solves PHEVs

( ) McCain solves the case

Lorraine Wollert and JeffGreen, staff writers, 7-18-2008, GMs Volt Becomes Centerpiece in PresidentialDebate on Energy, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aVV3eMUSiMgQ&refer=politics

McCain, 71, and Obama, 46, come at the issue from different directions. McCain wants to boost innovationby offering purchasers of zero carbon-emission cars a $5,000 tax credit. A graduated tax credit wouldapply to purchases of lower emission cars such as the Volt. He would establish a $300 millionprize fordevelopment of new battery technology for vehicles. He also wants to encourage construction of 100 newnuclear plants and invest government money in development of clean-burning coal.


16/18


McCain Solves Warming

( ) McCain supports CO2 emission reductions

Scott Horsley, NPR Correspondent, 5-13-2008, McCain Backs Limits on Greenhouse Gas Emissions,http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90394736

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is touting his plan to combat global warming as hestumps for votes this week in the Pacific Northwest. McCain travels to Washington state Tuesday for anenvironmental forum outside Seattle. On Monday, he was in Portland, Ore., where he visited the offices of awindmill company. McCain hopes his conservative approach to global warming will appeal to moderateDemocrats as well as Republicans. It relies on the same market forces that he says helped create the problem."For all of the last century, the profit motive basically led in one direction toward machines, methods andindustries that used oil and gas," McCain said. "Enormous good came from that industrial growth, and we areall the beneficiaries of the national prosperity it built. But there were costs we weren't counting." Thosecosts, in the form of greenhouse gases, can no longer be ignored, McCain said. He hopes to create a profitmotive that works in the opposite direction encouraging polluters to cut their carbon emissions. Aspresident, McCain would cap overall production of greenhouse gases. Companies that produce more

pollution would then have to buy carbon credits from those who find a cleaner way of doing business.

"Instantly, automakers, coal companies, power plants and every other enterprise in America wouldhave an incentive to reduce carbon emissions, because when they go under those limits, they can sell

the balance of permitted emissions for cash," McCain said.


17/18


McCain Solves Nuclear

( ) McCain supports nuclear plants

Michael Mccord, Political Correspondent, 12-4-2007, McCain: nuclear has role in energy mix, Seacoastonline,http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/NEWS/712040393

PORTSMOUTH Republican presidential hopeful John McCain wants America to get serious aboutnuclear power. "How can you possibly talk about alternative energy sources without nuclear power?" saidMcCain, who will take part in a candidate forum Thursday hosted by Seacoast Media Group, the parentcompany of the Portsmouth Herald. "It can have a real impact on decreasing greenhouse gases." At theforum, the Arizona senator will talk to voters about his energy security and global climate change policies.He said that facilities such as Seabrook Station nuclear power plant will be a vital component of his energyproposals, which he believes will enhance the country's long-term energy security and help reverse the effectsof global warming. "We can do storage or reprocessing," McCain said about the issue ofdisposing ofspent nuclear fuel rods. Look at what the French and other industrialized countries are doing. It's not

a matter of technology, but leadership, and the American people can be convinced this is one of the smartroutes to take."


18/18


AT: Universal Health Care

( ) No health care bill regardless of president

Perry Pacon, Washington Post Campaign Blogger, 7-8-2008, Democrats Gear Up New Push for UniversalHealth Care, The Washington Post, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/07/08/democrats_gear_up_new_push_for.html

McCain has also said he would make health care a major issue if he wins the presidency, but Democratsand labor groups oppose many ofhis proposals, as the Arizona senator is trying to transform the health caresystem into one in which individuals buy their own health care in a less-regulated market, which means theycould have lower costs but also would assume more risk. The new coalition, while not outlining a specifichealth care plan, has goals that resembled what Obama and the Democratic candidates proposed in theprimaries, offering subsidies to people so health insurance is affordable to the 47 million Americans whocurrently don't have it, creating new regulations that would prevent insurance companies from charging highprices or not offering insurance to people who already have chronic illnesses and allowing people to eitherbuy insurance from a private company like Kaiser or enroll in a government-managed health care plan thatwould be run like but separate from Medicare. But, even if Obama were elected, there's no broadagreement on exactly how a universal health care bill would work, which is the problem Democrats

faced in 1993 when the Clintons pushed the issue. Insurance companies, who drove much of the oppositionin 1993, have signaled they would not support an approach like Obama's , which add regulations for

them but does not require all people to purchase health insurance. Democratic Senate aides are pointing tothe legislation passed in Massachusetts in 2006 as a model. That legislation included increased subsidies forlow-income people but also a mandate that all people in the state purchase insurance, something Obama hasrailed against on the campaign trail.

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DA Aff Elections 17