Chicago Debate League 2013/14 Core Files
AC Frontline: Politics Disadvantage [4/6] 318
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2AC Frontline: Politics Disadvantage [4/6] 3187) Obama’s rules allow leeway for polluting companies and do not challenge fracking, making them ineffective. WALL STREET JOURNAL, 13 [Darrell Delamaide; “Obama’s pledge on climate change still ambivalent" http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obamas-pledge-on-climate-change-still-ambivalent-2013-06-27] The U.S. State Department, which will make the final recommendation on the project, is reportedly ready to accept that argument, which means the “net effect” of the pipeline would be lower carbon emissions. Others argue, however, that transport by rail would price the tar sands oil out of the market and that rejection of the pipeline would curtail tar-sands production. But the hint that the administration has found a spin to justify approval of the pipeline was not the only indication in the speech that the administration is not unequivocally committed to fighting climate change. Obama’s full-throated embrace of natural gas produced through hydraulic fracturing as a “bridge” to greater reliance on renewable energies also gave environmentalists pause. “Fracking” has given rise to considerable opposition because of potential water pollution, geological damage and other environmental concerns. But fracking also poses a serious and direct risk for climate change. Some experts believe shale-gas production will result in more harmful greenhouse gas emissions than burning coal. In a 2011 paper, a team from Cornell University demonstrated that emissions of methane — a much more harmful greenhouse gas — during production of shale gas make this unconventional gas dirtier than coal. “Compared to coal, the footprint of shale gas is at least 20% greater and perhaps more than twice as great on the 20-year horizon,” the authors write. This is why actor-director Mark Ruffalo, an environmental activist speaking on behalf of Americans Against Fracking, took Obama to task for continuing to support fracking as a solution for climate change. “President Obama deserves praise for prioritizing climate change,” Ruffalo said in a statement, “but if he’s serious he needs to start by rejecting fracking for oil and gas. Fracking is a dangerous and toxic drilling process that greatly exacerbates climate change and threatens to put us over the edge.” There is a simple market-based solution to reduce carbon emissions and slow climate change: a carbon tax, or even a cap-and-trade program. Obama gave a nod to this possibility in his speech this week, but dared not even speak its name, let alone use his bully pulpit to push Congress to act. “In my State of the Union address, I urged Congress to come up with a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change,” Obama said. He added, in that hands-off, leading-from-behind way that has become his trademark: “And I still want to see that happen. I’m willing to work with anyone to make that happen.” Maybe when he’s ready to give a speech on carbon tax — after he’s rejected the Keystone Pipeline and come out against fracking — maybe then those of us concerned about climate change will take his commitment seriously. 2AC Frontline: Politics Disadvantage [5/6] 3198) Turn: Winners win. Momentum doesn’t exist until a president creates it; by passing the plan, Obama will create a victory that propels him to other victories. HIRSCH, 13 [Michael, chief correspondent for National Journal; “There’s No Such Thing as Political Capital”, 5/30, http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/there-s-no-such-thing-as-political-capital-20130207] But the abrupt emergence of the immigration and gun-control issues illustrates how suddenly shifts in mood can occur and how political interests can align in new ways just as suddenly. Indeed, the pseudo-concept of political capital masks a larger truth about Washington that is kindergarten simple: You just don’t know what you can do until you try. Or as Ornstein himself once wrote years ago, “Winning wins.” In theory, and in practice, depending on Obama’s handling of any particular issue, even in a polarized time, he could still deliver on a lot of his second-term goals, depending on his skill and the breaks. Unforeseen catalysts can appear, like Newtown. Epiphanies can dawn, such as when many Republican Party leaders suddenly woke up in panic to the huge disparity in the Hispanic vote. Some political scientists who study the elusive calculus of how to pass legislation and run successful presidencies say that political capital is, at best, an empty concept, and that almost nothing in the academic literature successfully quantifies or even defines it. “It can refer to a very abstract thing, like a president’s popularity, but there’s no mechanism there. That makes it kind of useless,” says Richard Bensel, a government professor at Cornell University. Even Ornstein concedes that the calculus is far more complex than the term suggests. Winning on one issue often changes the calculation for the next issue; there is never any known amount of capital. “The idea here is, if an issue comes up where the conventional wisdom is that president is not going to get what he wants, and he gets it, then each time that happens, it changes the calculus of the other actors” Ornstein says. “If they think he’s going to win, they may change positions to get on the winning side. It’s a bandwagon effect.” 2AC Frontline: Politics Disadvantage [6/6] 3209) Non-Unique: Obama’s attempt to side-step Congress, and leaving for an overseas trip rather than pushing the new rules prove he is not dedicating serious political capital. BATON ROUGE ADVOCATE, 13 [“Our Views: Obama punts on climate”, 6/28, http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/obama-staying-hands-off-on-key-legislative-issues-1.1447933] President Barack Obama’s much-touted plan to address global climate change through a series of executive orders was meant to demonstrate strong leadership on a serious problem. The plan has, instead, only served to underscore the dysfunction of a federal government that seems unable to tackle big challenges with the gravity they deserve. Obama unveiled a number of executive actions to reduce the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, and he specifically targeted the carbon dioxide emitted by many of the nation’s power plants. He also proposed new spending to help communities prepare for climate change that is already anticipated, even if new pollution controls take effect. The public policy implications of climate change mean that the president and Congress should work together on constructive solutions. But the president, seeing little hope for consensus on the issue on Capitol Hill, didn’t propose ambitious new legislation to address climate change. Instead, he announced executive orders that by-pass Congress — essentially detouring a debate rather than engaging it. But sustained progress on climate change will eventually require the president and Congress to work as partners, not adversaries. Obama’s policy directives, while interesting as political theater, seemed more like a photo opportunity than an occasion for national dialogue. The president’s climate change speech does not appear to be part of an extended fight for the hearts and minds of the American people on this issue. Instead of following up on his speech with a cross-country sales job, the president instead headed overseas to Africa. The timing suggests a chief executive crossing a campaign pledge from his to-do list before moving on to something else. 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