Tournament: All | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All
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Any questions/problems regarding neg cites, feel free to contact Em Parker at eparker6@mail.csuchico.edu

Tournament: UMKC/SFSU | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All

1NC

Obama’s winning now – best forecast

Silver 9/21 (Nate, “Sept. 20: Obama’s Convention Bounce May Not Be Receding,” Five-Thirty-Eight, September 21, 2012, http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/sept-20-obamas-convention-bounce-may-not-be-receding/#more-34814)

President Obama’s position inched forward in the…slightly, to 3.4 percentage points.

The public opposes new reactors

The Economist 12 (Nuclear power  The 30-year itch  America’s nuclear industry struggles to get off the floor  Feb 18th 2012 | ATLANTA | from the print edition  )

Still, nuclear power faces strong headwinds. A …“consider the implications of Fukushima” before issuing its licences.

Approval ratings key – empirically determine election

Jones 12 (Jeffrey, “Thirteen States and D.C. Give Obama Majority Approval,” Gallup Politics, August 1, http:~/~/www.gallup.com/poll/156389/)

The 13 states and District of Columbia with majorities approving …crucial states could tip the balance in either candidate's favor

China Scenario

Romney’s China policy tanks U.S.-China relations

Rogin 12 (Josh, “Chinese media slams Romney as convention begins,” Foreign Policy, August 28, http:~/~/thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/08/28/chinese_media_slams_romney_as_convention_) EP

TAMPA - China's state-controlled media lashed out …coercive behavior by China against its neighbors."

War with China!!1!

Kern 12 (William, “‘Ignorant’ Romney Policies Will Result in ‘Direct Confrontation’ (China Daily, People’s Republic of China),” The Moderate Voice, August 30, http:~/~/themoderatevoice.com/157879/ignorant-romney-policies-will-result-in-direct-confrontation-china-daily-peoples-republic-of-china/http://themoderatevoice.com/157879/ignorant-romney-policies-will-result-in-direct-confrontation-china-daily-peoples-republic-of-china/.) EP

The China Daily editorial says in part:¶ Of course, politicians tend to…two countries. This would be in neither party’s interest.

Iran Strikes Scenario

Romney would support Israel strikes against Iran – draws in U.S. and causes Mid East war

Merry 12 (Robert, ditor of The National Interest and the author of books on American history and foreign policy. , “Romney Edges U.S. toward War with Iran,” The National Interest, August 1, http:~/~/nationalinterest.org/commentary/)

Most significantly, while Obama talks about stopping Iran from obtaining…moved America that much closer to another Mideast war.

Block

And it turns case Romney destroys U.S.-China relations

LaFranchi 9/1 (Howard, “Obama vs. Romney 101: 4 ways they differ on China,” Christian Science Monitor, 2012, http:~/~/www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2012/0901/Obama-vs.-Romney-101-4-ways-they-differ-on-China/) EP

But Obama has also worked to allay China’s …reverse Obama policy and sell Taiwan the F-16s.

Maintaining US-Sino ties is crucial to prevent escalation over Taiwan.

Kerr 99 (Paul, research analyst at the Arms Control Association. International Security, “Taiwan: Maintain the Current Ambiguity.” Volume 1, Number 1 - Fall 1999. http://www.csis.org/pubs/prospectus/99FallKerr.html)

Stable U.S.-China relations can also help …by maintaining peaceful relations with the United States.

Extinction

Johnson 1 (Chalmers, author of Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, 5/14/2001, The Nation, Pg. 20)

China is another matter. No sane figure in the Pentagon …forces on China’s borders have virtually no deterrent effect.

Obama’s winning now – best forecast

Silver 9/21 (Nate, “Sept. 20: Obama’s Convention Bounce May Not Be Receding,” Five-Thirty-Eight, September 21, 2012, http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/sept-20-obamas-convention-bounce-may-not-be-receding/#more-34814)

President Obama’s position inched forward …slightly, to 3.4 percentage points.

Even if the national polls are close – swing states are what matter

Easley 9/20 (Jonathan, “Gallup: Enthusiasm among Democratic voters spikes in swing states,” September 20, 2012, http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/250783-poll-enthusiasm-among-democratic-voters-spikes-in-swing-states)

But while the national polls remain tight…by 5 in North Carolina, and Iowa is a tie.

Obama’s gonna win – WE’LL EVEN READ A FOX NEWS CARD

Bowen 9/20 (Robert, “New Fox News poll released Thursday shows Obama winning 3 key swing states,” The Examiner, September 20, 2012, http://www.examiner.com/article/new-fox-news-poll-released-thursday-shows-obama-winning-3-key-swing-states)

Despite two re-set buttons, Mitt Romney’s campaign …blame Bush and Republicans for the bad economy than Obama.

ambiguous.

Obama wins now - DNC

Jones 9/11 (Jeffrey, “Obama Gets Three-Point Convention Bounce,” Gallup, 2012, http:~/~/www.gallup.com/poll/157406/obama-gets-three-point-convention-bounce.aspx?utm_source=tagrssandutm_medium=rssandutm_campaign=) EP

PRINCETON, NJ -- President Barack Obama got a modest …, as the Republican nominee received no increase in support after the GOP convention.

Obama wins now – polls, approval rating

Jones 9/11 (Jeffrey, “Obama Gets Three-Point Convention Bounce,” Gallup, 2012, http:~/~/www.gallup.com/poll/157406/obama-gets-three-point-convention-bounce.aspx?utm_source=tagrssandutm_medium=rssandutm_campaign=) EP

As a result of the changes in voter support after the 2012 Democratic … to win, barring some unusual surge in Republican turnout this year.

Massive public opposition to nuclear power – viewed as too risky

Ramana, Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security Physicist, 11

(M.V. August 3, “Nuclear power and the public,” http:~/~/www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/org/web-edition/features/nuclear-power-and-the-public, d/a 7-20-12, ads)

Japan is by no means alone. Around the world, nuclear energy …the same benefits, making it unlikely that a large-scale "nuclear renaissance" will materialize.

Opposition is staunch and bipartisan – would flip multiple votes to Romney

ABC News, 11

(April 20, “Nuclear Power: Po Nuclear Power: Opposition Spikes After Japan Earthquake,” http:~/~/abcnews.go.com/Politics/nuclear-power-opposition-grows-japan-earthquake-abc-news/story?id=13412262#.UAnUlWHZATY, d/a 7-20-12, ads)

Americans by a 2-1 margin oppose building ……crisis (which began 25 years ago next week).

Safety concerns are fueling opposition – all indicators go neg

ABC News, 11

(April 20, “Nuclear Power: Po Nuclear Power: Opposition Spikes After Japan Earthquake,” http:~/~/abcnews.go.com/Politics/nuclear-power-opposition-grows-japan-earthquake-abc-news/story?id=13412262#.UAnUlWHZATY, d/a 7-20-12, ads)

Most Americans do not flatly say that nuclear …changed, opposition falls to 48 percent.

Politics - SFSU
Opposition to oil is derailing projects now
Ceres.org, Advocate for sustainability leadership, 12
(Ceres leads a national coalition of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change and water scarcity, May, “Investor risks from Oil Shale Development,” http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/investor-risks-from-oil-shale-development, d/a 7-20-12, ads)
CCS projects in places such as Ohio, …lawsuit by environmental groups challenging BLM’s oil shale leasing plans.29
Solar power is unpopular  - not seen as cost competitive
Lifsher, LA Times Staff Writer, 05
(Marc, June 27, “Governor's Solar Plan Is Generating Opposition,” http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jun/27/business/fi-solar27, d/a 7-20-12, ads)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to spend billions …on most new homes beginning in 2010 would be unpopular with buyers.

Renewables are massively unpopular –Budgetary concerns
Von Schirach, International Economic Development Consultant, 12
(Paolo, International Affairs Commentator and Writer, May 11, “Renewable Energy In The US – Subsidies Politically Unpopular – Natural Gas A Much Cheaper Alternative – USG Should Focus On R&D,”
http://schirachreport.com/index.php/2012/05/11/grim-prospects-for-renewable-energy-in-the-us-subsidies-politically-unpopular-natural-gas-a-much-cheaper-alternative-usg-should-focus-on-rd/, d/a 7-20-12, ads)
American enthusiasm for renewable energy, not too …whatever the consequences of burning more (cheaper) fossil fuels may be

Tournament: UMKC/SFSU | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All

1NC

Russia’s economy heavily dependent on HIGH oil prices – dip in prices collapses the economy and causes domestic instability

Schuman 12 (Michael, Time business correspondent, 16 years reporting on global economics, “Why Vladimir Putin Needs Higher Oil Prices,” Time Business, July 5, 2012, http://business.time.com/2012/07/05/why-vladimir-putin-needs-higher-oil-prices/)

But Vladimir Putin is not one of them. The economy that the…present growth model looks unsustainable unless oil prices remain at or above $120pb.

Nuclear Energy reduces our dependence on foreign oil – shifts away from domestic oil-generated electricity and causes the hydrogen transition

ANS 12 (“10 Myths about Nuclear Energy,” American Nuclear Society, http://www.new.ans.org/pi/resources/myths/)

Myth # 10: Nuclear energy can't reduce our …hydrogen for use in fuel cells and synthetic liquid fuels

Oil futures are overshot by speculation – lowering demand would set off a price collapse

Bayer 12 (Alexei, head of KAFAN FX Information Services. His monthly "Global Economy" column in Research has received an excellence award from the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants for the past six years, 2004-2009 “Pop That Oil Bubble

Policies should aim at pushing oil prices down,” Advisor One, July 26, 2012, http://www.advisorone.com/2012/07/26/pop-that-oil-bubble?page=3)

Demand for oil, then, is softening because …equilibrium price range of around $20-40 per barrel.

Extinction


Filger 9 (FILGER, Sheldon, “Russian Economy Faces Disastrous Free Fall Contraction,” May 10, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheldon-filger/russian-economy-faces-dis_b_201147.html)

In Russia, historically, economic health …Crisis is its least dangerous consequence.

Block

US investments in alternative energy cause speculators to value oil lower—sharply tanks prices globally

Yetiv and Feld 7 (Steve and Lowell, Professor of political science at Old Dominion University and senior international oil markets analyst at the U.S. Energy Information Administration until March 2006, “America's Oil Market Power: The Unused Weapon Against Iran,” World Policy Journal, lexis)

As is typical of world oil markets, this situation soon changed…error in the event of perceived threats to supply or actual disruptions.

There is a substitution effect between nuclear and oil prices

Lee and Chiu 10 (Chien-Chiang, Yi-Bun – University Kaohsiung Taiwan;“Oilprices, nuclear energy consumption, and economic growth: New evidence using a heterogeneous panel analysis”; Energy Policy Volume 39, Issue 4, April 2011, Pages 2111–2120)

This paper applies panel data analysis to examine the short-run …energy consumption and economic growth in the short run.

Incentives for nuclear power lowers oil prices – trades off

US Fed News 8 ( “SKYROCKETING GAS PRICES HIGHLIGHT NEED TO USE AMERICAN RESOURCES” May 6, 2008, http:~/~/www.lexis.com/research/retrieve?_m=08d0fc06b2da1455085f3578e4de428danddocnum=6and_fmtstr=FULLand_startdoc=1andwchp=dGLbVtz-zSkAland_md5=com/research/retrieve?_m=08d0fc06b2da1455085f3578e4de428danddocnum=6and_fmtstr=FULLand_startdoc=1andwchp=dGLbVtz-zSkAland_md5=f4756b7493583c302d5375ed8a4b39a8)

Despite promises of a "commonsense plan" to lower gas prices, the …to encourage the construction of new nuclear power plants.

Even if Russia doesn’t collapse – opportunistic China causes Russia-China border war which causes extinction

Sharavin 1 (Alexander, 10-3-2001, Defense and Security)

Chinese propaganda has constantly been showing us skyscrapers in free …the first frost of a possible nuclear winter.

Russia - SFSU
Plan collapses oil prices – positive market signal

Poruban 12 (Steven, senior editor for the Oil and Gas Journal, “API: Raising US oil supplies key to lowering gasoline prices,” Oil and Gas Journal, March 20, 2012, http://www.ogj.com/articles/2012/03/api-raising-us-oil-supplies-key-to-lowering-gasoline-prices.html)
A major component to relieving upward pressure on …administration lifted the moratorium on offshore drilling and in a matter of days, oil prices fell by $15-16/bbl.
Low production will keep prices high – bolsters the link

Bunker Port News 12 (“Barclays' Brent Crude Oil forecast for 2013 is $125/bl; $180/bl by 2020,” August 31, 2012, http://www.bunkerportsnews.com/News.aspx?ElementId=86b8fe0d-c717-482b-9dd0-9686132ac0f9)
The key difference Barclays sees between oil and most …$180/bl before the decade closes.” Barclays predicted.
The Russian economy will remain stable given continued high oil prices

Kolyander 9/5 (Alexander, “Russian Economy Minister: Ruble Excessively Strong,” The Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2012, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443819404577633272208071512.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)
The Russian ruble is excessively strong, which may …as it could cause faster import growth and slow down economic growth.
Russian collapse causes terrorist nuclear theft and escalates all conflicts

Speice 6 (Patrick F. Jr., “Negligence and Nuclear Nonproliferation: Eliminating the Current Liability Barrier to Bilateral U.S.-Russian Nonproliferation Assistance Programs,” William and Mary Law Review, Vol. 47, No. 4)
The potential consequences of the unchecked spread…draw in the United States and escalate to the use of nuclear weapons. (53
Nuclear terrorism will cause extinction

Sid-Ahmed 4 (Mohamed, Managing Editor for Al-Ahali, “Extinction!” August 26-September 1, Issue no. 705, http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/705/op5.htm)
A nuclear attack by terrorists will be much more critical than Hiroshima …the whole planet, we will all be losers.

Tournament: UMKC | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All

IFR CP

Counterplan Text: The United States Federal Government should offer purchase power agreements to companies that generate electricity from Integral Fast Reactors

The Reactor is Inherently safe – survived Chernobyl and Three Mile Island disaster tests without incident

Charles E. Till¶ (Adapted from a series of four articles, entitled Plentiful Energy, the IFR Story, and Related Matters, in THE REPUBLIC News and Issues Magazine, June-September 2005. Preface by Terry Robinson.) http://www.sustainablenuclear.org/PADs/pad0509till.html

The new safety characteristics of the reactor can be summarized …again with a quiet, damage-free shutdown.

Nuclear reprocessing re-invigorates the nuclear industry and eliminates the need for Yucca Mountain

Jack Spencer, Research Fellow in Nuclear Energy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, November 15, 2007, The Heritage Foundation, Competitive Nuclear Energy Investment: Avoiding Past Policy Mistakes, http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/bg2086.cfm

The U.S. government even banned entire com­mercial …ordered by 1977 have since become operational.

Court decision in June of this year has reopened debate on Yucca – their increase in nuclear energy is going to drive the NRC to have to reopen it

Tetreault, June of 2012.  Steve, “ruling reopens debate on Yucca Mountain” Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 8

"At this time there is not even a prospective site for a …long-term disposal solution," Fettus said.

Yucca Mountain would lead to extinction and the destruction of the biosphere – our probability is infinite

David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1

We have come a long way in a very short time indeed. But 225 years …of nuclear power - "too cheap to meter."

Net Benefit

Yucca Mountain would lead to extinction and the destruction of the biosphere – our probability is infinite

David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1

We have come a long way in a very short time indeed. But 225 years is….of the promise of nuclear power - "too cheap to meter."

Exposure of water to nuclear waste under Yucca Mountain would result in explosions of steam equivalent to the asteroid that extinguished the dinosaurs

David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1

And what else is unthinkable? That Natural processes will breach the …unacceptable when there is evidence of water under Yucca Mountain.

High risk of accidents which results in extinction

David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1

While theories of "autocatalytic criticality" caused by flooding have been …be the last bookkeeping error mankind ever made.

Yucca Mountain unsafe – volcanoes, contamination and terrorism

PEJ 2k4 ,  “Why do many people think Nevada's Yucca Mountain is an unsafe place to store nuclear waste?”, http://www.pej.org/html/index.php/modules.php?op=modloadandname=Newsandfile=articleandsid=945andmode=threadandorder=0andthold=0

According to Judy Treichel, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear …pass would suffer economically if the plan goes through.

More than 600 earthquakes in 20 years should serve as a wake-up call about Yucca Mountain

World Markets Analysis 02. Alaran, Gbenga. "Nevada Earthquake Hits Vicinity of Proposed Nuclear Storage Site." World Markets Analysis 17 June 2002. LexisNexis Academic. 24 July 2008.

As the Senate prepares to vote on whether to sanction the Bush …the boulders on the mountain's slope.

Thermal water flooding at Yucca Mountain could corrode storage casks and poison the ground water and atmosphere

State News Service 99. Preston, Mark D. "CONGRESS RAPPLES WITH HOW TO DISPOSE OF HIGH LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE." States News Service 1 Apr. 1999. LexisNexis Academic. 25 July 2008.

¶ Environmental groups are also concerned the …if there was an accident would do incredible damage."

IFRs also solve the need for additional enriched uranium another factor in proliferation

Barry Brook 16 October 2009 The Integral Fast Reactor – Summary for Policy Makers http://bravenewclimate.com/2009/10/16/ifr-spm/

Proliferation resistant: The IFR is proliferation … elements that are safe after 300 years.

IFRs can solve energy security and dwindling supplies for a millennium – it is unrivaled as a solution

Barry Brook 24 February 2011  Advanced nuclear power systems to mitigate climate change (Part III) http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/02/24/advanced-nuclear-power-systems-to-mitigate-climate-change/

Fossil fuels currently supply about 80% of humankind’s …problems facing humanity in the 21st century.

In addition, pyroprocessing in IFR makes weapons-usable material technically impossible – it is virtually proliferation-free technology

Barry Brook 24 February 2011  Advanced nuclear power systems to mitigate climate change (Part III) http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/02/24/advanced-nuclear-power-systems-to-mitigate-climate-change/

One of the arguments that was used to politically kill the IFR project, …still condoning aqueous has their facts backward.

SMRS = waste disposal

Makhijani and Boyd 10 (September, ARJUN MAKHIJANI, electrical and nuclear engineer who is President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research AND MICHELE BOYD, former director of the Safe Energy Program at Physicians for Social Responsibility, Small Modular Reactors  No Solution for the Cost, Safety, and Waste Problems of Nuclear Power, www.psr.org/nuclear-bailout/.../small-modular-reactors-no.pdf,)

Proponents claim that with longer operation on a single fuel charge and…capacity than faced by present-day above- ground reactors.

Plan forces NRC to reverse termination of Yucca Mountain due to court-ordered resolution of disposal problem

Post and Courier, 2012.  August 20 http:~/~/www.postandcourier.com/article/20120820/PC1002/120829989/1022/restart-yucca-mountain-projecthttp://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120820/PC1002/120829989/1022/restart-yucca-mountain-project

Nuclear plants in South Carolina and Georgia were …the Yucca Mountain waste repository.

Smaller is more expensive – no adoption.

Makhijani and Boyd 2010 (IEER Institute of energy and environmental research http:~/~/ieer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/pdf) JA

SMR proponents claim that small size will enable mass … scale and make nuclear power ¶ economically competitive.

Tournament: UMKC/SFSU | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All

Substantial

substantial increase is at least 30%

Bryson, 2001, Circuit Judge, US Court of Appeals Federal Circuit

265 F.3d 1371; 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 20590; 60 U.S.P.Q.2D (BNA) 1272, 9/19, lexis)

The term "to increase substantially" in claim 1 of the '705 …and the patent did not make clear which of those ways was used in the claim.

Increase = Pre-existing

Interpretation: Increase mandates a pre-existing program.

Brown, 03 (US Federal Judge for the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON (ELENA MARK and PAUL GUSTAFSON, 

Plaintiffs, v. VALLEY INSURANCE COMPANY and VALLEY PROPERTY AND CASUALTY, Defendants, 7/17, L/N)

FCRA does not define the term "increase." The plain …payment of the premium for that insured's insurance **23 coverage at a lower price.

USFG

A. INTERPRETATION.

For this topic, “United States federal government should” acts as means of the United States Federal Government providing democracy assistance.

The USFG is the government in Washington D.C.

Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2k http:~/~/com/

 “The federal government of the United States is centered in Washington DC”

Tea Ev – SFSU
The plan action is aimed at providing incentives to CO2 producers and transporters, not oil production
NEORI, 2012 – THEIR OWN AUTHORS.  “CARBON DIOXIDE ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY: A CRITICAL DOMESTIC ENERGY, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL OPPORTUNITY,” February, http://www.neori.org/NEORI_Report.pdf
Thanks to the efforts of private industry and DOE, many …and begin supplying¶ CO2 to the EOR industry.

Our evidence has a brightline – the incentives are NOT directed at EOR operators, but instead are directed to capture and pipeline projects
NEORI, 2012 – THEIR OWN AUTHORS.  “CARBON DIOXIDE ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY: A CRITICAL DOMESTIC ENERGY, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL OPPORTUNITY,” February, http://www.neori.org/NEORI_Report.pdf

While the business model of the U.S. EOR industry¶ has …and power¶ plants, rather than to EOR operators.

Easy test of topicality – could the plan be done without any involvement of EOR – the answer is yes
NEORI, 2012 – THEIR OWN AUTHORS.  “CARBON DIOXIDE ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY: A CRITICAL DOMESTIC ENERGY, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL OPPORTUNITY,” February, http://www.neori.org/NEORI_Report.pdf

This approach will enable a variety of industry sectors¶ to market new …geologic formations beyond oil and gas fields.

Tournament: UMKC | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All

FW 1NC

This is a prior question that must be resolved first – it is a pre-condition for debate to occur

Shively 2k (Assistant Prof Political Science at Texas AandM, Ruth Lessl, Partisan Politics and Political Theory, p. 181-2)

The requirements given thus far are primarily negative. The …In other words, contestation rests on some basic agreement or harmony.

Limits are key

Lutz 2k (Donald S. Professor of Polisci at Houston, Political Theory and Partisan Politics p. 39-40)

Aristotle notes in the Politics that political theory simultaneously …lends to an analysis and comparison of ac­tual political systems.

Abandoning politics cedes it to the elites – causes war, slavery, and authoritarianism

Boggs 2k (CAROL BOGGS, PF POLITICAL SCIENCE – SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, 00, THE END OF POLITICS, 250-1)

But it is a very deceptive and misleading minimalism.  While Oakeshott …the facile antirationalism of Oakeshott’s Burkean muddling-through theories. 

And, disengagement from traditional politics is doomed to cynicism – our hypothesizing about the complex inner-working of government is key to creating space for the critique

McClean 1 (David E., “The Cultural Left and the Limits of Social Hope,” Am. Phil. Conf., www.american-philosophy.org/archives/past_conference_programs/pc2001/Discussion%20papers/david_mcclean.htm)

Yet for some reason, at least partially explicated in Richard Rorty's Achieving Our Country, a …disrespect for the so-called "managerial class."

And, Global governance is a prerequisite to local solutions - relying on local-level strategies fails to engage in real world change and dooms global politics to perpetual violence

Monbiot 4 (George, journalist, academic, and political and environmental activist, 2004, Manifesto for a New World Order, p. 11-13)

The quest for global solutions is difficult and divisive. Some members of …climate change from destroying the conditions it requires for its survival.

FW Block

This is a false choice - they can always win that the principles of their advocacy are good in the abstract—we can only debate the merits of their framework if they defend the specific consequences of political implementation

Ignatieff 4 (Michael, Lesser Evils, Carr professor of human rights at Harvard,  p. 20-1)

As for moral perfectionism, this would be the doctrine that a liberal state …thus respect for one right might lead us to betray another

No offense – even though debate might be flawed, switch-side checks all offense

Muir 93 (Department of Communications at George Mason,  Star, “A Defense of the Ethics of Contemporary Debate,” Philosophy and Rhetoric 26(4), Gale Academic)

Contemporary debate, even in the context …petrifactions into living and impressionable soul that we insist on their utility.

Impossible to be negative without prior agreement on the terms of the resolution

Shively 2k (Ruth Lessl, Assoc Prof Polisci at Texas AandM, Political Theory and Partisan Politics p. 182-3)

The point may seem trite, as surely the ambiguists would agree that basic terms …arguments. Such agreements are simply implicit in the act of argumentation.  

Our argument doesn’t preclude revolutionary conceptions of the resolution –grounding radical activism in the rules of political contest is the only truly subversive act

Shively 2k (Ruth Lessl Assoc Prof Polisci at Texas AandM, Political Theory and Partisan Politics p. 180)

'Thus far, I have argued that if the ambiguists mean to be subversive …silence or exclude those who reject civility and democracy.

Exposing the flaws of the system does nothing – real change must start with the state

Johnston 5 (Adrian, Dept of Philosophy, New Mexico University, International Journal of Zizek Studies, Vol. 1)

However, the absence of this type of Lacan-underwritten argument in …, then why dirty one’s hands bothering with the latter?

Debate empowers democratic decision-makers and preserves the process of democratic deliberation.

Hill 8 (Sara, Afterschool Matters: Creative Programs That Connect Youth Development and Student Achievement, MEd from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her EdD from Peabody College, Vanderbilt University)

Civic education, or what we are calling democracy…of terms used in the language to describe democratic development or civic engagement.

Theorizing is a direct trade-off with political action – that causes a resurgence of the genocidal atrocities of the 20^th century

Wolin 4 (Richard, distinguished professor of intellectual history at Graduate Center, City University of New York, The Seduction of Unreason: the intellectual romance with fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism, pg. 8-9)

The Seduction of Unreason is an exercise in intellectual genealogy….poststructuralists had emphatically denounced, seemed to merit a second look.

Tournament: UMKC/SFSU | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All

AT Nuclear Affs

Spreading nuclear energy inevitably increases proliferation

Miller 9 (Steven E. Miller and Scott D. Sagan Nuclear power without   nuclear proliferation? © 2009 by the American Academy of Arts   and SciencesDædalus Fall 2009, 7-18, http:~/~/iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/22659/Sagan_Nuclear_power_without_nuclear_pdf) JD

Concerns about proliferation  (whether to states or terrorists) …or efforts  to contain risks are unsuccessful, the  nuclear future will be dangerous.

Technical changes don’t solve prolif – it’s motivated by a still existing political desire

Acton 9 (James M. Acton is an associate in the Nonproliferation Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and frequent contribu- tor to the prominent blog Arms Control Wonk. a member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials, The myth of proliferation-resistant technology, December)

Forty years on, Hardin’s central thesis—that it is impossible to solve …nuclear insecurity, a more politically savvy approach to proliferation resistance is needed.

Peaceful nuclear cooperation causes prolif

Fuhrmann 9 (Matthew, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of South Carolina, Abstract of “Spreading Temptation: Proliferation and Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Agreements  Matthew Fuhrmann”,, International Security  Summer 2009, Vol. 34, No. 1, http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/isec.2009.34.1.7)

Peaceful nuclear cooperation—the transfer of nuclear …willingness to assist other countries in developing peaceful nuclear programs.

Prolif doesn’t snowball – their “tipping point” arguments rely on the same discredited assumptions as cold war domino theory.

Potter and Mukhatzhanova, ‘8

(William (Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar Professor of Nonproliferation Studies and Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies) and Gaukhar (Research Associate at the James Martin Center. International Security), Vol. 33, No. 1, Summer 2008, pp. 139-169, “Divining Nuclear Intentions”, RSR)

Hymans is keenly aware of the deficiency of past …Anwar al-Sadat, though not discussed by Hymans, also seems to fit this category.

SMRs aren’t any safer than other reactors

Forbes 12 (Small Modular Nuclear Reactors By 2022 But No Market For Them 12 Forbes McMahon 0523, Forbes Magazine, TECH | 5/23/2012 @ 3:03PM |5,221 views

Jeff McMahon, Contributor From Chicago, I cover green technology, energy, and the environment.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2012/05/23/small-modular-reactors-by-2022-but-no-market-for-them/)

Senate staff also heard criticism of the …order to remedy these oversights, regulation should be revisited.

SMRs aren’t safer

Lyman 12 (Edwin Lyman, Senior Scientist, UCS. Presentation to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board SMR Subcommittee. May 30, 2012, www.ne.doe.gov%2Fsmrsubcommittee%2Fdocuments%2FLyman%2520Presentation%25205-30-12.pptx)

In general, SMRs ( 300 MWe) are not intrinsically safer than …partners should halt their drive to weaken SMR regulatory requirements

Proliferation deters large-scale regional war

David Karl, Ph.D. International Relations at the University of Southern California, “Proliferation Pessimism and Emerging Nuclear Powers,” International Security, Winter, 1996/1997, p. 90-91

Although this school bases its claims upon the U.S-Soviet…that some even advocate its selective abettance by current nuclear powers.’

Proliferation prevents miscalculations of damage which empirically causes the bloodiest wars

Kenneth Waltz, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate, 1995, p. 6-7

Certainty about the relative strength of adversaries also …they believed the oppos­ing coalitions to be quite evenly matched.

SMRs have meltdowns – not uniquely safe

Singer 2012 (writer for the St. Louis Beacon, “Big or small, questions about nuclear reactors remain” https:~/~/www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/24610/pros_cons_of_small_modular_org/#!/content/24610/pros_cons_of_small_modular_reactors ) JA

But Ed Smith of the Missouri Coalition for the org/ …problems in theory as you would have from a large reactor.”

SMRs Explode – probably dangerous to have on a military base

Makhijani and Boyd 2010 (IEER Institute of energy and environmental research http:~/~/ieer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/pdf) JA

Of the various types of proposed SMRs, liquid metal fast reactor designs…a sodium ¶ explosion.¶ 23¶ The most recent commercial¶

AT K Affs

Equivocating on policy implementation makes poor curriculum and turns their arguments.

Gitlin 6 (Todd, an American writer, sociologist, communications scholar, and author of 14 books, “The intellectuals and the flag,” pg. 67-69)

Weak thinking on the American left was especially glaring after …it is useless.  It amounts to secession from the world where most people live.

Rejecting politics dooms their project, threatens the planet, cedes politics to the Right – culminating in extinction.

Small 6 (Jonathan, former Americorps VISTA for the Human Services Coalition, “Moving Forward,” Journal for Civic Commitment, Issue 7, 2006)

What will be the challenges of the new millennium? And how …, we will look at the beginning stages of a project that seeks to do just that.

Institutional approaches are the only way to avoid the collapse of all movements and effectively challenge the flawed state policies.

Grossberg 92 (Lawrence, Professor of Communication Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, We Gotta Get Out of this Place: Popular Conservatism and Postmodern Culture, page 388-389)

The demand for moral and ideological purity …of institutionalization, even if they are impure and compromised.

Yhe State is not going anywhere… it is the actor in politics. Their K of that starting point is a distraction.

Claude 88 (Dr. Inis is a Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs, Emeritus, at the University of Virginia. During his teaching career, Professor Claude held positions at the University of Michigan, Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Wales, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Institute of Social Studies at the Hague. States and the Global System – 1988)

Finally, let us take note of the view that …than to rail against the system and to dream of abolishing.

Critical pedagogy links to anti-politics and creates a fantastic vacuum for the Right.

Alanís 6 (Jaime Alanís, doctoral student in educational policy studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, “How Much are You Willing to Risk? How Far are You Willing to Go”? Cultural Studies = Critical Methodologies, 2006; 6; 166, http://csc.sagepub.com)

Ilan Gur-Ze’ev (2000) argues that if critical pedagogy …will not provide a feasible alternative to Rightist policies

They say that they are a different style of debate but An emphasis on “style” distracts from political mobiliztion

Marchart 4 (Oliver Marchart is a professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Lucerne – Peace Review 16:4, December (2004), 415-420 – http://www.csub.edu/~mault/subcultures3.pdf)

It should be clear by now how the traditional approach of subcultural studies …roads lead to Rome, and not all paths lead to politics.

Claiming that alternate style or form serves as “political” is a form of anti-politics

Marchart 4 (Oliver Marchart is a professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Lucerne – Peace Review 16:4, December (2004), 415-420 – http://www.csub.edu/~mault/subcultures3.pdf)

In what came to be called the "resistance through style" paradigm of …from the early subcultural studies paradigm.

Their aff doesn’t result in effective “new politics” and they don’t control the internal link to politics – they solely cede politics to the Right

Gitlin 5 (Todd formerly served as professor of sociology and director of the mass communications program at the University of California, Berkeley, and then a professor of culture, journalism and sociology at New York University. He is now a professor of journalism and sociology and chair of the Ph.D. program in Communications at Columbia University. He was a long-time political activist( from the Left). From the Book: The Intellectuals and the Flag – 2005 – available via CIAO Books – date accessed 7/17/10 – http://www.ciaonet.org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/book/git01/git01_04.pdf)

Yet the audacious adepts of “theory” constitute themselves …weight, and so the preoccupation and the style go on and on.

Offensively – their efforts only teaches us a life lesson that renders us ineffective at communicating social change.

Tadajewski 6 (Dr. Mark Tadajewski -- Lecturer in Critical Marketing. University of Essex, UK -- Marketing Theory, Vol. 6, No. 2, 163-199 -- http://mtq.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/6/2/163)

Lowe et al. (2004) and Lowe et al.1 (2005) offer us a recent example of this …to the criteria as we find them. (Peter et al., 1980: 15)  

Case – SFSU
Solar Affs
Solar is expensive – plan doesn’t do enough to make it worthwhile

Trembath 2012 (Alex, Policy Associate with the Breakthrough Institute’s Energy and Climate Program, “Gas Boom Poses Challenges for Renewables and Nuclear,” The Breakthrough Institute, April 30, http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/2012/04/gas_boom_poses_challenges_for.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBreakthroughInstitute+%28The+Breakthrough+Institute%29&utm_content=Google+Reader.) EP
Residential and commercial rooftop solar have to …balance-of-systems, and financing costs.
Solar too expensive – kills econ

IER 7/19 (“Solar Subsidies Make Electricity Bills More Expensive,” Institute for Energy Research, 2012, http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2012/07/19/13253/.) EP
Renewable energy supporters have been emphatic …Americans will continue to have reliable energy that won’t come at a premium.
Solar power fails – energy capcity, land useage, and high costs – plan doesn’t do enough to overcome these barriers
Zycher, Pacific Research Institute Senior Fellow, April 19, 12 (Benjamin, Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics adjunct professor, associate in the Intelligence Community Associates Program of the Office of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, former senior staff economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisers, “Zycher testimony to joint House subcommittee hearing on subsidies for renewable energy,” http://www.aei.org/article/energy-and-the-environment/alternative-energy/zycher-testimony-to-joint-house-subcommittee-hearing-on-subsidies-for-renewable-energy/, 9/25/12)MJG
The same general problem afflicts solar power. The energy content of …by its very nature is limited and expensive.
Multiple barriers to solar growth – transmission costs and low capacity factors
Zycher, Pacific Research Institute Senior Fellow, March 27, 12 (Benjamin, Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics adjunct professor, associate in the Intelligence Community Associates Program of the Office of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, former senior staff economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisers, “Renewable Energy Subsidies Should Be Abandoned,” http://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Zycher%20Senate%20Finance%20renewables%20incentives%20testimony%203-27-12.pdf, 9/25/12)MJG
Policy preferences for renewable electricity at both the federal and …with the¶ intermittent nature of wind flows and sunlight.3
Too many limitations to competition – 12 hours of the day and underdeveloped technology
Blackwell 12 (Richard, “In the darkness, solar industry sees some light,” Globe and Mail, July 14th, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/in-the-darkness-solar-industry-sees-some-light/article4416338/?page=all.)
Like wind, solar power is a variable source of electricity…handle peak daytime loads due to air conditioning and cooking, he said.
Solar power ineffective investment – big companies fail – and, alt causes to solar failure
Chumley 12 (Cherly. BP gives up on solar power. 2/2/12. http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2012/02/02/bp-gives-solar-power)
BP, an energy company that won praise from environmental activists…against the reliability and low cost of fossil fuels.”
Solar power has excess capacity in the squo, it is pointless to increase production incentives
Wang 12 (Ucilia. 6/27/12. Forbes. Report: Solar panel supply will far exceed demand beyond 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/uciliawang/2012/06/27/report-solar-panel-production-will-far-exceed-demand-beyond-2012/.)
When solar equipment manufactures began posting …half or plan to add more production lines in the next few years.

K Affs
Apolitical theorizing exists only in the ivory tower and fails to persuade anyone or change anything

Lepgold and Nincic 10 (Joesph, associate professor of Government at Georgetown and Miroslav professor of Poly Sci at UC-Davis, Beyond the Ivory Tower: International Relations Theory and the Issue of Policy Relevance pg. 2-4)
For many reasons, connections between scholarly ideas…and foreign policy can be useful beyond the Ivory Tower.

Theorizing about epistemology, ontology, and methodology is useless – only policy discussions will have an impact outside of this debate

Lepgold and Nincic 10 (Joesph, associate professor of Government at Georgetown and Miroslav professor of Poly Sci at UC-Davis, Beyond the Ivory Tower: International Relations Theory and the Issue of Policy Relevance pg. 6-7)
Unlike literature, pure mathematics, or formal logic, the study of …academia. This balance must be redressed if SIR is to resonate outside the Ivory Tower.
Oil Affs
Numerous factors play a part in success – the aff can’t do anything about these
US DOE, 2010.  “Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery,” March, http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/oil-gas/publications/EP/small_CO2_EOR_Primer.pdf
¶ The potential impact of CO2 EOR is not so much a matter of whether …advancement and dissemination¶ These factors can be hard to predict.¶ 

No solvency - Social, health and environmental problems will increase due to extra energy consumption needed for CCS
Friends of Earth Denmark, 2010.

Likewise the social, health and environmental …possible leakages from underground storage and CO2 transport
infrastructure.
High oil prices spur global investment into renewables
Armstrong, 11 (Dan, September 2, 2011, “Higher oil prices spur production of renewable energy sources”, http://tmagazine.ey.com/insights/higher-oil-prices-spur-production-of-renewable-energy-sources/, 8/4/12, atl)

The past year has marked a watershed in R&D …world needs to ramp up the production of renewable energy sources.
Renewables solve warming
Rosenberg 2008 (Ronald Rosenberg, Professor of Law, Director of the American Legal System Program, William and Mary Law School, 2008, “Diversifying America's Energy Future: The Future of Renewable Wind Power,” online)
Arguably the strongest advantage of wind power …power will be empha- sized as a viable alternative energy source.
Plan won’t solve warming  – too leaky
Johnston, 2010.  Casey, “Carbon sequestration too leaky to stop global warming,” July 6, http://arstechnica.com/science/2010/07/carbon-sequestration-too-leaky-to-stop-global-warming/

Carbon dioxide sequestration isn't a great global …one thousand years in order to fully prevent global warming.

Study shows the plan won’t deliver significant reduction in time to keep global temperature increase down – their advantage isn’t true
Friends of Earth Denmark, 2010.  June, http://noah.dk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Cumulative_CO2_Reductions_from_CCS_on_coal.pdf
¶ Abstract. This brief study endeavours to estimate ….remaining 2o Celsius CO2-budget that could be allotted to coal.¶
Oil benefits create an employment bubble that will inevitably burst
Gold, 12 (Russell, Columnist for the Wall Street Journal, February 8, 2012, “Oil and Gas Boom Lifts U.S. Economy” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204652904577195303471199234.html, 8/1/12, atl)

Though the energy boom looks like a road to prosperity, it may ….and Regional Planning Department and funded in part by a foundation opposed to shale drilling.

No catastrophic warming and its not human caused- past temperatures were hotter and we didn’t cause them nor die from them
Idso, Carter and Singer 2011 [Craig D. Ph.D Chairman for the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, Robert M. Ph.D Adjunct Research Fellow James Cook University, S. Fred Ph.D President of Science and Environmental Policy Project, Climate Change  Reconsidered  2011 Interim Report” Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change http://nipccreport.org/reports/2011/pdf/2011NIPCCinterimreport.pdf
Evidence of a Medieval Warm Period (MWP)   ….portray the   supposedly unprecedented warming of the past few   decades.
No credible evidence proves that warming is anthropogenic

Singer ’07 (S. Fred, Dennis T Singer, distinguished research professor at George Mason and Avery, director of the Center for Global Food Issues at the Hudson Institute, 2007, “Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years” Pages 7-8)

The Earth has recently been warming. This is …Bangladesh. We have the warming. Now we must ascertain its cause.

Tournament: SFSU | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All

Cap Bad

1NC

They theorize power wrong – their project shuts down a Marxist approach to politics. Focus on micropolitics renders capitalism invisible as violence continues unfettered.

Katz 2k (Adam, English Instructor at Onodaga Community College. 2000. Postmodernism and the Politics of “Culture.” Pg. 104-105)

Contemporary attempts to conceptualize these cultural …pro­duced through the contradictory processes of material production.

Embracing a methodology of anti-capitalism is a precursor to all action – without declaring war on capitalism, all forms of praxis are bankrupt and all revolutionary politics stifled.

Katz 2k (Adam, English Instructor at Onodaga Community College. 2000. Postmodernism and the Politics of “Culture.” Pg. 127-128)

Virno does recognize the danger that a politics predicated upon …as a genuinely “new” politics.

Capitalism renders whole populations standing reserves, making widespread extermination inevitable, culminating in the destruction of the planet

Internationalist Perspective 2k (Spring 2000, “Capitalism and Genocide”, #36, http://www.geocities.com/wageslavex/capandgen.html)

Mass death, and genocide, the deliberate and systematic …entail more and more frequent recourse to mass murder.

The Alternative is to vote negative: The only way to open up space for a new kind of activity beyond merely “global capitalism with a human face” is to renounce facile calls to direct action. Doing Nothing is the only starting point away from capital.

Zizek 4 (Slavoj, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Social Studies in Ljubljana, 2004, Iraq: The Borrowed Kettle, p. 71-74)

The stance of simply condemning the postmodern Left for its …what the Third Way is – or, rather, was – about).

Block

Their whole epistemological approach is tainted by the violence of production – this makes independent thinking impossible and cuts off the ability to think through the result of their proposed action. That means they lose.

Katz 2k (Adam, English Instructor at Onodaga Community College. 2000. Postmodernism and the Politics of “Culture.” Pg.199)

The core of these antinomies is the unity of necessity and violence …That is, radical alterity is ide­ology critique as the foundational mode of political action.

Despite questions of feasibility and consequence; being bound ethically to the revolution is the only posture that acknowledges hope to stop massive suffering.

Daly 4 (Glyn, Senior Lecturer in Politics in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at University College, Northampton, 2004, Conversations With Zizek, p. 14-16)

For Zizek it is imperative that we cut through this Gord­ian knot of …reduce the status of the abject Other to that of a ‘glitch’ in an otherwise sound matrix.

Their leftist stance invokes a bunch of buzzwards that obscure complicity with capitalist politics – only resistance in line with an ethic of revolution solves.

Katz 2k (Adam, English Instructor at Onodaga Community College. 2000. Postmodernism and the Politics of “Culture.” Pg.189-190)

With such contradictions, Dirlik’s concluding affirmation of a politics…and postmodern, and local and global collide and de­construct each other.

Tournament: SFSU | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All

CP’s

States

State action gets modeled due to local innovation

Lash ’07 (Jonathan, “Climate Policy in the State Laboratory: How States Influence Federal Regulation and the Implications for U.S. Policy,” World Resources Institute, September, http:~/~/www.wri.org/publication/org/publication/climate-policy-in-the-state-laboratory, TGA)

America has a long and inspiring tradition of policy innovation and …which we build the low-carbon economy of the future.

States drive oil production best

Bluey ’12 (Rob, The Foundry, Heritage Foundation, “Under Obama, Oil and Gas Production on Federal Lands Is Down 40%,” 1/18, http:~/~/blog.heritage.org/2012/01/18/under-obama-oil-and-gas-production-on-federal-lands-is-down-40/http://blog.heritage.org/2012/01/18/under-obama-oil-and-gas-production-on-federal-lands-is-down-40/, TGA)

The vast majority of America’s new oil and gas production is …or oil and mine for coal or other our minerals in federal areas in a timely manner.

States solve RPS

Edison Electric '07 (Non- Profit Electric Research Facility, 12/1, http:~/~/www.eei.org/industry_issues/electricity_policy/federal_legislation/EEI_pdf)

States already are encouraging the development of …even further for consumers and electricity suppliers in those states.

The perm crowds out state regulations which solve better.

Adler ‘06 (Law Professor at Case Western, Case Research Paper Series in Legal Studies, Working Paper 06-09)

This article seeks to identify the ways in which federal actions can …net reduction of regulatory protection for environmental resources.

States are looked to internationally

Resnik ’07 (Arthur Liman Professor of Law at Yale Law School, Judith, “Foreign As Domestic Affairs: Rethinking Horizontal Federalism And Foreign Affairs Preemption In Light Of Translocal Internationalism”, 57 Emory L.J. 31, Lexis, TGA)

Horizontal federalism - state-to-state interactions of a variety … no legislative proposals and others, such as Texas, had ninety-three. n51

States taking the lead on solar energy – they set a national example

Schoning 8/3/12 (Christian, Star-Ledger, “How N.J. solar energy outshines the other 49 states,” http:~/~/blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2012/08/how_nj_solar_energy_html, TGA)

To say that New Jersey has made leaps and bounds in the solar industry …turning the stereotype of the "Dirty Jerz" on its head.

China Tariffs

Text: The United States Federal Government should eliminate tariffs on Chinese solar panels.

Chinese solar panels key to solar production

Goldenberg 12 (Suzanne, US Environment Correspondent, “US to impose tariff on Chinese solar panels in victory for domestic makers,” 3/20, http:~/~/www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/20/) EP

But low-cost solar panels are also helping some … grown exponentially in recent years, from $21.3m in 2005 to $2.65bn last year.

Chinese solar panels key to solar industry – job losses irrelevant

Huffington Post 11 (“China Solar Subsidies Pose Dilemma For U.S. Trade,” 12/20, http:~/~/www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/china-solar-subsidy-american-manufacturing_n_1160657.) EP

While Chinese subsidies may be killing American solar …past year, he added. "This lawsuit threatens that growth."

Tariffs pit U.S. against China – bad

Walsh 12 (Bryan, “Solar: U.S. Slaps Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels, But the Trade War May Be on Hold,” Time Science, March 21, http:~/~/ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2012/03/21/solar-u-s-slaps-tariffs-on-chinese-solar-panels-but-the-trade-war-may-be-off/#) EP

Still, it’s notable anytime the federal government…me on Monday. And it probably wouldn’t help the climate either.

Counter Advocacy – Science in Policy Making Good

We affirm a skepticism in science and involvement of that science in policymaking decisions

Environmental Science and Policy, 2000.  “In support of skepticism,” Vol. 3 (1)

¶ Most scientists acknowledge the importance of …not an intellectual virtue; it is an intellectual crime" (Lakatos, 1978).¶ ¶

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Tournament: Shirley | Round: 1 | Opponent: NU MP  | Judge: Lincoln Garrett
A. Reduce means make lower
Collins English Dictionary, 2009 (“Reduce”, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reduce?s=t)

1. to bring down to a smaller extent, size, amount, number, etc.: to reduce one's weight by 10 pounds.
   B. The restriction doesn’t come into effect until 2015 – aff only prevents a future increase in restrictions
   C. Vote negative
   Limits – any number of future restrictions could be banned which makes debate impossible because we can’t predict the number of aff’s under that interpretation like future liscensing restrictions or air standards
   Ground – no one writes future predictive UQ evidence which means we can’t win disads to preventing restrictions that come into effect in the future
   Education – the aff precludes topic specific education about natural gas production because they do not compare a world of the aff with the squo – in both worlds, the restriction does not yet exist
   D. Topicality is a voter for fairness and education

Tournament: Shirley | Round: 1 | Opponent: NU MP  | Judge: Lincoln Garrett
Fiscal cliff gets resolved now, but only with Obama leadership 

Reuters, November 7th, 2012
(“Boehner Extends Olive Branch on 'Fiscal Cliff'” http://www.cnbc.com/id/49731550) sjg
House Speaker John Boehner offered … needed legislatively to get tax reform done," he said.
This must be first agenda item – Compromise is currently available and it won’t be easy but Obama has political capital now– plan risks taking President’s focus off the ball

Atkins, November 8th, 2012
(Kimberly, “Prez returns to D.C. with more clout” http://bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view/20221108prez_returns_to_dc_with_more_clout) sjg
WASHINGTON — When President Obama … plenty of fight in them.
Presidential leadership is key to a compromise – the alternative is the collapse of hegemony, a double-dip recession, and war in the Middle East

Hutchison, 2012  (U.S. Senator from the great state of Texas, 9/21, Kay Bailey, “A Looming Threat to National Security,” States News Service, Lexis)
Despite warnings of the dire consequences, America is … economic growth and punish working families.
Middle East conflict – whether on purpose or through miscalculation – could escalate into nuclear, chemical and biological weapon use

James A. Russell,  2009.  Senior Lecturer, National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School, ‘9 (Spring) “Strategic Stability Reconsidered: Prospects for Escalation and Nuclear War in the Middle East” IFRI, Proliferation Papers, #26, http://www.ifri.org/downloads/PP26_Russell_2009.pdf
Strategic stability in the region is thus undermined by … for the peoples of the region, with substantial risk for the entire world. ¶ 

Tournament: Shirley | Round: 1 | Opponent: NU MP  | Judge: Lincoln Garrett
Counterplan Text: The Environmental Protection Agency should issue a guidance document clarifying that restrictions on natural gas production in the Environmental Protection Agency’s New Source Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Reviews are no longer binding.
Guidance documents on energy issues are treated as binding and enforced

Nelson, 11 (3/23/2011, Gabriel, “Bush's Rulemaking Czar Blasts EPA's Use of 'Guidance'” http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/03/23/23greenwire-bushs-rulemaking-czar-blasts-epas-use-of-guida-47538.html?pagewanted=all)
As businesses and states challenge U.S. EPA's new …e as binding," Walton wrote (EandENews PM, Jan. 18).¶ 

 2NC  

CP solves 100% of the case and avoids politics – the Nelson evidence form the 1NC indicates that agency guidance documents are enforced as if they are binding without being legally or legislatively binding – THE REASON this avoids politics is because the memo would not be an agenda item in congress which means it doesn’t distract from the debt ceiling.
Politics is a net benefit – counterplan generates less opposition and not until after the guidance document has been issued

Raso, 10 --- J.D., Yale Law (January 2010, Connor N., The Yale Law Journal, “Note: Strategic or Sincere? Analyzing Agency Use of Guidance Documents,” Lexis)
A. Congressional and Presidential Preferences ¶ …intervene against the agency.
CP avoids politics – stays below the political radar

Raso, 10 --- J.D., Yale Law (January 2010, Connor N., The Yale Law Journal, “Note: Strategic or Sincere? Analyzing Agency Use of Guidance Documents,” Lexis)
B. Alignment of Political Principals ¶ Agency leaders facing a Congress … the agency cannot please both of its superiors. ¶
Perm Do CP
This is Severance and a voting issue – guidance documents are distinct from rulemaking  considered a separate option

Raso, 10 --- J.D., Yale Law (January 2010, Connor N., The Yale Law Journal, “Note: Strategic or Sincere? Analyzing Agency Use of Guidance Documents,” Lexis)
i. legal treatment of guidance documents ¶ A. …have ¶ distinguished between the two in these difficult cases.
The CP is distinct from the plan  does not have the force of law but it still solves by altering conduct. The perm severs the certainty of administrative law.

Raso, 10 --- J.D., Yale Law (January 2010, Connor N., The Yale Law Journal, “Note: Strategic or Sincere? Analyzing Agency Use of Guidance Documents,” Lexis)
B. Interpretive Rules ¶ Courts are commonly … that a court will find that the rule is, indeed, ¶ interpretive rather than legislative¶ 

Tournament: Shirley | Round: 1 | Opponent: NU MP  | Judge: Lincoln Garrett
The Aff’s use of a particularized call for action solidifies the link – the liberal-parliamentary system is more than willing to use the plan as a justification for its own ends. Working within the hegemonic coordinates of the system destroys any hope for the critical portion of their aff to achieve its desired effect.

Zizek 1 (Slavoj, professor of philosophy at the university of Ljubljana, 2001, “Repeating Lenin,” http://lacan.com/replenin.htm, accessed January 28, 2004)
What are we to say to this? Again, the problem resides i…globally, things will remain the same!"
Capitalism renders whole populations standing reserves, making widespread extermination inevitable, culminating in the destruction of the planet

Internationalist Perspective 2k (Spring 2000, “Capitalism and Genocide”, #36, http://www.geocities.com/wageslavex/capandgen.html)
Mass death, and genocide, the deliberate and …and more frequent recourse to mass murder.

The Alternative is to vote negative: The only way to open up space for a new kind of activity beyond merely “global capitalism with a human face” is to renounce facile calls to direct action. Doing Nothing is the only starting point away from capital.

Zizek 4 (Slavoj, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Social Studies in Ljubljana, 2004, Iraq: The Borrowed Kettle, p. 71-74)
The stance of simply condemning the postmodern …is – or, rather, was – about).

Tournament: Wake | Round: 4 | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Interpretation: Incentives are contextually different from rules and regulations

Sam Schoofs, Calvin College, 2004,~ 6 August 2004 A federal Renewable Portfolio Standard: PolicyAnalysis and Proposal, http://www.wise-intern.org/ journal/2004/WISE2004-SamSchoofsFinalPaper.pdf.~

Renewable Energy Policy Overview There are two main categories of renewable energy policies. The
AND
financial incentives ~12~. Seven states currently have equipment certification programs in place

Violation: The Aff simply provides funding for SMRs – this is not a financial incentive

Reasons to Vote Negative:

Ground – the aff destroys neg ground – we cannot garner links to disads based on traditional financial incentives like tax incentives and loans if they simply provide the money necessary

Limits/Predictability – they explode the topic by forcing the affirmative to be prepared for any unprecedented funding created by an aff

Education – the aff kills topic specific education by diverting the debate away from energy financial incentives and discussing what it would be like to give a company or agency or other actor money to develop technology.  Financial incentivization functions distinctly from funding

Topicality is a voter for fairness and education

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Counterplan Text: The United States Federal Government fund the development of S-PRISM Integral Fast Reactors

Nuclear reprocessing re-invigorates the nuclear industry and eliminates the need for Yucca Mountain

Jack Spencer, Research Fellow in Nuclear Energy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, November 15, 2007, The Heritage Foundation, Competitive Nuclear Energy Investment: Avoiding Past Policy Mistakes, http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/bg2086.cfm

The U.S. government even banned entire com¬mercial technologies outright. In 1977
AND
1977, although some of plants ordered by 1977 have since become operational.

Court decision in June of this year has reopened debate on Yucca – their increase in nuclear energy is going to drive the NRC to have to reopen it

Tetreault, June of 2012.  Steve, "ruling reopens debate on Yucca Mountain" Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 8

"At this time there is not even a prospective site for a repository,
AND
radioactive nuclear waste without a long-term disposal solution," Fettus said.

Yucca Mountain would lead to extinction and the destruction of the biosphere – our probability is infinite

David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1

We have come a long way in a very short time indeed. But 225
AND
decades of the promise of nuclear power - "too cheap to meter."

Tournament: Wake | Round: 4 | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Incentives now – if the claims of the affirmative are true, no need for plan – the viability will be proven through these efforts and doesn’t risk disads

World Nuclear News 12 (World Nuclear News, SMR vendors apply for government funds, May 22 2012,
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-SMR_vendors_apply_for_government_funds-2205124.html) JD
The DoE announced in March 2012 that a total of %24450 million would be
AND
and licences in order to identify the most viable candidates for accelerated commercialization."

Plan eliminates innovations and prevents SMR expansions that will occur in the status quo

Taso 11 (Firas Eugen Taso, "21st Century Civilian Nuclear Power and the Role of Small Modular Reactors", Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Tufts University, May 2011 http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/docview/877618836) JD
However, the recommended approach and support for SMRs should be different from the approach
AND
and firms developing and commercializing them have a case to the market.245

Can’t prove viability or commercial competitiveness of nuclear with SMRs – smaller is more expensive

Makhijani %26 Boyd 2010 (IEER Institute of energy and environmental research http://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/small-modular-reactors2010.pdf-http://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/small-modular-reactors2010.pdf) JA
SMR proponents claim that small size will enable mass manufacture in a factory, enabling
AND
to achieve ¶ economies of scale and make nuclear power ¶ economically competitive.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Can’t Solve Grid Problems – too expensive, alt causes

Tverberg, 12 (Gail, received a M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Illinois, Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, Much of her early career was spent with CNA Insurance Companies in Chicago, Illinois. There she was involved in both pricing and reserving of casualty insurance coverages, "The Six Obstacles Facing US Wind Energy", The Oil Drum, 1/19/12, lexis) WP
Obstacle 4: In the US, we do not have an electrical grid that
AND
very difficult, such as that currently done by helicopters in remote locations.

No threat to power grids- their studies don’t take into account the laws of physics

Toor 10 (Amar Toor, "Don’t Worry, Terrorists Won’t Bring Down the U.S. Power Grid, Researchers Say", http://www.switched.com/2010/10/14/dont-worry-terrorists-wont-bring-down-the-u-s-power-grid-re/, 10/14/10, Accessed 7/13/12, WITASZEK)
Over the past few months, many politicians and national security experts have grown increasingly
AND
least amount of flow — it would be a massive waste of resources."

No impact to terrorists or solar storms- The GRID Act is already securing our grid from these threats

Schewe 10 (Phillip Schewe, ISNS, Phys.org, "Plans to Secure Power Grid From Terrorists, Solar Storms", phys.org/news195752582.html, 6/14/10, Accessed 7/18/12, KW)
Electricity is all around us. It lifts elevators, pumps gas, lights rooms
AND
the better to foil those who would plan terror attacks on the grid.

Nearly impossible to black out the power grid- hurricanes, physics prove

Brown 10 (Joshua E. Brown, staff writer at the University of Vermont, "Study: It’s Hard to Bring Down the Electric Grid", http://www.uvm.edu/~~uvmpr/?Page=News%26storyID=17119, 10/8/10, Accessed 7/14/12)
An important implication of Hines’s work, funded by the National Science Foundation, is
AND
says, "to really figure out how to make the grid fail."

Heg is dominant—there are no challengers

G. John Ikenberry is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at PrincetonUniversity. America Abroad. Weary Titan or Poorly Led Superpower? 9/5/05. http://houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/5/135627/8001. accessed 9/11/-http://houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/5/135627/8001. accessed 9/11/05
If America is overstretched, it is not because of declining material capabilities. Some
AND
. is utterly more powerful in relative terms and its rivals further behind.

US heg is not going anywhere—expect it for at least another century

Financial Times, 2/17, 2006 The American century shows no sign of ending MICHAEL LIND P.L
The rise and fall of great powers makes exciting history - all the more exciting
AND
same for a century and may remain so for another century or more. 

Tournament: Wake | Round: 4 | Opponent:  | Judge: 

The claims on this advantage would take 11,000 reactors and a 110 trillion dollar investment over the next 35 years – and that doesn’t even take into account liability costs

Oliver Tickell, 2012.  "Does the world need nuclear power to solve the climate crisis?" The Guardian, August 20, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/20/world-need-nuclear-power-climate-crisis-http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/20/world-need-nuclear-power-climate-crisis
Let’s look at the figures. In 2010 the world demand for primary energy was
AND
should ask what an 11,000-reactor world would be like.

Nuclear power produces massive amounts of CO2 in the production chain

Dr. Caldicott 1994 – President, Nuclear Policy Research Institute Nuclear Madness, p. (15)
One of its arguments is that no greenhouse gases are produced at nuclear reactors.
AND
chain, from uranium mining right through to the storage of radioactive waste. 

Can’t Solve warming – Nuclear Power Takes Too Long

Squassoni in ’07  (Sharon Squassoni, Sharon Squassoni is a senior associate with the Nonproliferation Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "Risks and Realities: The "New Nuclear Energy Revival," May 2007, pg online @ http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2007_05/squassoni.asp cndi-ef)
There is little doubt that nuclear energy will remain an important part of the global
AND
perhaps nuclear energy may help offset transportation emissions through the production of hydrogen. 

Random losses in diversity wont cause collapse

Angela Caines. (Plant Biologist at the University of Maryland.) "Biodiversity and Species exteinction." 2002. http://www.life.umd.edu/classroom/bsci124/lec37.html
"Redundancy": Most species are superfluous as only a few are critical to the
AND
can survive a library filled with numerous books, even those with numerous error

Environmental collapse won’t cause extinction

Easterbrook 2003 (Gregg Easterbrook, a senior fellow at The New Republic, July 2003 "We’re All Gonna Die%21" http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.07/doomsday.html?pg=1%26topic=%26topic_set=)
If we’re talking about doomsday - the end of human civilization - many scenarios simply
AND
as he was, wrote Remembrance of Things Past while lying in bed.

No extinction – reject aff’s environmental alarmism

Kaleita and Forbes 2007 Amy Kaleita, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University) and Gregory Forbes (research analyst at the Pacific Research Institute) 2007 "Hysteria’s History" http://www.undergroundnotes.com/graphics2/Hysteria_History.pdf
Apocalyptic stories about the irreparable, catastrophic damage that humans  are doing to the natural
AND
real problem exists, solutions should be based on reality,  not hysteria.

Tournament: Swings/Cal | Round: All | Opponent: All | Judge: All

Immigration top priority – MUCH closer on deal than anything else, bill will be short and quick

CF News 1/6 ("Will 113th Congress increase chance for immigration reform?," 2013, http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/1/6/will_113th_congress_.html-http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/1/6/will_113th_congress_.html.)
President Barack Obama has vowed that immigration reform will be a top priority for his
AND
But the commitment is there to getting the work done," Gutierrez said.

Renewables are massively unpopular –Budgetary concerns

Von Schirach, International Economic Development Consultant, 12
(Paolo, International Affairs Commentator and Writer, May 11, "Renewable Energy In The US – Subsidies Politically Unpopular – Natural Gas A Much Cheaper Alternative – USG Should Focus On R%26D-http://schirachreport.com/index.php/2012/05/11/grim-prospects-for-renewable-energy-in-the-us-subsidies-politically-unpopular-natural-gas-a-much-cheaper-alternative-usg-should-focus-on-rd/,"
http://schirachreport.com/index.php/2012/05/11/grim-prospects-for-renewable-energy-in-the-us-subsidies-politically-unpopular-natural-gas-a-much-cheaper-alternative-usg-should-focus-on-rd/-http://schirachreport.com/index.php/2012/05/11/grim-prospects-for-renewable-energy-in-the-us-subsidies-politically-unpopular-natural-gas-a-much-cheaper-alternative-usg-should-focus-on-rd/, d/a 7-20-12, ads)
American enthusiasm for renewable energy, not too deep to begin-http://schirachreport.com/index.php/2012/05/11/grim-prospects-for-renewable-energy-in-the-us-subsidies-politically-unpopular-natural-gas-a-much-cheaper-alternative-usg-should-focus-on-rd/with, has gone away
AND
whatever the consequences of burning more (cheaper) fossil fuels may be.

====Obama will have to push the plan AND GOP will have to get on board – can’t afford to alienate the House through controversial plans====
Soto 1/4   ~Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco, "Opinion: Immigration reform will not be easy, but it’s not impossible," nbclatino.com, http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/-http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/**~~**
Unlike in his first administration, the president seems to be on board and ready
AND
the House will entail a reframing of the issue to an economic one.¶ 

First, Reform key to Relations

Oppenheimer, 2012  ~Andres, "US may pay more attention to Latin America in Obama’s second term," The Miami Herald, 12/19, http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html-http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html**~~**
This combination of factors will make it easier to pass immigration reform in Congress, which would have a big economic impact on Mexico and Central America, among other things because the legalization of 11 million undocumented immigrants would prompt many of them to get legal jobs, earn more and send more family remittances back home.
But it may also translate into other U.S. initiatives, including a re-formulation of U.S. anti-drug polices and closer trade ties with Mexico, Peru, Chile and other Pacific Rim countries that are part of Obama’s proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership economic plan. Obama’s second term could bring attention to Latin America that we didn’t see during his first term.

And that Cooperation with Latin American is critical to address energy security, warming, pollution, and other environmental concerns – turns the case

Lowenthal ’9  ~Abraham F. Lowenthal, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, a nonresident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, president emeritus of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the founding director of the Inter-American Dialogue. "The Obama Administration and Latin America: Will the Promising Start Be Sustained?". NUEVA SOCIEDAD NRO. 222. July-August 2009. http://www.nuso.org/upload/articulos/3617_2.pdf~~
Apart from the scheduling coincidence that the Fifth Summit of the Americas was¶ already
AND
effectively without¶ close and sustained cooperation from many countries of the Americas.

The disad turns case in two ways first

Comprehensive reform key to hegemony

Gittelson, 2009
(Robert, has developed practical, first-hand experience in dealing with the immigration issues that are challenging our country today,  THE CENTRISTS AGAINST THE IDEOLOGUES: WHAT ARE THE FALSEHOODS THAT DIVIDE AMERICANS ON THE ISSUE OF COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM,  23 ND J. L. Ethics and Pub Pol’y 115)
However, the above list of security enhancements is only a part of the overall
AND
. That is the very real threat of communism and/or socialism.

Line by line

They white house hasn’t forgotten about their other issues but they are focusing on immigrtion

Daniel Politi | Posted Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013  Report: Obama To Push Broad Immigration Reform, Including Path to Citizenship, in one Bill
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/01/13/obama_to_push_immigration_reform_including_path_to_citizenship.html
Just because President Obama has been focused on debt negotiations and gun control discussions,
AND
path to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants currently in the country.

Bill will be introduced days after inauguration

Lisa Lerer - Jan 13, 2013 Obama White House to Push for Comprehensive Immigration Plan http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-13/obama-white-house-to-push-for-comprehensive-immigration-plan.html
While no final decision has been made about when the Democratic White House’s proposal will
AND
introduced and we begin the process in Congress very soon after my inauguration."

Immigration coming this month – concludes that budge concerns will be around for MONTHS, immigration could be resolved ASAP

Whitesides 1/6 (John, "Budget battles threaten to limit Obama’s second-term agenda," The News, 2013, http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-152664-Budget-battles-threaten-to-limit-Obamas-second-term-agenda.)
Administration officials promise to move quickly in January in pursuit of new legislation on gun
AND
to legal status for undocumented immigrants who pay their back taxes and fines.

Immigration reform before fiscal matters – no enthusiasm for more fiscal debates

Burritt 1/2
Chris. CEOs Give U.S. Politicians Incomplete Grade on Fiscal Cliff Work. 1/2/13. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-03/ceos-give-u-s-politicians-incomplete-grade-on-fiscal-cliff-work.html. Citing Matthew Shay, CEO of the National Retail Federation in Washington.
Even so, passage of a limited deal offers no guarantee that Congress will tackle
AND
to get the big deal because people are going to lose their enthusiasm."

Their Richie evidence is not predictive extend the sato evidence that Obama will use all his pc on this issue

Obama’s capital and bipartisan cooperation are key to effective reform

DMN, 1/2 (Dallas Morning News, "Editorial: Actions must match Obama’s immigration pledge," 1/2/2013, http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20130102-editorial-actions-must-match-obamas-immigration-pledge.ece-http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20130102-editorial-actions-must-match-obamas-immigration-pledge.ece)
President Barack Obama said all the right things Sunday about immigration reform. The president
AND
fight this year for a comprehensive solution. Nothing but action will count.

They say dem support key but Obama Capital is critical to get a deal with both parties

Shifter 12/27/12 (Michael, President of the Inter-American Dialogue, "Will Obama Kick the Can Down the Road?")
Not surprisingly, Obama has been explicit that reforming the US’s shameful and broken immigration
AND
some arms, even in his own party. Resistance will not disappear. 

They read Obama enenergy but there are no warrants or talking the card just says he said this in an interview probably for an enegery report. Political talk is not enough for them

Obama key to immigration

BABINGTON 12/24  (Charles, Associated Press Writer, Obama has long work list to tackle when he returns, Associated Press Online, December 24, 2012)
The political climate for sweeping immigration changes "is significantly better," Meissner said, "but that does not mean it will happen." Even with a full plate of challenges and a hostile party controlling the House, she said, "I think Obama absolutely has to go big on immigration."

They say no bill Bill being written – fight comes first.

DAILY BEAST 1 – 2 – 13 http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2013/01/02/obama-set-to-tackle-immigration.html
Get ready for the next big fight. President Obama is planning to tackle immigration
AND
two months, and won’t be voted on until a few months later.

they say no link – we’ll spin the link pretty clearly that ferc gets political backlash from the perception. Even if they win all of their arguments about ferc

Solar power is unpopular  - not seen as cost competitive

Lifsher, LA Times Staff Writer, 05
(Marc, June 27, "Governor’s Solar Plan Is Generating Opposition," http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jun/27/business/fi-solar27-http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jun/27/business/fi-solar27, d/a 7-20-12, ads)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to spend billions of dollars to put electricity-producing
AND
option on most new homes beginning in 2010 would be unpopular with buyers.

Von Schirach says they are unpopular

AT: Vote No Takes out the Link

1) Counter-interpretation:  Judge should act as an independent agent assessing whether or not the plan should be done.  Judge shouldn’t operate as an individual member of Congress—if the plan would drain away from Obama’s ability to pass other legislation, it is a bad idea.

2) Process can’t be distinguished from substance:  Whether the plan is a good idea in part depends on whether or not it is the right time to do the plan.

3) Debating politics is educational—teaches us about how government functions and about relevant pieces of legislation of the day—they wish the disad away.

They say no perception but…..

our internal link is awesome our extend the sato evidence

AT: Winners Win

Empirics are on our side – Winners don’t win for Obama, in fact the opposite happens

Goldberg 10 (Jonah, founding editor of National Review Online and is currently editor-at-large of NRO. He is a Pulitzer-nominated columnist for The Los Angeles Times, "A Hidden Cost of the Health-Care Summit," National Review, February 26, 2010, http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/195494/hidden-cost-health-care-summit/jonah-goldberg-http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/195494/hidden-cost-health-care-summit/jonah-goldberg) CR
I think one of the great explanations for the mess the Obama administration is in
AND
, a staple of late-night jokes and basis of SNL parodies.

Even if they win that the plan boosts capital – it takes too long to rebuild to effect the current agenda – risk of a link trumps the link turn

Schaller 9 (Tom, "Is Obama Spending his Political Capital, Wasting It ... or Wuz He Robbed?," Five Thirty Eight News, August 18, 2009, http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/is-obama-spending-his-political-capital.html-http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/is-obama-spending-his-political-capital.html) CR
Obama is investing now with an eye toward medium- and long-range returns
AND
his capital reserves will slowly rise back to pre-Summer ’09 levels.

AT: Intrinsicness/Logical Policy Maker

Intrinsicness is illegitimate and a voting issue:

1. Decimates disad ground:  allows them to just wish away the impact to any disad.

2.  Makes the AFF a moving target:  NEG needs a fixed target to shoot at in order to promote clash and in-depth education

3.  Debating politics is educational—teaches us about how government functions and about relevant pieces of legislation of the day—their argument wishes politics disads away.

Politics tests a key opportunity cost

Saideman 11 (Steve, associate professor of political science - McGill University, "Key Constraint on Policy Relevance," July 25, 2011, http://duckofminerva.blogspot.com/2011/07/key-constraint-on-policy-relevance.html)
Dan Drezner has a great post today about how the foreign policy smart set (
AND
dream about the right policy and gnash our teeth when it never happens.

Tournament: Northwestern | Round: ALL | Opponent: ALL | Judge: ALL

NU 1NC RD2 VS GEORGETOWN

1

1. Interpretation: The affirmative should have to specify the method of increased energy production
   2. Violation: They don’t do that – their plan text mandates that electricity is "obtained" meaning it doesn’t GUARANTEE an INCREASE in energy production or even incentivizes it – they could obtain electricity from existing reactors
   3. Reasons to prefer –
   a. Limits: the aff explodes the topic by justifying a litany of different methods of obtaining energy production – they may not necessarily result in an increase in energy production
   b. Time skew: Clarifying in the 2AC causes massive time and strat skew for the neg – allows them to skirt our offense
   4. This is a voter for fairness and education

2

A. Interpretation:  The resolutions demands that the affirmative substantially increase financial incentives for energy production in the United States.

"For" is a limiting term that refers to PURPOSE of the financial incentives:
Merriam Webster, accessed 2013  ~http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/for~~**

"used as a function word to indicate purpose a grant for studying medicine"

"Production" means the incentives should fund the act or process of transforming inputs into outputs – creation of energy "goods" – process of transformation
Patil, 2012  ~Manoj Patil, Guarav Akrani under guidance of Professor Mudit Katyani, "What is production? Definition meaning transformation process," Feb. 3, http://kalyan-city.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-is-production-definition-meaning.html~~**

Production is a process of transforming (converting) inputs (raw-materials) into outputs (finished goods). So, production means the creation of goods and services. It is done to satisfy human wants. Thus, production is a process of transformation.

"In the United States" dictates the energy must be created within the 50 states and relevant U.S. territories. 

A. Violation:  The affirmative obtains the outputs of the production – the electricity, it does not provide financial incentives for the CREATION of those outputs.  This is simply a form of consumption, not production. This means they are FX which is an independent voter 

B. Standards:
Limits:  Although they may be able to come up with a definition of production that they meet, it does not make it a good, limiting interpretation.  Ours limits out affs that simply pay for energy, while allowing affs that provide incentives to CREATE that energy.
Brightline – the aff has to provide incentives for the PROCESS of TRANSFORMATION not simply the output.  They explode the topic by justifying plans that have the government purchase PRODUCED energy instead of funding PRODUCTION of that energy.

Moots words:  Their interpretation moots the word PRODUCTION from the resolution.  The affirmative simply increases financial incentives for energy, not the PRODUCTION of that energy.  

Plan focus:  Their plan should be the focus of the debate and it does not actually legislate any increase in financial incentives for energy production, but simply purchases electricity IF and WHEN the energy gets produced.

C. Voter – for reasons of fairness and ground.

3

Comprehensive immigration reform is top priority and will pass – Obama’s push building momentum
Fifield 2/5 (Anna, "Republicans soften tone on immigration", http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f6e10720-6fb6-11e2-8785-00144feab49a.html~~%23axzz2K9hMM4pj-http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f6e10720-6fb6-11e2-8785-00144feab49a.html, CMR)

Conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives have laid bare the challenges facing the prospects
AND
to be the centrepiece of his state of the union address next week.
Energy policy saps political capital - Even bipartisan bills cause a fight
McEntee 12 
Science, Politics and Public Opinion, Christine McEntee, Executive Director and CEO, American Geophysical Union, AUGUST 15, 2012, http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/finding-the-sweet-spot-biparti.php-http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/finding-the-sweet-spot-biparti.php ~TP
As convenient as it would be to say that a single change could alleviate the
AND
initiatives, even where there is wide bipartisan support for a given bill.
Obama will have to push the plan AND GOP will have to get on board – can’t afford to alienate the House through controversial plans
Soto 1/4   ~Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco, "Opinion: Immigration reform will not be easy, but it’s not impossible," nbclatino.com, http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/-http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/**~~**
Unlike in his first administration, the president seems to be on board and ready
AND
the House will entail a reframing of the issue to an economic one.¶
First, Reform key to Relations

Oppenheimer, 2012  ~Andres, "US may pay more attention to Latin America in Obama’s second term," The Miami Herald, 12/19, http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html-http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html**~~**
This combination of factors will make it easier to pass immigration reform in Congress,
AND
bring attention to Latin America that we didn’t see during his first term.
And that Cooperation with Latin American is critical to address energy security, warming, pollution, and other environmental concerns – turns the case

Lowenthal ’9  ~Abraham F. Lowenthal, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, a nonresident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, president emeritus of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the founding director of the Inter-American Dialogue. "The Obama Administration and Latin America: Will the Promising Start Be Sustained?". NUEVA SOCIEDAD NRO. 222. July-August 2009. http://www.nuso.org/upload/articulos/3617_2.pdf~~
Apart from the scheduling coincidence that the Fifth Summit of the Americas was¶ already
AND
effectively without¶ close and sustained cooperation from many countries of the Americas.

4

1NC

Text:  The United States Federal Government should fund the development of PRISM Integral Fast Reactors to provide electricity for military bases in the United States.
Solves the aff – the plan text does not guarantee the development of nuclear power plants.  The CP mandates that at least one IFR is built, meaning it CONCRETELY mandates the production of nuclear energy
It competes – "small modular reactors" include 60 different reactor designs – the plan mandates the inclusion of non-IFR nuclear plants– the CP excludes it, funding only IFR-PRISM reactors.
King et al 11 (Dr. Marcus, Research Analyst and Project Director – CNA Corporation’s Center for Naval Analyses, LaVar Huntzinger, and Thoi Nguyen, "Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S. Military Installations," CNA Analysis and Solutions, March, http://www.cna.org/research/2011/feasibility-nuclear-power-us-military)
Several U.S.-based companies are seeking to bring new SMR designs to
AND
¶ PRISM, MHR, and HPM designs are given in figure 2.

Net Benefit

Court decision in June of this year has reopened debate on Yucca – their increase in nuclear energy without a long term solution to waste disposal is going to drive the NRC to have to reopen it
Tetreault, June of 2012.  Steve, "ruling reopens debate on Yucca Mountain" Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 8

"At this time there is not even a prospective site for a repository,
AND
radioactive nuclear waste without a long-term disposal solution," Fettus said.
Yucca Mountain would lead to extinction and the destruction of the biosphere – our probability is infinite
David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1

We have come a long way in a very short time indeed. But 225
AND
decades of the promise of nuclear power - "too cheap to meter."

Case

AT Solvency

Siting at military installations is difficult – trade-offs required
King et al 11 (Dr. Marcus, Research Analyst and Project Director – CNA Corporation’s Center for Naval Analyses, LaVar Huntzinger, and Thoi Nguyen, "Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S. Military Installations," CNA Analysis and Solutions, March, http://www.cna.org/research/2011/feasibility-nuclear-power-us-military)
¶ Finding specific sites for nuclear power plants on or near military installations will be
AND
nuclear power plant can be used. Trade-offs will be required.¶
SMRs are untested – costs are high and demonstration unit has not yet been built
Taso 11 (Firas Eugen Taso, "21st Century Civilian Nuclear Power and the Role of Small Modular Reactors", Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Tufts University, May 2011 http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/docview/877618836) JD
One of the co-sponsors of the bill, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
AND
With government support in this area, the will likely be first movers.
Can’t prove viability or commercial competitiveness of nuclear with SMRs – smaller is more expensive
Makhijani %26 Boyd 2010 (IEER Institute of energy and environmental research http://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/small-modular-reactors2010.pdf-http://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/small-modular-reactors2010.pdf) JA
SMR proponents claim that small size will enable mass manufacture in a factory, enabling
AND
to achieve ¶ economies of scale and make nuclear power ¶ economically competitive.
SMRs have numerous problems that have been ignored by proponents
Baker, 2012 ~Matthew, "Do Small Modular Reactors Present a Serious Option for the Military’s Energy Needs?" American Security Project Flashpoint Blog, June 22, http://americansecurityproject.org/blog/2012/do-small-modular-reactors-present-a-serious-option-for-the-militarys-energy-needs/-http://americansecurityproject.org/blog/2012/do-small-modular-reactors-present-a-serious-option-for-the-militarys-energy-needs/**~~**

Unfortunately all the hype surrounding SMRs seems to have made the proponents of SMR technology
AND
that the negative impacts of nuclear technology are more costly than its benefits.

AT Grid

No risk of an impact – the DoD figured out the problem and has fixed it even for lengthy outages
Michael Aimone, 2012  ~Director, Business Enterprise Integration, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment), 9-12-2012, Statement Before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies, http://homeland.house.gov/sites/homeland.house.gov/files/Testimony%20-%20Aimone.pdf~~
¶ DoD’s facility energy strategy is also focused heavily on grid security in the name
AND
to¶ Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, to support base recovery.¶
No threat to power grids their studies don’t take into account the laws of physics – their evidence about Alaska grid isn’t unique to this, it’s the nature of the grid itself
Toor 10 (Amar Toor, "Don’t Worry, Terrorists Won’t Bring Down the U.S. Power Grid, Researchers Say", http://www.switched.com/2010/10/14/dont-worry-terrorists-wont-bring-down-the-u-s-power-grid-re/, 10/14/10, Accessed 7/13/12, WITASZEK)
Over the past few months, many politicians and national security experts have grown increasingly
AND
least amount of flow — it would be a massive waste of resources."
No impact to terrorists or solar storms- The GRID Act is already securing our grid from these threats
Schewe 10 (Phillip Schewe, ISNS, Phys.org, "Plans to Secure Power Grid From Terrorists, Solar Storms", phys.org/news195752582.html, 6/14/10, Accessed 7/18/12, KW)
Electricity is all around us. It lifts elevators, pumps gas, lights rooms
AND
the better to foil those who would plan terror attacks on the grid.
Nearly impossible to black out the power grid- hurricanes, physics prove
Brown 10 (Joshua E. Brown, staff writer at the University of Vermont, "Study: It’s Hard to Bring Down the Electric Grid", http://www.uvm.edu/~~uvmpr/?Page=News%26storyID=17119, 10/8/10, Accessed 7/14/12)
An important implication of Hines’s work, funded by the National Science Foundation, is
AND
says, "to really figure out how to make the grid fail."

AT Water

Their cost args are based in delusion – history proves costs will grow exponentially and disadvantages are huge – they won’t have any evidence that the countries in question can afford nuclear plants
Gabriel Nelson, 2012  staff writer, 9-24-2012, "DOE funding for small reactors languishes as parties clash on debt," E%26E Publishing, http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/09/24/3
¶ Experts continue to argue whether the small modular reactor approach will really reduce costs
AND
with a good argument for why moving to smaller reactors would be economical."
Russia will stabilize Central Asia before it collapses

van der Leeuw 8 (Charles, The Times of Central Asia, 10-3-2008, Russia a stabilizing factor in Central Asia, lexis)
It is already visible that governments are growing in power. This must put parliaments
AND
Russia again becoming a source of stability in a time of great instability.

NU BLOCK RD2 VS GEORGETOWN

CP

This means the NB outweighs – High risk of accidents which results in extinction
David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1
While theories of "autocatalytic criticality" caused by flooding have been widely rejected,
AND
explosion ever. It could be the last bookkeeping error mankind ever made.
And, waste turns the aff – lack of comprehensive waste management solution prevents expansion of nuclear power
Spencer and Loris, 2011  ~Jack and Nicolas, Senior Research Fellow Nuclear Energy Policy and Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow, "A Big Future for Small Nuclear Reactors," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, Feb. 2, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/02/a-big-future-for-small-nuclear-reactors-http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/02/a-big-future-for-small-nuclear-reactors**~~**
Nuclear Waste Management. The lack of a sustainable nuclear waste management solution is perhaps
AND
they could contribute greatly to an economically efficient and sustainable nuclear waste management strategy

Normal means is light water reactors.
Robitaille 12  - Department of Army Civilian, member of the Army Environmental Center (George E., Small Modular Reactors: The Army’s Secure Source of Energy?, 3-21-2012,
All of the operational reactors used by the DoD have been based on the light
AND
. A schematic of the general design is shown in figure two.¶ 39

SMRs

 Waste===
SMRS have greater problems with waste disposal
Makhijani and Boyd 10 (September, ARJUN MAKHIJANI, electrical and nuclear engineer who is President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research AND MICHELE BOYD, former director of the Safe Energy Program at Physicians for Social Responsibility, Small Modular Reactors  No Solution for the Cost, Safety, and Waste Problems of Nuclear Power, www.psr.org/nuclear-bailout/.../small-modular-reactors-no.pdf,)
Proponents claim that with longer operation on a single fuel charge and with less production
AND
kilowatt of capacity than faced by present-day above- ground reactors.
Nuclear plants in South Carolina and Georgia were given the go-ahead by the
AND
decision of former chairman Gregory Jaczko to terminate the Yucca Mountain waste repository.

AT Onsite Storage

And spent fuel storage liability is in the tens of billions – even without new reactors
Feinstein, 2011  ~Dianne, Senator, "Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Committee on Appropriations, July 14, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112shrg72251/html/CHRG-112shrg72251.htm-http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112shrg72251/html/CHRG-112shrg72251.htm**~~**

The Fukushima crisis also demonstrated the potential danger  of storing spent fuel in pools on
AND
new plants ¶ licensed under the SMR program would only increase this  liability.

AT We Produce Waste

IFR is the best nuclear technology – recycled fuel, secure, and proliferation proof. 

Steve Kirsch 11/25/2009 Why We Should Build an Integral Fast Reactor Now http://skirsch.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/ifr/
Nuclear is our best clean power technology and the IFR is our best nuclear technology
AND
instead of coal. Our economy will benefit and our planet will too.

Case

AT Water Ext.

They can’t export there’s no international licensing standard

ITA’ 11 – International Trade Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce, February. Manufacturing and Services Competitiveness Report. "The Commercial Outlook for U.S. Small Modular Nuclear Reactors." http://trade.gov/mas/ian/build/groups/public/@tg_ian/@nuclear/documents/webcontent/tg_ian_003185.pdf)
Some U.S. suppliers also regard the lack of international licensing standards as
AND
the technology. This challenge also ¶ applies to larger, traditional reactors.

Politics

This means we outweigh on magnitude   Warming threatens human survival
Milbrath, 1994 climatologist, ’94  (The Futurist, May 1994; Lexis)
Extreme weather conditions may cause population shifts and decreased agricultural output. Humanity might face the ultimate test of survival.  Climate modelers have been cautiously predicting that the earth will gradually warm in the years ahead, producing similarly gradual changes in climatic patterns. For instance, the middle of North America will slowly grow arid.
And it turns case in 2 ways
First CIR solves terrorism
Castaneda et al 5 NYU Politics and Latin American Studies professor, Jorge, "NORTH AMERICAN COOPERATION ON THE BORDER", HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION, 7-12-2005, http://ftp.resource.org/gpo.gov/hearings/109s/28131.txt
I think that attitudes in Mexico have changed in relation ¶ to drugs and I
AND
Fox has made an effort ¶ to educate Mexican society about these issues.

Second Skilled workers key to US military hegemony:
JOHN RATZENBERGER, 7/31/2010 (Foundation for Fair Civil Justice board member, "Skilled workers key to state, national economies," http://newsok.com/skilled-workers-key-to-state-national-economies/article/3480964-http://newsok.com/skilled-workers-key-to-state-national-economies/article/3480964, Accessed 1/23/2013, rwg)
In my interviews with employers across the nation, I hear the same story:
AND
critical component work has been moved offshore as a stop-gap measure.

Obama’s push vital to upholding bipartisan compromise – consistency with Senate vision proves
Bash 1/28 
Possible compromise on immigration reform takes shape
By Dana Bash and Tom Cohen, CNN
updated 12:31 PM EST, Mon January 28, 2013
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/28/politics/immigration-reform/index.html-http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/28/politics/immigration-reform/index.html CMR

Undocumented immigrants would be able to seek legal status without first going home under a
AND
that Obama had indicated that immigration reform "is his top legislative priority."

Senate vision not set-in-stone but consistent with Obama’s push 
Washington Post 1/29
Obama %26 Senate May See Eye-to-Eye on Immigration Reform
By The Washington Post | Posted on: January 29, 2013
http://ournewsnow.com/politics/4017/Obama-%2526-Senate-May-See-Eye-to-Eye-on-Immigration-Reform-http://ournewsnow.com/politics/4017/Obama-%2526-Senate-May-See-Eye-to-Eye-on-Immigration-Reform CMR

Washington, DC - The White House is praising an agreement on immigration reform reached
AND
out his vision, which is expected to overlap with the Senate effort.

Obama’s push ensures a quick, bipartisan deal this also answers their Obama not leading
Fort Worth Star-Telegram 2/5 ("Finally, a bipartisan approach to immigration policy", http://www.bnd.com/2013/02/05/2484257/finally-a-bipartisan-approach.html-http://www.bnd.com/2013/02/05/2484257/finally-a-bipartisan-approach.html, CMR)

With leadership from the president, both political parties and both houses of Congress,
AND
a cross-section of business, educational and religious leaders and organizations.

Obama will dedicate ALL his PC to immigration –
Waterman 2/3 (Margaret, "Immigration reform likely, BU professor, students say", http://dailyfreepress.com/2013/02/03/immigration-reform-likely-bu-professor-students-say/-http://dailyfreepress.com/2013/02/03/immigration-reform-likely-bu-professor-students-say/, CMR)

An ongoing battle in the U.S., the passing of immigration reform now
AND
. "It’s easier to get away with somewhat much more controversial legislation."

They say that Obama  PC Not Key

(   ) Obama’s capital is key
Shifter, 12/27 —- adjunct professor of Latin American politics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service  (12/27/2012, Michael, Revista Ideel, "Will Obama Kick the Can Down the Road?" http://www.thedialogue.org/page.cfm?pageID=32%26pubID=3186-http://www.thedialogue.org/page.cfm?pageID=32%26pubID=3186) CMR

There is, however, a notable change in Obama’s style compared to the first
AND
Obama is more inclined to take the initiative and draw some clear lines.
How the "fiscal cliff" question is managed and ultimately resolved will likely shape the tenor and climate for Obama’s second-term agenda.   If it leaves a bitter taste, then the rest of Obama’s domestic priorities will be more difficult to achieve.   If both parties think they gained something in the bargain, prospects for results in other areas will improve.
Not surprisingly, Obama has been explicit that reforming the US’s shameful and broken immigration
AND
, there was talk, in both parties, of comprehensive immigration reform.
Despite the sudden optimism about immigration reform, there is, of course, no guarantee that it will happen.    It will require a lot of negotiation and deal-making.  Obama will have to invest a lot of his time and political capital — twisting some arms, even in his own party.   Resistance will not disappear.  
There is also a chance that something unexpected could happen that would put off consideration of immigration reform.   Following the horrific massacre at a Connecticut elementary school on December 14, for example, public pressure understandably mounted for gun control, at least the ban of assault weapons.   But a decision to pursue that measure — though desperately needed — would take away energy and time from other priorities like immigration.

Their Rubio argument just says that he is liked not that he is key to immigration reform. They also don’t have an argument about how political theory works. Prefer our sato evidence that Obama is key to getting not only republicans but also memebers of his own party on board for immigration.
Obama’s prioritization is key to passage
Hesson, 1/2 (Ted, 1/2/2013, "Analysis: 6 Things Obama Needs To Do for Immigration Reform," http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/things-president-obama-immigration-reform/story?id=18103115~~%23.UOR2lXfbhtE)-http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/things-president-obama-immigration-reform/story?id=18103115) CMR

On Sunday, President Barack Obama said that immigration reform is a "top priority" on his agenda and that he would introduce legislation in his first year.
To find out what he needs to do to make reform a reality, we talked to Lynn Tramonte, the deputy director at America’s Voice, a group that lobbies for immigration reform, and Muzaffar Chishti, the director of the New York office of Migration Policy Institute, a think tank. Here’s what we came up with.

1. Be a Leader
   During Obama’s first term, bipartisan legislation never got off the ground. The president
   AND
   is a step in that direction, but he needs to follow through. 

Obama’s capital and bipartisan cooperation are key to effective reform
DMN, 1/2 (Dallas Morning News, "Editorial: Actions must match Obama’s immigration pledge," 1/2/2013, http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20130102-editorial-actions-must-match-obamas-immigration-pledge.ece-http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20130102-editorial-actions-must-match-obamas-immigration-pledge.ece)
President Barack Obama said all the right things Sunday about immigration reform. The president
AND
fight this year for a comprehensive solution. Nothing but action will count.

Election has driven change in the GOP – have to catch the momentum now this includes thing like gay rights

Peter Prime, 1/4  ~Peter, "Immigration reform 2013: Will the GOP change its mind on the DREAM Act?" policymic.com, http://www.policymic.com/articles/21967/immigration-reform-2013-will-the-gop-change-its-mind-on-the-dream-act-http://www.policymic.com/articles/21967/immigration-reform-2013-will-the-gop-change-its-mind-on-the-dream-act**~~**
Following Romney’s loss, the position of the mathematicians within the party has strengthened.
AND
if they face pressure to do so from a segment of their base.¶ 

They say we’ll ignore latin america

Immigration reform key to US-Latin American relations:
Arturo Lopez-Levy, 11/24/2012 (doctoral candidate at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies of the University of Denver, "The Latin American Gorilla," http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/opinion/the-latin-american-gorilla-318169.html-http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/opinion/the-latin-american-gorilla-318169.html, Accessed 1/23/2013, rwg)
Few political acts would have a greater effect on U.S.-Latin American
AND
remittances, investment, and the voting preferences of expatriates from those countries.

Immigration reform key to US-Latin American relations:
Shifter 12 (Michael is the President of Inter-American Dialogue. "Remaking the Relationship: The United States and Latin America," April, IAD Policy Report, http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/IAD2012PolicyReportFINAL.pdf-http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/IAD2012PolicyReportFINAL.pdf, Accessed 1/23/2013, rwg)
Some enduring problems stand squarely in the way of partnership and¶ effective cooperation. The inability of Washington to reform its broken¶ immigration system is a constant source of friction between the United¶ States and nearly every other country in the Americas. Yet US officials rarely¶ refer to immigration as a foreign policy issue. Domestic policy debates on¶ this issue disregard the United States’ hemispheric agenda as well as the¶ interests of other nations.¶ 

Link debate

Even secret military alternative energy is unpopular in congress – spending concerns, Solyndra controversy and perceived as politically motivated
Snider 12
Annie Snider, EandE reporter February 23, 2012 Military’s alt energy programs draw Republicans’ ire http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/02/23/2?page_type=print
Suspicion is growing among Republican lawmakers that the Defense Department’s efforts to move to renewable
AND
of the time they would have otherwise flown as part of this exercise?"
They say doe turns SMR grants haven’t been appropriated by Congress yet.
Tomich 12
Energy and Environment Reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Jeffrey, Small nuclear reactors generate hype, questions about cost, http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/small-nuclear-reactors-generate-hype-questions-about-cost/article_39757dba-8e5c-11e1-9883-001a4bcf6878.html-http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/small-nuclear-reactors-generate-hype-questions-about-cost/article_39757dba-8e5c-11e1-9883-001a4bcf6878.html ~TP
The Obama administration, which is pushing for development of low-carbon energy technologies
AND
have the potential to be licensed and in commercial operation in a decade.
Military SMR’s cause fights in Congress
Parthemore and Rogers 10 
Christine Parthemore and Will Rogers, Christine Parthemore is the Bacevich fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Will Rogers is a CNAS researcher. This piece is based on a recently released CNAS report on climate change, energy and the Department of Defense available, Nuclear Reactors on Military Bases May Be Risky, May 20, 2010 http://www.rollcall.com/news/-46456-1.html-http://www.rollcall.com/news/-46456-1.html ~TP
Are small nuclear reactors a smart choice for increasing energy security and reducing greenhouse gas
AND
usage, radioactive waste management and public opinion will also be major concerns.

but GOP is going after spending – plan’s gonna trigger that
Gizzi 1/7 (John, "HOUSE GOP FRESHMEN CONDEMN CLIFF DEAL; WANT SPENDING CUTS," Human Events, 2013, http://www.humanevents.com/2013/01/07/house-gop-freshmen-condemn-fiscal-cliff-deal-want-dramatic-spending-cuts/-http://www.humanevents.com/2013/01/07/house-gop-freshmen-condemn-fiscal-cliff-deal-want-dramatic-spending-cuts/.)
In talking to several of the 34 Republican freshmen who were sworn into the House
AND
. If it’s the best weapon we have, we should use it."

They say defense top of the docket

Immigration reform before fiscal matters – no enthusiasm for more fiscal debates

Burritt 1/2
Chris. CEOs Give U.S. Politicians Incomplete Grade on Fiscal Cliff Work. 1/2/13. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-03/ceos-give-u-s-politicians-incomplete-grade-on-fiscal-cliff-work.html. Citing Matthew Shay, CEO of the National Retail Federation in Washington.
Even so, passage of a limited deal offers no guarantee that Congress will tackle
AND
to get the big deal because people are going to lose their enthusiasm."

Immigration is above the fiscal cliff fray

Feldmann 1-2
Linda, "’Fiscal cliff’ deal: How Obama won and lost," http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/fiscal-cliff-deal-how-obama-won-and-lost
Those three anvils hanging over Washington’s head are likely to consume attention as the deadlines
AND
longstanding pledge to enact comprehensive reform, could mean action, almost regardless.¶ 

NU 1NC RD 4 VS NORTHWESTERN

Tea

A. Interpretation: Substantially is defined as more than minor or easily repairable
Words and Phrases, 1987 (vol 40, 1987 Pocket Part, p. 266)
SUBSTANTIALLY IMPAIRS ITS VALUE.  What constitutes defect in article which "substantially impairs its value," within Uniform Commercial Code provision entitling buyer to revoke acceptance for such defect, is factual determination to be made by the trier of fact, and although term may not be susceptible to being precisely defined, it connotes more than mere minor, easily repairable defects in goods.  Schumaker v. Ivers, 238 N.W.2d. 284, 288, 90 S.D. 75.

D. Topicality is a voter for fairness ground and education

Violation – the aff mandates a "substantial reduction" but does not dictate what that reduction constitutes, meaning it could be just enough to begin drilling – this is not necessarily substantial.
The plan is only a minor increase in financial incentive for energy production.

C.  BETTER INTERPRETATION STANDARDS (choose one or more)

Better Preparation and Limits.  Their interpretation unlimits by allowing hundreds of cases that do not reduce restrictions. Negatives will not be prepared with relevant positions and evidence against every possible decrease in the amount of restrictions made available via financial incentives.

Better Clash and Ground.  Minute decreases justify the aff no linking out of disads because they’re too small to trigger anything. 

Bright Line Standard.  Compare what the plan reduces to what exists in the squo – reducing the restrictions enough to begin drilling may or may not constitute a substantial decrease in restrictions

Politics

Comprehensive immigration reform is top priority and will pass – Obama’s push building momentum
Fifield 2/5 (Anna, "Republicans soften tone on immigration", http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f6e10720-6fb6-11e2-8785-00144feab49a.html~~%23axzz2K9hMM4pj-http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f6e10720-6fb6-11e2-8785-00144feab49a.html, CMR)

Conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives have laid bare the challenges facing the prospects
AND
to be the centrepiece of his state of the union address next week.
Energy policy saps political capital - Even bipartisan bills cause a fight
McEntee 12 
Science, Politics and Public Opinion, Christine McEntee, Executive Director and CEO, American Geophysical Union, AUGUST 15, 2012, http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/finding-the-sweet-spot-biparti.php-http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/finding-the-sweet-spot-biparti.php ~TP
As convenient as it would be to say that a single change could alleviate the
AND
initiatives, even where there is wide bipartisan support for a given bill.
Obama will have to push the plan AND GOP will have to get on board – can’t afford to alienate the House through controversial plans
Soto 1/4   ~Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco, "Opinion: Immigration reform will not be easy, but it’s not impossible," nbclatino.com, http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/-http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/**~~**
Unlike in his first administration, the president seems to be on board and ready
AND
the House will entail a reframing of the issue to an economic one.¶
First, Reform key to Relations

Oppenheimer, 2012  ~Andres, "US may pay more attention to Latin America in Obama’s second term," The Miami Herald, 12/19, http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html-http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html**~~**
This combination of factors will make it easier to pass immigration reform in Congress,
AND
bring attention to Latin America that we didn’t see during his first term.
And that Cooperation with Latin American is critical to address energy security, warming, pollution, and other environmental concerns – turns the case

Lowenthal ’9  ~Abraham F. Lowenthal, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, a nonresident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, president emeritus of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the founding director of the Inter-American Dialogue. "The Obama Administration and Latin America: Will the Promising Start Be Sustained?". NUEVA SOCIEDAD NRO. 222. July-August 2009. http://www.nuso.org/upload/articulos/3617_2.pdf~~
Apart from the scheduling coincidence that the Fifth Summit of the Americas was¶ already
AND
effectively without¶ close and sustained cooperation from many countries of the Americas.

CP

Counterplan Text: The Environmental Protection Agency should issue a guidance document clarifying that the restrictions on crude oil extraction from the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf are no longer binding.
Guidance documents on energy issues are treated as binding and enforced

Nelson, 11 (3/23/2011, Gabriel, "Bush’s Rulemaking Czar Blasts EPA’s Use of ’Guidance’" http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/03/23/23greenwire-bushs-rulemaking-czar-blasts-epas-use-of-guida-47538.html?pagewanted=all)
As businesses and states challenge U.S. EPA’s new regulations on greenhouse gas
AND
binding," Walton wrote (E%26ENews PM, Jan. 18).¶ 

Disad

Obama’s 5 year lease plan solves the case without opening up the Arctic or the Atlantic seaboard to drilling
Taylor 12—Environmental and Energy Policy reporter ~Phil Taylor, "Interior to proceed with ’targeted’ Arctic leases," Greenwire: Tuesday, June 26, 2012, pg. http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/06/26/3
The Obama administration today said it will finalize a plan to offer new leases in
AND
resource data to proceed with development in either ocean, the agency said.
Opening the Arctic leads to Methane hydrate development—they risk seafloor collapse and the release of large volumes of methane
ORNL Review 2k ~Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review, "Methane Hydrates: A Carbon Management Challenge," Issue 22 Number 2, 2000, pg. http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/v33_2_00/methane.htm~~~~
An enormous natural gas resource locked in ice lies untapped in ocean sediments and the
AND
methane to the atmosphere, raising greenhouse gas levels and exacerbating global warming?¶
Only a massive expansion of drilling will trigger the impact—Slow releases in the squo will not trigger the impact
Morningstar 11 ~Cory Morningstar, "Destination—Hell. Are we there yet?," Huntington News, Sunday, March 27, 2011—01:09, pg. http://www.huntingtonnews.net/2768
US Department of Energy meeting summary: "Alternatively, an undersea earthquake today,
AND
Greenland and Antarctic ice and an overall temperature increase of 30°F."¶
Extinction—Hydrate extraction is unavoidably dangerous.
Morningstar 11 ~Cory Morningstar, "Destination—Hell. Are we there yet?," Huntington News, Sunday, March 27, 2011—01:09, pg. http://www.huntingtonnews.net/2768~~~~
This is modeling madness. By doing this the scientists are exposing humanity to a
AND
dependent and locked into fossil fuels - thereby legitimizing the fossil fuel industry.

Case

AT Arctic

Heg is dominant—there are no challengers
G. John Ikenberry is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at PrincetonUniversity. America Abroad. Weary Titan or Poorly Led Superpower? 5. http://houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/5/135627/8001. accessed 9/11/-http://houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/5/135627/8001. accessed 9/11/05
If America is overstretched, it is not because of declining material capabilities. Some
AND
. is utterly more powerful in relative terms and its rivals further behind.

US heg is not going anywhere—expect it for at least another century
Financial Times, 2/17, 2006 The American century shows no sign of ending MICHAEL LIND P.L
The rise and fall of great powers makes exciting history - all the more exciting
AND
same for a century and may remain so for another century or more. 

AT Russia

Their internal link is predicated on an oil spill – they don’t have a piece of evidence saying that this is at all likely
Random losses in diversity wont cause collapse
Angela Caines. (Plant Biologist at the University of Maryland.) "Biodiversity and Species exteinction." 2002. http://www.life.umd.edu/classroom/bsci124/lec37.html
"Redundancy": Most species are superfluous as only a few are critical to the
AND
can survive a library filled with numerous books, even those with numerous error
Environmental collapse won’t cause extinction
Easterbrook 2003 (Gregg Easterbrook, a senior fellow at The New Republic, July 2003 "We’re All Gonna Die%21" http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.07/doomsday.html?pg=1%26topic=%26topic_set=)
If we’re talking about doomsday - the end of human civilization - many scenarios simply
AND
as he was, wrote Remembrance of Things Past while lying in bed.
No extinction – reject aff’s environmental alarmism
Kaleita and Forbes 2007 Amy Kaleita, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University) and Gregory Forbes (research analyst at the Pacific Research Institute) 2007 "Hysteria’s History" http://www.undergroundnotes.com/graphics2/Hysteria_History.pdf
Apocalyptic stories about the irreparable, catastrophic damage that humans  are doing to the natural
AND
real problem exists, solutions should be based on reality,  not hysteria.

AT Economy

US isn’t key to the global economy
Chaudhary 10 (Neeraj, Consultant at Euro Pacific Capital, "Decoupling: Alive and Well," October 21, 2010,http://www.benzinga.com/general/10/10/540405/decoupling-alive-and-well)
While the US economy continues to weaken (see my recent commentary:
AND
links among themselves, accelerating the process of decline for the United States.

The US isn’t key to the global economy
Chris Devonshire-Ellis, Senior Partner of Dezan Shira %26 Associates and publisher of China Briefing, interviewed by AFP, January 24, 2008, U.S. recession fears not a global concern for China, India and the developing world
AFP: Everyone is saying the U.S. is having a recession;
AND
Statesmay suffer, but the rest of the world will still be OK.

No China war – deterrence

Roy 12 (Bhaskar, writer for the South Asia Analysis Group, a non-profit, non-commercial think tank, "China Pushing Asia From India To Japan – Analysis," 7/18, http://www.eurasiareview.com/18072012-china-pushing-asia-from-india-to-japan-analysis/)
Militarily, if Russia’s lethal strategic strike capability is set aside, China is the
AND
and the Sea of Japan, as well as in the Taiwan issue.
Deterrence solves war and ensures a peaceful Chinese rise

Glaser 11 (Charles, writer for Foreign Affairs, security analyst, "Will China’s Rise Lead to War?" March, lexis)
What does all this imply about the rise of China? At the broadest level
AND
and thus help head off a downward political spiral fueled by nuclear competition.

AT Solvency

Costs and timeframe kill solvency
Spakovsky and Loris 12 Hans A. von Spakovsky is a Senior Legal Fellow in the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, and Nicolas D. Loris is the Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, at The Heritage Foundation, August 13, 2012, "Offshore Drilling: Increase Access, Reduce the Risk, and Stop Hurting American Companies", http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/08/offshore-drilling-increase-access-reduce-the-risk-and-stop-hurting-american-companies
Development of offshore oil and gas takes years of operational and financial planning. As
AND
with paying for two other drilling rigs idled by the government’s arbitrary moratoria.
Squo solves – production and technology
Retkwa, Minyanwille, 12 (Rosalyn " Citi Analysts Suggest US Energy Independence by 2020, Name Top Energy Picks" 3-23-12 http://www.minyanville.com/sectors/energy/articles/us-energy-oil-price-energy-independence/3/23/2012/id/40047 accessed: 7-31-12 mlb)
In a controversial report released this week, a group of Citi analysts led by
AND
cut demand by another half-million barrels by 2020," he said.
Unconventional oil plays being tapped now
Maugeri 12 (Leonardo Maugeri June 2012 ("Oil: The Next Revolution¶ THE UNPRECEDENTED UPSURGE OF OIL PRODUCTION ¶ CAPACITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE WORLD" The Geopolitics of Energy Project at The Harvard Kennedy Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/Oil-%20The%20Next%20Revolution.pdf-http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/Oil- The Next Revolution.pdf)
After considering risk-factors, depletion pattern and reserve growth, four countries show
AND
still in its infancy – is already skyrocketing in North Dakota and Texas.

NU BLOCK RD4 VS NORTHWESTERN

CP

AT Perm EPA does the plan

They can’t establish that the EPA will pass legally binding legislation because they just bypass congress which is normal means
Regulations are established by congress – agencies can make internal modifications that avoid political blame

Schillaci 2007 William C. author of the book Most Misunderstood Regs March 27, "Reining in Guidance Documents" http://enviro.blr.com/whitepapers/ehs-management/epa-environmental-protection-agency/reining-in-guidance-documents/
"The phenomenon we see in this case is familiar. Congress passes a broadly
AND
and without publication in the Federal Register or the Code of Federal Regulations."

AT Perm Do CP

Severance – guidance documents are distinct from rulemaking — considered a separate option

Raso, 10 -~— J.D., Yale Law (January 2010, Connor N., The Yale Law Journal, "Note: Strategic or Sincere? Analyzing Agency Use of Guidance Documents," Lexis)
i. legal treatment of guidance documents ¶ A. Introduction ¶ The term "
AND
how the courts have ¶ distinguished between the two in these difficult cases.
The CP is distinct from the plan — does not have the force of law but it still solves by altering conduct. The perm severs the certainty of administrative law.

Raso, 10 -~— J.D., Yale Law (January 2010, Connor N., The Yale Law Journal, "Note: Strategic or Sincere? Analyzing Agency Use of Guidance Documents," Lexis)
B. Interpretive Rules ¶ Courts are commonly asked to determine whether interpretive rules are
AND
find that the rule is, indeed, ¶ interpretive rather than legislative¶ 

AT Links to Politics

CP avoids politics – stays below the political radar

Raso, 10 -~— J.D., Yale Law (January 2010, Connor N., The Yale Law Journal, "Note: Strategic or Sincere? Analyzing Agency Use of Guidance Documents," Lexis)
B. Alignment of Political Principals ¶ Agency leaders facing a Congress and President in
AND
President are divided ¶ because the agency cannot please both of its superiors.
Perm doesn’t shield – cross apply from above that when Congress gets involved, the fights over energy prevent immigration from passing. 

Case

AT Solvency Ext.

There are across the board increases in drilling – even in the arctic
Weiss 12 (Daniel—Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, The American Energy Initiative: A Focus on the Outlook for Achieving North American Energy Independence Within the Decade, 9/13, http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/green/report/2012/09/13/37822/the-american-energy-initiative-a-focus-on-the-outlook-for-achieving-north-american-energy-independence-within-the-decade/)
Production from oil from the waters in the Gulf of Mexico is rebounding after the
AND
industry is winning" its quest to open previously protected lands to drilling.¶
No moratorium—-75% of the OCS is available
CEC 12—USHR Committee on Energy and Commerce (The Anti-Coastal Record of the U.S. House of Representatives: 112^th Congress, 8/9, democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/image_uploads/Anti-Coastal%20Votes%20Report%20Final.pdf)
In July 2012, the Department of the Interior finalized its proposed oil and gas
AND
states by 2017, including tracts off the¶ coast of southern California.¶ 

Politics

CIR key to the economy- recession inevitable without it
Hinojosa-Ojeda 2012 (Raúl, Founding Director of the North American Integration¶ and Development Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2012/1/cj32n1-12.pdf)
The historical experience of legalization under the 1986¶ Immigration Reform and Control Act indicates
AND
in which legal status and labor rights exert¶ upward pressure on wages.¶
Second Skilled workers key to US military hegemony:
JOHN RATZENBERGER, 7/31/2010 (Foundation for Fair Civil Justice board member, "Skilled workers key to state, national economies," http://newsok.com/skilled-workers-key-to-state-national-economies/article/3480964-http://newsok.com/skilled-workers-key-to-state-national-economies/article/3480964, Accessed 1/23/2013, rwg)
In my interviews with employers across the nation, I hear the same story:
AND
critical component work has been moved offshore as a stop-gap measure.

Line by Line - Uniquness debate

Uniqueness – CIR will pass – our Fitfield evidence says Obama’s push is building momentum and it’s his top legislative priority – GOP is moderating their stance and bipartisan moves are being made – prefer predictive ev, current obstacles are political snapshots that will be resolved as long as Obama has political capital 

They say Obama involved won’t pass but Obama’s push vital to upholding bipartisan compromise – consistency with Senate vision proves
Bash 1/28 
Possible compromise on immigration reform takes shape
By Dana Bash and Tom Cohen, CNN
updated 12:31 PM EST, Mon January 28, 2013
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/28/politics/immigration-reform/index.html-http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/28/politics/immigration-reform/index.html CMR

Undocumented immigrants would be able to seek legal status without first going home under a
AND
that Obama had indicated that immigration reform "is his top legislative priority."

And his  push ensures a quick, bipartisan deal this also answers their Obama not leading
Fort Worth Star-Telegram 2/5 ("Finally, a bipartisan approach to immigration policy", http://www.bnd.com/2013/02/05/2484257/finally-a-bipartisan-approach.html-http://www.bnd.com/2013/02/05/2484257/finally-a-bipartisan-approach.html, CMR)

With leadership from the president, both political parties and both houses of Congress,
AND
a cross-section of business, educational and religious leaders and organizations.

AT: Intrinsicness/Logical Policy Maker

Intrinsicness is illegitimate and a voting issue:

1. Decimates disad ground:  allows them to just wish away the impact to any disad.
   2.  Makes the AFF a moving target:  NEG needs a fixed target to shoot at in order to promote clash and in-depth education
   3.  Debating politics is educational—teaches us about how government functions and about relevant pieces of legislation of the day—their argument wishes politics disads away.

AT Rubio

Rubio backlashes against gay rights legislation – makes obama’s political capital doubly needed
Candido 2/7 (Sergio, "Marco Rubio Doesn’t Want Immigration Reform to be a Gay Rights Issue," SFGN, 2013, http://www.southfloridagaynews.com/news/local-news/8974-marco-rubio-doesnt-want-immigration-reform-to-be-a-gay-rights-issue.html.)
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the charismatic young gun of the Republican Party,
AND
U.S.¶ Rubio has kept a conservative outlook on gay rights.

They say that Obama bad /   PC Not Key

(   ) Obama’s capital is key
Shifter, 12/27 —- adjunct professor of Latin American politics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service  (12/27/2012, Michael, Revista Ideel, "Will Obama Kick the Can Down the Road?" http://www.thedialogue.org/page.cfm?pageID=32%26pubID=3186-http://www.thedialogue.org/page.cfm?pageID=32%26pubID=3186) CMR

There is, however, a notable change in Obama’s style compared to the first
AND
Obama is more inclined to take the initiative and draw some clear lines.
How the "fiscal cliff" question is managed and ultimately resolved will likely shape the tenor and climate for Obama’s second-term agenda.   If it leaves a bitter taste, then the rest of Obama’s domestic priorities will be more difficult to achieve.   If both parties think they gained something in the bargain, prospects for results in other areas will improve.
Not surprisingly, Obama has been explicit that reforming the US’s shameful and broken immigration
AND
, there was talk, in both parties, of comprehensive immigration reform.
Despite the sudden optimism about immigration reform, there is, of course, no guarantee that it will happen.    It will require a lot of negotiation and deal-making.  Obama will have to invest a lot of his time and political capital — twisting some arms, even in his own party.   Resistance will not disappear.  
There is also a chance that something unexpected could happen that would put off consideration of immigration reform.   Following the horrific massacre at a Connecticut elementary school on December 14, for example, public pressure understandably mounted for gun control, at least the ban of assault weapons.   But a decision to pursue that measure — though desperately needed — would take away energy and time from other priorities like immigration.

Obama’s capital and bipartisan cooperation are key to effective reform
DMN, 1/2 (Dallas Morning News, "Editorial: Actions must match Obama’s immigration pledge," 1/2/2013, http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20130102-editorial-actions-must-match-obamas-immigration-pledge.ece-http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20130102-editorial-actions-must-match-obamas-immigration-pledge.ece)
President Barack Obama said all the right things Sunday about immigration reform. The president
AND
fight this year for a comprehensive solution. Nothing but action will count.

They say No Process Links

1. Worst case scenario – the plan passes and we get a link based on the political perceptions of the plan post-passage.
   2. They are fiating out of our link arguments – THIS IS A VOTING ISSUE
   A) Education – they have a bad interpretation of fiat - They have to defend normal means of implementation – that’s key to current events and political education which is valuable because it actually informs us of the voting process.

They say prefer their specific oil links Plan forces political energy fights- saps capital
Geman 10 (Ben, The Hill, 4/1/10, http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/90137-drilling-push-shakes-up-climate-fight-)
While most of the drilling proposal can be undertaken using executive power, expanded drilling
AND
Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council — also slammed the proposal. 

And our 1nc evidence is good on this question that the environmental implications makes fights in congress

they say secrateray does it
Plan is extremely controversial and gets pegged on Obama
AP 12 
"House moves to quash Obama coal, gas rules," Kxan, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/21/house-gop-jabs-obama-on-energy-policy-with-vote-on-war-on-coal-bill/-http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/21/house-gop-jabs-obama-on-energy-policy-with-vote-on-war-on-coal-bill/ ~TP
Rep. Bill Johnson, who authored the act, challenged Obama to follow through
AND
over natural gas, the price of which has plummeted in recent years. 

AT: Winners Win

Obama disproves
JACOBSON 11  distinguished professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. Gary C. Jacobson, "Legislative Success and Political Failure: The Public’s Reaction to Barack Obama’s Early Presidency." Presidential Studies Quarterly 41, no. 2 (June)
The idea that a president’s legislative and political success go hand in hand is¶
AND
Center for the Study of the Presidency majority in that chamber in 2012.¶ 

1¶ Not only did the president and his party reap no¶ political benefit from their legislative accomplishments, they were evidently punished for¶ them. The congressional Republicans’ strategy of all-out opposition, adopted not long¶ after Obama took office, turned out to be remarkably successful, delivering a stunning¶ setback to a majority party that had won a sweeping victory just two years earlier.

===They say gun control ===
Immigration reform can be done concurrently with expected policies like fiscal reform and gun control

Soto 1/4   ~Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco, "Opinion: Immigration reform will not be easy, but it’s not impossible," nbclatino.com, http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/-http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/**~~**
This past Sunday on Meet the Press President Obama laid it out, "…fixing
AND
. But that doesn’t mean our executive and Congress can’t multi-task.¶ 

They say xo spas capital.

They is no timeframe for this argument. And Obama won’t do that til after the immigration bill happens. There is no impact to that or p/c key loss. This evidence doesn’t make any of those claims. 

AT Thumpers – Nominations

Cabinet nominees are politically safe
Weiner 2/4 (Rachel, "Chuck Hagel filibuster unlikely", http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/02/04/mcconnell-senate-gop-could-filibuster-hagel/-http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/02/04/mcconnell-senate-gop-could-filibuster-hagel/, CMR)

Democrats have 55 votes in the Senate; they would need five Republicans to break
AND
is to appoint his Cabinet," she told the Omaha World-Herald.

They say olive branch to republicans

Obamas p/c is key to getting
Sargent 2/4 (Greg, "How House Republicans can kill immigration reform," Washington Post, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/02/04/how-house-republicans-can-kill-immigration-reform/-http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/02/04/how-house-republicans-can-kill-immigration-reform/.)
The problem is that many individual House Republicans don’t have incentives to back immigration reform
AND
to genuine immigration reform — and how hard it will be to achieve.

They say visa pass independently

Nope – Democrats won’t sign-off on piecemeal reform
Song 2/5 (Kyung, "Immigration committee examines skilled versus unskilled workers", http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020294802_immigrationhearingxml.html-http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020294802_immigrationhearingxml.html, CMR)

WASHINGTON — Members of the House Judiciary Committee showed a sharp partisan divide during a
AND
immigrants and other thornier aspects of comprehensive immigration reform being debated in Congress.
More ev – dems won’t agree
Berman 2/5 (Russell, "In first immigration hearing, House GOP seeks middle ground on citizenship path", http://thehill.com/homenews/house/281187-in-first-immigration-hearing-house-gop-seeks-middle-ground-on-citizenship-path-http://thehill.com/homenews/house/281187-in-first-immigration-hearing-house-gop-seeks-middle-ground-on-citizenship-path, CMR)

Democrats on the committee used their time to reject a piecemeal approach, arguing that the complex issues in immigration reform could only be addressed together. "The notion of a comprehensive immigration ~bill~ has been pushed around and bandied about, but the fact of the matter is this is one big challenge that I don’t think we can handle on a piecemeal basis," said Rep. John Conyers (Mich.), the committee’s ranking Democrat.

NU 1NC RD6 VS UWASH

1

B. Interpretation:  The resolutions demands that the affirmative substantially increase financial incentives for energy production in the United States.

"For" is a limiting term that refers to PURPOSE of the financial incentives:
Merriam Webster, accessed 2013  ~http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/for~~**

"used as a function word to indicate purpose a grant for studying medicine"

"Production" means the incentives should fund the act or process of transforming inputs into outputs – creation of energy "goods" – process of transformation
Patil, 2012  ~Manoj Patil, Guarav Akrani under guidance of Professor Mudit Katyani, "What is production? Definition meaning transformation process," Feb. 3, http://kalyan-city.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-is-production-definition-meaning.html~~**

Production is a process of transforming (converting) inputs (raw-materials) into outputs (finished goods). So, production means the creation of goods and services. It is done to satisfy human wants. Thus, production is a process of transformation.

"In the United States" dictates the energy must be created within the 50 states and relevant U.S. territories. 

D. Violation:  The affirmative incentivizes the purchase of domestically-produced energy, not the production of it.  This means they are FX which is an independent voter 

E. Standards:
Limits:  Although they may be able to come up with a definition of production that they meet, it does not make it a good, limiting interpretation.  Ours limits out affs that simply pay for energy, while allowing affs that provide incentives to CREATE that energy.
Brightline – the aff has to provide incentives for the PROCESS of TRANSFORMATION not simply the output.  They explode the topic by justifying plans that have the government purchase PRODUCED energy instead of funding PRODUCTION of that energy.

Moots words:  Their interpretation moots the word PRODUCTION from the resolution.  The affirmative simply increases financial incentives for energy, not the PRODUCTION of that energy.  

Plan focus:  Their plan should be the focus of the debate and it does not actually legislate any increase in financial incentives for energy production, but simply purchases electricity IF and WHEN the energy gets produced.

F. Voter – for reasons of fairness and ground.

2

Counterplan Text: United States Federal Government should increase financial incentives for energy production in the United States by eliminating all federal taxes on profits generated from the sale of domestically-produced energy except for nuclear. We reserve the right to clarify intent.

3

Comprehensive immigration reform is top priority and will pass – Obama’s push building momentum
Fifield 2/5 (Anna, "Republicans soften tone on immigration", http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f6e10720-6fb6-11e2-8785-00144feab49a.html~~%23axzz2K9hMM4pj-http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f6e10720-6fb6-11e2-8785-00144feab49a.html, CMR)

Conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives have laid bare the challenges facing the prospects
AND
to be the centrepiece of his state of the union address next week.
Energy policy saps political capital - Even bipartisan bills cause a fight
McEntee 12 
Science, Politics and Public Opinion, Christine McEntee, Executive Director and CEO, American Geophysical Union, AUGUST 15, 2012, http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/finding-the-sweet-spot-biparti.php-http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/finding-the-sweet-spot-biparti.php ~TP
As convenient as it would be to say that a single change could alleviate the
AND
initiatives, even where there is wide bipartisan support for a given bill.
Obama will have to push the plan AND GOP will have to get on board – can’t afford to alienate the House through controversial plans
Soto 1/4   ~Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco, "Opinion: Immigration reform will not be easy, but it’s not impossible," nbclatino.com, http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/-http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/**~~**
Unlike in his first administration, the president seems to be on board and ready
AND
the House will entail a reframing of the issue to an economic one.¶
First, Reform key to Relations

Oppenheimer, 2012  ~Andres, "US may pay more attention to Latin America in Obama’s second term," The Miami Herald, 12/19, http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html-http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html**~~**
This combination of factors will make it easier to pass immigration reform in Congress,
AND
bring attention to Latin America that we didn’t see during his first term.
And that Cooperation with Latin American is critical to address energy security, warming, pollution, and other environmental concerns – turns the case

Lowenthal ’9  ~Abraham F. Lowenthal, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, a nonresident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, president emeritus of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the founding director of the Inter-American Dialogue. "The Obama Administration and Latin America: Will the Promising Start Be Sustained?". NUEVA SOCIEDAD NRO. 222. July-August 2009. http://www.nuso.org/upload/articulos/3617_2.pdf~~
Apart from the scheduling coincidence that the Fifth Summit of the Americas was¶ already
AND
effectively without¶ close and sustained cooperation from many countries of the Americas.

Case

Don’t grant them any of their ethics claims – they are NOT a universal objectivist policy – they could’ve eliminated all restrictions on energy production – BUT THOSE REMAIN IN PLACE IN THE WORLD OF THE AFF.  This means that they aren’t going to be able to access any part of their aff or any impacts predicated on objectivist ethics.  
They also only get rid of taxes in the context of energy production – this means they don’t solve their ethics.  They also don’t deal with ALL OF THE OTHER INSTANCES OF TAXES AND GOVERNMENT CONTROL.
Preserving existence is the primary obligation of a human and precedes value to life questions.
Wapner 03 ~Paul Wapner, associate professor and director of the Global Environmental Policy Program at American University. "Leftist Criticism of "Nature" Environmental Protection in a Postmodern Age," Dissent Winter 2003 http://www.dissentmagazine.org/menutest/archives/2003/wi03/wapner.htm-http://www.dissentmagazine.org/menutest/archives/2003/wi03/wapner.htm~~
All attempts to listen to nature are social constructions-except one. Even the
AND
running roughshod over the earth’s diversity of plants, animals, and ecosystems.

Calculation is good and doesn’t devalue life
Revesz 2008 Richard L. Revesz (Dean and Lawrence King Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, JD Yale Law School) and Michael A Livermore. (JD NYU School of Law, Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Integrity, and Managing director of the NYU Law Review). Retaking Rationality How Cots-Benefit Analysis Can Better protect the Environment and Our Health. 2008. P. 1-4.
Governmental decisions are also fundamentally different from personal decisions in that they often affect people
AND
that emotional foundation, and act effectively to bring about a better world.
free market results in ecocide 

Lewis, ASSISTANT PROF. OF GEOGRAPHY AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV., 1992 ~MARTIN W., Green Delusions, P.249-250~

But for all of its attractions, utopia remains, and will always remain "
AND
" convince environmentalists that George Bush is really on their side after all?

turn – warfare and imperialism 

Dallmayr, DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT PURDUE, 1978 ~FRED R., From Contract to Community, P.138~

Sometimes the word "community"" is used in connection with economic life. With
AND
thinkers as Plato, many of the early Church Fathers, and Marx. 

Any nuclear reactor will forces NRC to reverse termination of Yucca Mountain due to court-ordered resolution of disposal problem

Post and Courier, 2012.  August 20 http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120820/PC1002/120829989/1022/restart-yucca-mountain-project-http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120820/PC1002/120829989/1022/restart-yucca-mountain-project
Nuclear plants in South Carolina and Georgia were given the go-ahead by the
AND
decision of former chairman Gregory Jaczko to terminate the Yucca Mountain waste repository.
Yucca Mountain would lead to extinction and the destruction of the biosphere – our probability is infinite
David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1

We have come a long way in a very short time indeed. But 225
AND
decades of the promise of nuclear power - "too cheap to meter."

High risk of accidents which results in extinction
David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1
While theories of "autocatalytic criticality" caused by flooding have been widely rejected,
AND
explosion ever. It could be the last bookkeeping error mankind ever made.
Transportation of nuclear waste ensures accidents or terrorist attacks- the impact is worse than Chernobyl
Kevin Kamps, 2006.   Nuclear Information and Resource Service, 6-19-06, Safety and Security Concerns about Derailment of Train Hauling Atomic Waste: Inconsistencies Raise Questions about Emergency Preparedness, http://www.shundahai.org/6-18-06NIRSPR_Safety_and_Security_About_Derailment_of_Train_Hauling_Nuke_Waste.htm-http://www.shundahai.org/6-18-06NIRSPR_Safety_and_Security_About_Derailment_of_Train_Hauling_Nuke_Waste.htm

" This raises serious concerns about the security of atomic waste shipments," said Kevin
AND
2002, citing the danger of such barge shipments sinking in Lake Michigan.

Terrorist attack would cause extinction
Mohamed Sid-Ahmed, Al-Ahram, 9-1-2004, "Extinction%21" http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/705/op5.htm
What would be the consequences of a nuclear attack by terrorists? Even if it
AND
When nuclear pollution infects the whole planet, we will all be losers.

NU BLOCK RD6 VS UWASH

Case

You can’t grant them their ethics claims – they are not true objectivism.  Their aff removes TAXES ON ENERGY – this makes some exceptions that will cost them their impacts:

1. They leave taxes in place on things that aren’t energy
   2. They leave regulations in place that ensure continued government control of corporations, etc.
   Util is key to value of life – it maximizes happiness for the most people – making it the best framework for the policymaker and those whom are affected

~Smith 1997. Book Review: Jonathan Schell’s Fate of the Earth and The Abolition, www.tc.umn.edu/~smith097/articles/L%2011.The%20Fate%20of%20the%20Earth%20.pdf-http://www.tc.umn.edu/~smith097/articles/L 11.The Fate of the Earth .pdf~

Utilitarianism begins by generalizing the hedonistic pleasure principle in terms of
happiness. Then what is moral or good is that which brings an agent happiness
AND
a strong consistency thesis which places necessary constraints on the basic utilitarian argument.
Don’t evaluate their ethics in a vacuum-Their moral tunnel vision is complicit with the evil they criticize─
Isaac, 2002. (Jeffrey C., James H. Rudy professor of Political Science and director of the Center for the Study of Democracy and Public Life at Indiana University, Bloomington, "Ends, Means and politics," Dissent, Spring)
As writers such as Niccolo Machiavelli, Max Weber, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Hannah
AND
not true believers. It promotes arrogance. And it undermines political effectiveness. 

Nuclear war outweighs ethics – potential for escalation means it must be averted
Shaper, 1982
~Donna, associate chaplain @ Yale University, October 13, "The Nuclear Reality: Beyond Niebuhr and the Just West", http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1344/~~
The nuclear reality not only takes us beyond Niebuhr and real politics; it also
AND
know that any use of nuclear weapons will not result in catastrophic escalation?
Collective fear of death is key to check genocide and extinction
Louis Rene Beres, PhD Princeton, 1996, "No Fear, No Trembling Israel, Death and the Meaning of Anxiety," www.freeman.org/m_online/feb96/beresn.htm
Fear of death, the ultimate source of anxiety, is essential to human survival
AND
already led its people to what is likely an irreversible rendezvous with extinction.
Never tolerate extinction for the sake of justice─
Bok, 1988(Sissela Bok, Professor of Philosophy, Brandeis, Applied Ethics and Ethical Theory, Ed. David Rosenthal and Fudlou Shehadi, 1988)
The same argument can be made for Kant’s other formulations of the Categorical Imperative:
AND
even killing an innocent person, in order that the world not perish.

Politics

This means we outweigh on magnitude   Warming threatens human survival
Milbrath, 1994 climatologist, ’94  (The Futurist, May 1994; Lexis)
Extreme weather conditions may cause population shifts and decreased agricultural output. Humanity might face the ultimate test of survival.  Climate modelers have been cautiously predicting that the earth will gradually warm in the years ahead, producing similarly gradual changes in climatic patterns. For instance, the middle of North America will slowly grow arid.

Line by Line - Uniquness debate

They concede the Uniqueness level which makes this pretty easy for us – CIR will pass – our Fitfield evidence says Obama’s push is building momentum and it’s his top legislative priority – GOP is moderating their stance and bipartisan moves are being made – prefer predictive ev, current obstacles are political snapshots that will be resolved as long as Obama has political capital  

Link debate

They say that our link is generic. Well here’s a bunch of nuclear controlversial

nuclear cause fights in Congress
Parthemore and Rogers 10 
Christine Parthemore and Will Rogers, Christine Parthemore is the Bacevich fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Will Rogers is a CNAS researcher. This piece is based on a recently released CNAS report on climate change, energy and the Department of Defense available, Nuclear Reactors on Military Bases May Be Risky, May 20, 2010 http://www.rollcall.com/news/-46456-1.html-http://www.rollcall.com/news/-46456-1.html ~TP
Are small nuclear reactors a smart choice for increasing energy security and reducing greenhouse gas
AND
usage, radioactive waste management and public opinion will also be major concerns.

Also don’t grant them any they will mandate new technology means  that we wouldn’t trigger. Nuclear is happening as per the nuclear coming arguments. Don’t let them no link skirt this
Nuclear power is massively unpopular.
de Rugy, ’12
Veronique de Rugy, Ph.D., is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a monthly columnist for the print edition of reason.: "No to Nukes Nuclear power isn’t cost-effective, no matter how you do the math. - Reason.com." Reason, July 2012. http://reason.com/archives/2012/06/25/no-to-nukes-http://reason.com/archives/2012/06/25/no-to-nukes ~TP
Surprising as it may seem, the United States still generates around 20 percent of
AND
-starting nuclear power is not just bad politics. It’s awful economics.

Lawmakers will hate the plan creates a fight
Mason and Dunham 11 
(Jeff and Will, 3/13, Japan nuclear woes cast shadow over U.S. energy policy, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/13/us-nuclear-usa-idUSTRE72C2UW20110313)
Anxiety over Japan’s quake-crippled nuclear reactors has triggered calls from lawmakers and activists
AND
, which is now stored on site at reactor locations around the country.

Nuclear  drain political capital – opposition due to fear of waste, contamination and terror targets.
Smith 10 
(Rebecca, Contributor, "Small Reactors Generate Big Hopes", The Wall Street Journal, 2-18-10, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703444804575071402124482176.html-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703444804575071402124482176.html, ~TP
"We see significant benefits from the new, modular technology," said Donald Moul
AND
They could also raise alarms about creating possible terrorism targets in populated areas.
Nuclear  are politically nuclear.
Fairley 10
IEEE Spectrum Peter, May, "Downsizing Nuclear Power Plants", spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuclear/downsizing-nuclear-power-plants/0 ~TP
However, there are political objections to SMRs. Precisely because they are more affordable
AND
today’s reactors. But, politically at least, they’re just as nuclear.

Everyone hates the plan—regs, lobbies, public, and recent accidents ensure a firestorm (not military Affs)
Loudermilk 11 Micah J., Research Associate for the Energy and Environmental Security Policy program with the Institute for National Strategic Studies at National Defense University, contracted through ASE Inc; May 31, "Small Nuclear Reactors and US Energy Security: Concepts, Capabilities, and Costs," http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costs%26catid=116:content0411%26Itemid=375-http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costs%26catid=116:content0411%26Itemid=375 ~TP
Path forward: Department of Defense as first-mover. Problematically, despite the
AND
which small reactors may more easily become a reality: the US military.

They say that Obama  PC Not Key

They press the sato evidence its pretty clear that Obama needs to use his capital. Thev’ve conceded that it’s obamas pritority
(   ) Obama’s capital is key
Shifter, 12/27 —- adjunct professor of Latin American politics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service  (12/27/2012, Michael, Revista Ideel, "Will Obama Kick the Can Down the Road?" http://www.thedialogue.org/page.cfm?pageID=32%26pubID=3186-http://www.thedialogue.org/page.cfm?pageID=32%26pubID=3186) CMR

There is, however, a notable change in Obama’s style compared to the first
AND
Obama is more inclined to take the initiative and draw some clear lines.
How the "fiscal cliff" question is managed and ultimately resolved will likely shape the tenor and climate for Obama’s second-term agenda.   If it leaves a bitter taste, then the rest of Obama’s domestic priorities will be more difficult to achieve.   If both parties think they gained something in the bargain, prospects for results in other areas will improve.
Not surprisingly, Obama has been explicit that reforming the US’s shameful and broken immigration
AND
, there was talk, in both parties, of comprehensive immigration reform.
Despite the sudden optimism about immigration reform, there is, of course, no guarantee that it will happen.    It will require a lot of negotiation and deal-making.  Obama will have to invest a lot of his time and political capital — twisting some arms, even in his own party.   Resistance will not disappear.  
There is also a chance that something unexpected could happen that would put off consideration of immigration reform.   Following the horrific massacre at a Connecticut elementary school on December 14, for example, public pressure understandably mounted for gun control, at least the ban of assault weapons.   But a decision to pursue that measure — though desperately needed — would take away energy and time from other priorities like immigration.

AT: Intrinsicness/Logical Policy Maker

Intrinsicness is illegitimate and a voting issue:

1. Decimates disad ground:  allows them to just wish away the impact to any disad.
   2.  Makes the AFF a moving target:  NEG needs a fixed target to shoot at in order to promote clash and in-depth education
   3.  Debating politics is educational—teaches us about how government functions and about relevant pieces of legislation of the day—their argument wishes politics disads away.

Politics tests a key opportunity cost

Saideman 11 (Steve, associate professor of political science - McGill University, "Key Constraint on Policy Relevance," July 25, 2011, http://duckofminerva.blogspot.com/2011/07/key-constraint-on-policy-relevance.html)
Dan Drezner has a great post today about how the foreign policy smart set (
AND
dream about the right policy and gnash our teeth when it never happens.

NU 1NC RD7 VS WHITMAN

Tea

A. Interpretation: Substantially is defined as more than minor or easily repairable
Words and Phrases, 1987 (vol 40, 1987 Pocket Part, p. 266)
SUBSTANTIALLY IMPAIRS ITS VALUE.  What constitutes defect in article which "substantially impairs its value," within Uniform Commercial Code provision entitling buyer to revoke acceptance for such defect, is factual determination to be made by the trier of fact, and although term may not be susceptible to being precisely defined, it connotes more than mere minor, easily repairable defects in goods.  Schumaker v. Ivers, 238 N.W.2d. 284, 288, 90 S.D. 75.

Violation – the aff mandates loan guarantees – even if none exist in the squo, increasing from no dollars to 1 isn’t substantial
The plan is only a minor increase in financial incentive for energy production.

C.  BETTER INTERPRETATION STANDARDS (choose one or more)

Better Preparation and Limits.  Their interpretation unlimits by allowing hundreds of cases that do not increase incentives. Negatives will not be prepared with relevant positions and evidence against every possible increase in the amount of incentives made available via financial incentives.

Better Clash and Ground.  Minute increases justify the aff no linking out of disads because they’re too small to trigger anything. 

Bright Line Standard.  Compare what the plan reduces to what exists in the squo – increasing loan guarantees may or may not constitute a substantial increase even if none exist in the squo
D. Topicality is a voter for fairness ground and education

CP

Counterplan Text: The United States Federal Government should increase loan guarantees for PRISM Integral Fast Reactors in the United States.

Net Benefit

Any other nuclear reactor will forces NRC to reverse termination of Yucca Mountain due to court-ordered resolution of disposal problem

Post and Courier, 2012.  August 20 http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120820/PC1002/120829989/1022/restart-yucca-mountain-project-http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120820/PC1002/120829989/1022/restart-yucca-mountain-project
Nuclear plants in South Carolina and Georgia were given the go-ahead by the
AND
decision of former chairman Gregory Jaczko to terminate the Yucca Mountain waste repository.
Yucca Mountain would lead to extinction and the destruction of the biosphere – our probability is infinite
David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1

We have come a long way in a very short time indeed. But 225
AND
decades of the promise of nuclear power - "too cheap to meter."

Pols

Comprehensive immigration reform is top priority and will pass – Obama’s push building momentum
Fifield 2/5 (Anna, "Republicans soften tone on immigration", http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f6e10720-6fb6-11e2-8785-00144feab49a.html~~%23axzz2K9hMM4pj-http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f6e10720-6fb6-11e2-8785-00144feab49a.html, CMR)

Conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives have laid bare the challenges facing the prospects
AND
to be the centrepiece of his state of the union address next week.
Energy policy saps political capital - Even bipartisan bills cause a fight
McEntee 12 
Science, Politics and Public Opinion, Christine McEntee, Executive Director and CEO, American Geophysical Union, AUGUST 15, 2012, http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/finding-the-sweet-spot-biparti.php-http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/finding-the-sweet-spot-biparti.php ~TP
As convenient as it would be to say that a single change could alleviate the
AND
initiatives, even where there is wide bipartisan support for a given bill.
Obama will have to push the plan AND GOP will have to get on board – can’t afford to alienate the House through controversial plans
Soto 1/4   ~Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco, "Opinion: Immigration reform will not be easy, but it’s not impossible," nbclatino.com, http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/-http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/**~~**
Unlike in his first administration, the president seems to be on board and ready
AND
the House will entail a reframing of the issue to an economic one.¶
First, Reform key to Relations

Oppenheimer, 2012  ~Andres, "US may pay more attention to Latin America in Obama’s second term," The Miami Herald, 12/19, http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html-http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/19/3149669/andres-oppenheimer-us-may-pay.html**~~**
This combination of factors will make it easier to pass immigration reform in Congress,
AND
bring attention to Latin America that we didn’t see during his first term.
And that Cooperation with Latin American is critical to address energy security, warming, pollution, and other environmental concerns – turns the case

Lowenthal ’9  ~Abraham F. Lowenthal, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, a nonresident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, president emeritus of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the founding director of the Inter-American Dialogue. "The Obama Administration and Latin America: Will the Promising Start Be Sustained?". NUEVA SOCIEDAD NRO. 222. July-August 2009. http://www.nuso.org/upload/articulos/3617_2.pdf~~
Apart from the scheduling coincidence that the Fifth Summit of the Americas was¶ already
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effectively without¶ close and sustained cooperation from many countries of the Americas.

Disad

The IAEA is barely keeping up with the squo – it has a zero real growth budget and many contributions are voluntary and uncertain 

Leila Demarest, 2012.  "Towards a stronger non-proliferation regime: The role of nuclear disarmament, state interests, and institutions," CRPD Working Paper No. 10, January, http://soc.kuleuven.be/web/files/12/80/wp10.pdf-http://soc.kuleuven.be/web/files/12/80/wp10.pdf
The IAEA is financed with regular contributions of the member-states based on a
AND
the relatively low IAEA budget is a weak spot in the current regime.
New plants will destroy the inspection regime causing widespread proliferation and conflict – turns Aff

MAKHIJANI 2004
~Arjun, president of inst. For energy and env. Research, Journal of Land, resources, and Environmental Law, Atomic muths, radioactive realities: why nuclear power is a poor way to meet energy needs.  http://www.sric.org/voices/2003/v4n4/arjun_makhijani.html delo-uwyo~
If the world continues to use oil for transportation (and oil accounts for about
AND
to service some safety backup equipment while the power plants are still running.  

Case

AT NG

Random losses in diversity wont cause collapse
Angela Caines. (Plant Biologist at the University of Maryland.) "Biodiversity and Species exteinction." 2002. http://www.life.umd.edu/classroom/bsci124/lec37.html
"Redundancy": Most species are superfluous as only a few are critical to the
AND
can survive a library filled with numerous books, even those with numerous error
Environmental collapse won’t cause extinction
Easterbrook 2003 (Gregg Easterbrook, a senior fellow at The New Republic, July 2003 "We’re All Gonna Die%21" http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.07/doomsday.html?pg=1%26topic=%26topic_set=)
If we’re talking about doomsday - the end of human civilization - many scenarios simply
AND
as he was, wrote Remembrance of Things Past while lying in bed.
No extinction – reject aff’s environmental alarmism
Kaleita and Forbes 2007 Amy Kaleita, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University) and Gregory Forbes (research analyst at the Pacific Research Institute) 2007 "Hysteria’s History" http://www.undergroundnotes.com/graphics2/Hysteria_History.pdf
Apocalyptic stories about the irreparable, catastrophic damage that humans  are doing to the natural
AND
real problem exists, solutions should be based on reality,  not hysteria.
Manufacturing resilient
Baily 12 (Martin Neil Baily is a senior fellow in Brookings’s Economic Studies Program and holds the Bernard L. Schwartz chair in economic policy development and Bruce Katz is founding director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, "U.S. manufacturing makes a comeback", May 18, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-manufacturing-makes-a-comeback/2012/05/18/gIQA6dyVZU_story.html)
Amid continuing mixed signals about the economy, one notable bright spot is the revival
AND
areas of the Midwest and Northeast after three decades of steadily southward movement.
Alt causes – euro-zone and protectionism
Norris 12 (FLOYD NORRIS, "Manufacturing Is Surprising Bright Spot in U.S. Economy", Jan 5, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/business/us-manufacturing-is-a-bright-spot-for-the-economy.html)
Just how long the rise in manufactured exports can last depends, in part,
AND
poultry industries violated international law. The Chinese denounced those requests as protectionist.
Heg is dominant—there are no challengers
G. John Ikenberry is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at PrincetonUniversity. America Abroad. Weary Titan or Poorly Led Superpower? 5. http://houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/5/135627/8001. accessed 9/11/-http://houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/5/135627/8001. accessed 9/11/05
If America is overstretched, it is not because of declining material capabilities. Some
AND
. is utterly more powerful in relative terms and its rivals further behind.

US heg is not going anywhere—expect it for at least another century
Financial Times, 2/17, 2006 The American century shows no sign of ending MICHAEL LIND P.L
The rise and fall of great powers makes exciting history - all the more exciting
AND
same for a century and may remain so for another century or more. 

AT Prolif

All nuclear power projects pose WMD risks – its empirically proven that civilian programs are used to generate weapons research and weapons

Jim Green, 2009.  "Nuclear weapons and fourth generation reactors," Friends of Earth Australia, July, http://www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/issues/nfc/power-weapons/g4nw-http://www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/issues/nfc/power-weapons/g4nw
¶ All existing and proposed nuclear power concepts pose WMD proliferation risks. History gives
AND
so many places we’d run that proliferation risk right off the reasonability scale."
Nuclear power plants are prolif factories – internationalization will destabilize the world

Helen Caldicott, 2007.  M.D., "Nuclear Power is not the Answer," California Literary Review, March 26, http://calitreview.com/19-http://calitreview.com/19
¶ Adding to the danger, nuclear power plants are essentially atomic bomb factories.
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nuclear weapons, a situation that will further destabilize an already unstable world.¶
There’s NO CHANCE they can solve this advantage – DO NOT let the aff claim NUCLEAR LEADERSHIP solves proliferation – the INTERNAL LINK to that argument is having SAFE TECHNOLOGY –
They have to build black-box SMRs —— NO ONE knows how to build that 

ITA’ 11 – International Trade Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce, February. Manufacturing and Services Competitiveness Report. "The Commercial Outlook for U.S. Small Modular Nuclear Reactors." http://trade.gov/mas/ian/build/groups/public/@tg_ian/@nuclear/documents/webcontent/tg_ian_003185.pdf)
Some U.S. SMR vendors claim that their designs ¶ could be "
AND
designs are unlikely to be deployed in ¶ the near or mid term.
Another flaw – the aff needs to be able to EXPORT this tech - They can’t export this shit – there’s no international licensing standard

ITA’ 11 – International Trade Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce, February. Manufacturing and Services Competitiveness Report. "The Commercial Outlook for U.S. Small Modular Nuclear Reactors." http://trade.gov/mas/ian/build/groups/public/@tg_ian/@nuclear/documents/webcontent/tg_ian_003185.pdf)
Some U.S. suppliers also regard the lack of international licensing standards as
AND
the technology. This challenge also ¶ applies to larger, traditional reactors.
Proliferators are not aggressive – they care about the economy and regime survival
Alagappa ’8 (Muthiah – distinguished senior fellow at the East-West Center, The Long Shadow, p. 508-509)
Another major conclusion of this study is that although nuclear weapons could have destabilizing consequences
AND
intensity.  Security interaction in Asia increasingly approximates behavior associated with defensive realism. 

AT Solvency

Empirically financial incentives fail in nuclear energy production – without a change in regulatory and waste management policies, the aff is doomed to fail
Spencer and Loris, 2011  ~Jack and Nicolas, Senior Research Fellow Nuclear Energy Policy and Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow, "A Big Future for Small Nuclear Reactors," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, Feb. 2, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/02/a-big-future-for-small-nuclear-reactors-http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/02/a-big-future-for-small-nuclear-reactors**~~**

While some designs are closer to market introduction than others, the fact is that America’s regulatory and policy environment is not sufficient to support a robust expansion of existing nuclear technologies, much less new ones. New reactor designs are difficult to license efficiently, and the lack of a sustainable nuclear waste management policy causes significant risk to private investment.
Many politicians are attempting to mitigate these market challenges by offering subsidies, such as
AND
years and defer significant research and development costs from industry to the taxpayer.
Up front costs too expensive and risks are huge – no utility will take on nuclear energy
Gabriel Nelson, 2012  staff writer, 9-24-2012, "DOE funding for small reactors languishes as parties clash on debt," E%26E Publishing, http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/09/24/3

To build a large nuclear plant with two reactors that produce more than 1,
AND
, and a new natural gas plant costs %241.1 billion.

NU BLOCK RD7 VS WHITMAN

CP

This means the NB outweighs – High risk of accidents which results in extinction
David Comarow, Testimony presented at US Department of Energy Public Hearing, Attorney at Law, Yucca Mountain: Time to Think the Unthinkable, 2K1
While theories of "autocatalytic criticality" caused by flooding have been widely rejected,
AND
explosion ever. It could be the last bookkeeping error mankind ever made.
And, waste turns the aff – lack of comprehensive waste management solution prevents expansion of nuclear power
Spencer and Loris, 2011  ~Jack and Nicolas, Senior Research Fellow Nuclear Energy Policy and Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow, "A Big Future for Small Nuclear Reactors," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, Feb. 2, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/02/a-big-future-for-small-nuclear-reactors-http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/02/a-big-future-for-small-nuclear-reactors**~~**
Nuclear Waste Management. The lack of a sustainable nuclear waste management solution is perhaps
AND
they could contribute greatly to an economically efficient and sustainable nuclear waste management strategy

AT Perm

Perm is severance – their 1AC evidence is generic. Integral fast reactors are distinct from LWR’s which they say they defend.   
Normal means is light water reactors.
Robitaille 12  - Department of Army Civilian, member of the Army Environmental Center (George E., Small Modular Reactors: The Army’s Secure Source of Energy?, 3-21-2012,
All of the operational reactors used by the DoD have been based on the light
AND
. A schematic of the general design is shown in figure two.¶ 39

AT No Yucca

Yucca is the only site for the new court rulings

Nuclear Engineering Magazine  15 January 2013 US unveils new spent fuel strategy http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=132%26storyCode=2063601
The government would also work towards a geological repository by 2048, according to the
AND
near term" to allow siting, design and licensing work to begin.

AT We Produce Waste

IFR is the best nuclear technology – recycled fuel, secure, and proliferation proof. 

Steve Kirsch 11/25/2009 Why We Should Build an Integral Fast Reactor Now http://skirsch.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/ifr/
Nuclear is our best clean power technology and the IFR is our best nuclear technology
AND
instead of coal. Our economy will benefit and our planet will too.

Solves Prolif

IFRs also solve the need for additional enriched uranium another factor in proliferation

Barry Brook 16 October 2009 The Integral Fast Reactor – Summary for Policy Makers http://bravenewclimate.com/2009/10/16/ifr-spm/
Proliferation resistant: The IFR is proliferation resistant on two counts.  First, the
AND
weapons) and transforms it into elements that are safe after 300 years.
In addition, pyroprocessing in IFR makes weapons-usable material technically impossible – it is virtually proliferation-free technology

Barry Brook 24 February 2011  Advanced nuclear power systems to mitigate climate change (Part III) http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/02/24/advanced-nuclear-power-systems-to-mitigate-climate-change/
One of the arguments that was used to politically kill the IFR project, just
AND
anyone who argues against pyroprocessing while still condoning aqueous has their facts backward.

AT No Commercial Development

Building one proves its commercial viability, prevents Yucca, and stops MOX plants

Steve Kirsch Entrepreneur and philanthropist Posted: June 27, 2009 Climate Bill Ignores Our Biggest Clean Energy Source http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-kirsch/climate-bill-ignores-our_b_221796.html
We should be exploring all viable options to solve our energy problems and global warming
AND
. The IFR could denature the weapons Pu much faster and more cheaply.

Politics

CIR key to the economy- recession inevitable without it
Hinojosa-Ojeda 2012 (Raúl, Founding Director of the North American Integration¶ and Development Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2012/1/cj32n1-12.pdf)
The historical experience of legalization under the 1986¶ Immigration Reform and Control Act indicates
AND
in which legal status and labor rights exert¶ upward pressure on wages.¶
Turns the aff
TUCKER 10  Pulitzer Prize winning Writer, Political and Economic Analyst Cynthia Tucker, We need immigrants to help pay the deficit, http://blogs.ajc.com/cynthia-tucker/2010/11/19/we-need-immigrants-to-help-pay-the-deficit/
If you’ve spent any time pondering those dense reports on cutting the deficit, you
AND
those workers with a path to legal status is in everyone’s best interest.¶ 

And hegemony Reform is key to U.S. competitiveness

Bush et al 09 – co-chairmen and director of a Council on Foreign Relations-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S. Immigration Policy (7/21/09, Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former White House Chief of Staff Thomas F. McLarty and Edward Alden, "Nation needs comprehensive, flexible immigration reform," http://www.ajc.com/opinion/nation-needs-comprehensive-flexible-97393.html)
Our immigration system has been broken for too long, and the costs of that
AND
to foreign students and providing a faster track to permanent residency and citizenship.
Competiveness key to economy and hegemony

Segal, 04 – Senior Fellow in China Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
(Adam, Foreign Affairs, "Is America Losing Its Edge?" November / December 2004, http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20041101facomment83601/adam-segal/is-america-losing-its-edge.html)
The United States’ global primacy depends in large part on its ability to develop new
AND
, the United States must get better at fostering technological entrepreneurship at home.

Line by line

Uniqueness – CIR will pass – our Fitfield evidence says Obama’s push is building momentum and it’s his top legislative priority – GOP is moderating their stance and bipartisan moves are being made – prefer predictive ev, current obstacles are political snapshots that will be resolved as long as Obama has political capital
Immigration will pass but not without a fight
Foley 2/3 (Elise, "Harry Reid On Immigration Reform: ’This Legislation Is Going To Pass’ ," Huff Post Politics, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/03/harry-reid-immigration-reform_n_2610182.html-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/03/harry-reid-immigration-reform_n_2610182.html.)
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) predicted in an
AND
from many Republicans that they are alienating Latino voters by opposing immigration reform.
Will pass – negotiation key
Sargent 2/4 (Greg, "How House Republicans can kill immigration reform," Washington Post, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/02/04/how-house-republicans-can-kill-immigration-reform/-http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/02/04/how-house-republicans-can-kill-immigration-reform/.)
The problem is that many individual House Republicans don’t have incentives to back immigration reform
AND
to genuine immigration reform — and how hard it will be to achieve.

Prfer our uniqness arguments we are the only ones reading predictive evidence on the way the vote is coming

AT: SMR Funding Now

They say funding now SMR grants haven’t been appropriated by Congress yet.
Tomich 12
Energy and Environment Reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Jeffrey, Small nuclear reactors generate hype, questions about cost, http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/small-nuclear-reactors-generate-hype-questions-about-cost/article_39757dba-8e5c-11e1-9883-001a4bcf6878.html-http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/small-nuclear-reactors-generate-hype-questions-about-cost/article_39757dba-8e5c-11e1-9883-001a4bcf6878.html ~TP
The Obama administration, which is pushing for development of low-carbon energy technologies
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have the potential to be licensed and in commercial operation in a decade.

Link – Nuclear General

Extend the 1nc link evidence its good on the question it says that fishts that have to deal with climate change or energy are political toxic and cause partishanship and gridlock
Even supporters of nuclear programs acknowledge that now is not the right time to promise money
Gabriel Nelson, 2012  staff writer, 9-24-2012, "DOE funding for small reactors languishes as parties clash on debt," E%26E Publishing, http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/09/24/3

Even the staunchest supporters of the federal nuclear program are acknowledging it is a tough time to promise a %24452 million check.
Spending for nuclear reactors is losing support amongst Republicans
Gabriel Nelson, 2012  staff writer, 9-24-2012, "DOE funding for small reactors languishes as parties clash on debt," E%26E Publishing, http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/09/24/3

But when it comes to straight-up spending, like the grants that would support getting these cutting-edge reactors ready for their first demonstrations, the solution may not be so clear. While some Republicans remain staunch supporters of funding for the nuclear power industry, there are others who label the government subsidies as a waste of taxpayer dollars.
Nuclear power is massively unpopular.
de Rugy, ’12
Veronique de Rugy, Ph.D., is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a monthly columnist for the print edition of reason.: "No to Nukes Nuclear power isn’t cost-effective, no matter how you do the math. - Reason.com." Reason, July 2012. http://reason.com/archives/2012/06/25/no-to-nukes-http://reason.com/archives/2012/06/25/no-to-nukes ~TP
Surprising as it may seem, the United States still generates around 20 percent of
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-starting nuclear power is not just bad politics. It’s awful economics.

AT: Winners Win

Obama disproves
JACOBSON 11  distinguished professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. Gary C. Jacobson, "Legislative Success and Political Failure: The Public’s Reaction to Barack Obama’s Early Presidency." Presidential Studies Quarterly 41, no. 2 (June)
The idea that a president’s legislative and political success go hand in hand is¶
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a majority party that had won a sweeping victory just two years earlier.

AT: Intrinsicness/Logical Policy Maker

Intrinsicness is illegitimate and a voting issue:

1. Decimates disad ground:  allows them to just wish away the impact to any disad.
   2.  Makes the AFF a moving target:  NEG needs a fixed target to shoot at in order to promote clash and in-depth education
   3.  Debating politics is educational—teaches us about how government functions and about relevant pieces of legislation of the day—their argument wishes politics disads away.

PC Key

They say Obama is not key to getting is passed the sato evidence takes this into account it says that Obama cannot just arm wrestle a few rebulicans and democtracts he needs to keep his momentum
Capital is critical to get a deal
Shifter 12/27/12 (Michael, President of the Inter-American Dialogue, "Will Obama Kick the Can Down the Road?")
Not surprisingly, Obama has been explicit that reforming the US’s shameful and broken immigration
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some arms, even in his own party. Resistance will not disappear.
Obama key to immigration

BABINGTON 12/24  (Charles, Associated Press Writer, Obama has long work list to tackle when he returns, Associated Press Online, December 24, 2012)
The political climate for sweeping immigration changes "is significantly better," Meissner said, "but that does not mean it will happen." Even with a full plate of challenges and a hostile party controlling the House, she said, "I think Obama absolutely has to go big on immigration."

AT Thumpers – Gun Control

Immigration reform can be done concurrently with expected policies like fiscal reform and gun control

Soto 1/4   ~Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco, "Opinion: Immigration reform will not be easy, but it’s not impossible," nbclatino.com, http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/-http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/04/opinion-immigration-reform-will-not-be-easy-but-its-not-impossible/**~~**
This past Sunday on Meet the Press President Obama laid it out, "…fixing
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. But that doesn’t mean our executive and Congress can’t multi-task.¶
Immigration comes first – Obama will wait on gun control

Trend 12/31
Reporter, "U.S. President puts immigration reform at top of 2013 agenda", http://en.trend.az/regions/world/usa/2104727.html
US President Barack Obama Sunday named immigration reform as his top priority in the coming
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chaired by Vice President Joe Biden to come in with proposals in January.
 (—) Immigration reform is top of the docket:
Frank Sharry, 1/15/2013 (Founder and executive director, America’s Voice, "Immigration Reform in 2013: An Idea Whose Time Has Come," http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-sharry/immigration-reform-2013_b_2443025.html-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-sharry/immigration-reform-2013_b_2443025.html, Accessed 1/23/2013, rwg)
What does this mean for 2013 and 2014? It means that the president will
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regain its competitiveness with Hispanic voters or go the way of the Whigs.

AT Conservatives will Never Vote for It

Election has driven change in the GOP – have to catch the momentum now

Peter Prime, 1/4  ~Peter, "Immigration reform 2013: Will the GOP change its mind on the DREAM Act?" policymic.com, http://www.policymic.com/articles/21967/immigration-reform-2013-will-the-gop-change-its-mind-on-the-dream-act-http://www.policymic.com/articles/21967/immigration-reform-2013-will-the-gop-change-its-mind-on-the-dream-act**~~**
Following Romney’s loss, the position of the mathematicians within the party has strengthened.
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if they face pressure to do so from a segment of their base.¶
Relations Key Ext.
Immigration reform is key to US-Latin American relations—no issue is as important:
Shifter 12 (Michael is the President of Inter-American Dialogue. "Remaking the Relationship: The United States and Latin America," April, IAD Policy Report, http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/IAD2012PolicyReportFINAL.pdf-http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/IAD2012PolicyReportFINAL.pdf, Accessed 1/23/2013, rwg)
Still another advance could come through US immigration reform. By better¶ aligning the
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not abandoned,¶ others argue for pursuit of new approaches to economic integration.
Immigration reform key to US-Latin American relations:
Charlene Barshefsky, 2008 (Serves on the Board of the¶ Council on Foreign Relations, "U.S.-Latin America Relations: A New Direction¶ for a New Reality, http://www.cfr.org/mexico/us-latin-america-relations/p16279-http://www.cfr.org/mexico/us-latin-america-relations/p16279, Accessed 1/23/2013, rwg)
Immigration reform is one of the most pressing domestic policy issues¶ facing the United
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U.S.¶ security, economic, and foreign policy interests better.
Immigration reform key to US-Latin American relations:
Shifter 12 (Michael is the President of Inter-American Dialogue. "Remaking the Relationship: The United States and Latin America," April, IAD Policy Report, http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/IAD2012PolicyReportFINAL.pdf-http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/IAD2012PolicyReportFINAL.pdf, Accessed 1/23/2013, rwg)
Some enduring problems stand squarely in the way of partnership and¶ effective cooperation. The inability of Washington to reform its broken¶ immigration system is a constant source of friction between the United¶ States and nearly every other country in the Americas. Yet US officials rarely¶ refer to immigration as a foreign policy issue. Domestic policy debates on¶ this issue disregard the United States’ hemispheric agenda as well as the¶ interests of other nations.¶