Should the Politics Disad Always Be in the 1NR?

Politics disads are awesome. They apply to most affirmatives on the topic. They change with the political winds, so it’s possible to read a new politics disad at every tournament. They are complex, which means you can find multiple link, internal link, and impact scenarios to keep it interesting. They have almost unlimited number of impact scenarios, making it really easy to turn or solve the case. Like I said, awesome.

Now that you’ve decided that the politics disad should be in every negative block, where should it go? Some people would say that politics should always be in the 2NC. Some would say that it should always be in the 1NR. When making your decision, consider the following:

1. What happened in the 2AC?

2AC strategy should be a determining factor whenever a negative team is splitting up the block. Splitting the block before the debate can cause problems: not enough prep time for a complicated 2AC strategy, or not enough to fill a 2NC if the answers are inadequate. 

2. More Prep Time

The 1NR has a ton of prep time! All of the prep for the 2NC, plus 2NC speech time! This means that the 1N will have plenty of time to think about argument interactions and pull lots of files if necessary. If it’s a complicated debate, it’s worth it to have politics in the 1NR to save prep for the 2NR.

3. No “new” arguments 

The 1NR is technically a rebuttal speech, so the bar for new arguments is set higher. This can cause problems if the 2AC’s politics answers require a new counterplan (for example, a uniqueness counterplan). Those should be in the 2NC.

4. Time pressures

The 1NR has three minutes less than the 2NC. The 1NR is a good place for the politics disad if it won’t require a large time investment or if the 2N needs to devote a lot of time to another argument in the debate, such as a complicated counterplan.

5. Last in the block

This means that if you miss a theory argument, such as “intrinsciness” or “vote no,” you’ve got no second chances.

6. No cross-examination 

This can either be a good or bad thing. If you have a very complex politics disad that may require some extra explanation, having a cross-x on it may be very helpful. On the other hand, if your disad hinges more on “spin” and less on great evidence, having a cross-ex about your disad can do more harm than good. (Though, if your disad is likely to fall apart under the least bit of scrutiny, you probably don’t want to be reading it anyways.)

7. 2N greed

Some 2Ns are greedy. They want what their 2NC to be the 2NR in every debate. Debates are unpredictable, and one of the best ways of increasing your chances for the W is to be flexible and adapt to what the debate throws at you. If only one partner is capable of extending the politics disad, it really limits your flexibility. Ideally, both partners should be willing and able to extend anything that appears in the 1NC, including politics!

Remember, politics disads are awesome. But they will be less awesome if they are extended incorrectly. So, before and during the debate, think about these factors before choosing where to put your politics disad in the negative block.