Titan Summer Debate Institute
Theory
AFFIRMATIVE THEORY BLOCKS ...................................................................... 2
Dispo/Condi Bad ............................................................................................. 3
PIC’s Bad ......................................................................................................... 4
50 State Fiat Bad ............................................................................................. 5
International Fiat Bad ...................................................................................... 6
Agent Counterplans Bad ................................................................................ 7
Delay CP’s Bad ................................................................................................ 8
Severance Perms Good .................................................................................. 9
Intrinsic Perms Good .................................................................................... 10
Multiple Perms Good .................................................................................... 11
Neg Fiat Bad .................................................................................................. 12
Object Fiat Bad .............................................................................................. 13
2NC CP’s Bad ................................................................................................ 14
Floating PIC’s Bad......................................................................................... 15
No Text to the Alternative Bad ..................................................................... 16
NEGATIVE THEORY BLOCKS ......................................................................... 17
Condi Good .................................................................................................... 18
Dispo Good .................................................................................................... 19
PIC’s Good ..................................................................................................... 20
50 State Fiat Good ......................................................................................... 21
International Fiat Good ................................................................................. 22
Agent Counterplans Good. ........................................................................... 23
Delay CP’s Good ........................................................................................... 24
Multiple Perms Bad ....................................................................................... 25
Severance Perms Bad ................................................................................... 26
Intrinsic Perms Bad....................................................................................... 27
Neg Fiat Good ................................................................................................ 28
Object Fiat Good ........................................................................................... 29
2NC CP’s Good .............................................................................................. 30
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AFFIRMATIVE THEORY BLOCKS
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Dispo/Condo Bad
1. Irresponsible negation- prevents coherent negation, justifies
contradictions, and allows them to shift out of our offense
2. Strat and Time skew- we have to debate the squo and the cp which
means they can just go for the one we undercovered, making the aff
rebuttals unfairly difficult and rendering part of our speeches moot.
3. Multiple possible worlds bad
a. Forces judge intervention
b. Isn’t reciprocal- we get one world, they shouldn’t get two
c. Hurts the quality of policy comparison of prevents in-depth debate
and education because we have to debate 2 worlds
4. Infinitely regressive- all the args that support on conditional counterplan
are also defenses of multiple counterplans, which are illegit.
5. Not Real World- policy makers can’t straight turn a policy to kill it.
6. Inconsistent advocacies- kills clash and education by allowing them to
duck out of a failed cp
7. Dispo is Condi in disguise (Dispo bad only)-they can force us to go for the
perm by reading a bunch of add-on advantages to the cp. Neg has the
block to respond to the straight turn, forcing us to read defense.
8. Voter for fairness and education.
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PIC’s Bad
1. Steals aff ground- makes the 1ac moot and makes it difficult to generate
offense, killing fairness.
2. Education- makes trivial issues the focus of the debate
3. Forces the aff to debate against themselves- makes it difficult for us to
generate offense which destroys fairness.
4. Justifies vague plan texts- PIC’s give incentive to write vague plan texts.
This kills real world education because we don’t debate a specific plan of
action. This also hurts neg ground because vagueness allows the aff to
spike out of links.
5. Infinitely regressive- they can PIC out of a word, a comma, or a penny.
6. Not key to education/strat- DA’s test the comparative necessity of the
plan. The CP isn’t necessary.
7. Voter for fairness and education
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50 State Fiat Bad
1. Not real world- no policy maker has the option or has ever passed
legislation in all 50 states. The impact is real world education.
2. Unfair Research Burden- the neg has to research the USFG whereas we
have to research policy in all 50 states, killing fairness.
3. No support in the lit- we challenge the neg to find where unanimous state
action is advocated.
4. Not Reciprocal- the aff gets one actor, the neg shouldn’t get 50 actors for
reasons of fairness.
5. Infinitely regressive- If 50 states can pass the same plan, what’s to stop
the neg from a cp that has all countries commit to world peace. They
justify unfair multiple actor advantage cp’s, which are illegit.
6. Lose aff ground- difficult to get offensive args against all 50 states acting
at the same time.
7. Predictability- they can claim advantages off of one of the 50 states acting
and we can’t predict which state or what.
8. Voter for fairness and education
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International Fiat Bad
1. Not reciprocal – we only get the USFG, and the neg is allowed the entire
world.
2. Infinitely regressive – the neg is able to choose whatever country they
want, we can’t predict whatever they’re going to say.
3. Unfair Research burden– aff has to research 193 countries while the neg
researches the USFG not fair because the burden is so much greater on
the aff.
4. Predictability – aff can’t predict what the neg will say because they have
so much to choose from, makes it too hard to win the counterplan.
5. Jurisdiction- real world policy makers only have the power to implement
policies within their jurisdiction. (int’l actions not in your jurisdiction)
6. Voter for fairness and education.
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Agent Counterplans Bad
1. Not reciprocal – the Neg can take any USFG agent they want – we’re
bound to the USFG as a whole.
2. Forces aff to debate against itself – neg steals all our offense and arguing
against counterplan is arguing against plan.
3. Unpredictable- allows the neg to choose any part of the USFG, it’s too big
to research all the possible agents.
4. Kills topic specific education – we don’t talk about the actual impacts of
policy, we only talk about the process in the USFG
5. Not key to education/ground- DA’s test the comparative necessity of the
plan. The CP is not necessary.
6. Voter for fairness and education.
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Delay CP’s Bad
1. Unpredictable- we can’t predict what time they’ll delay action to.
2. Unfair research burden- it’s difficult to research the future because the
future is uncertain.
3. Kills Aff ground- it’s difficult to produce offense against the uncertain
future.
4. Education- we don’t learn about the future, we just guess.
5. Time skew- they steal the entire 1ac with a counterplan that does the plan.
6. Forces us to debate against ourselves- they pass our plan, forcing us to
debate against our plan, which is unfair.
7. Infinite regression- they could pick an infinite number of times to delay
action to.
8. Voter for fairness and education.
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Severance Perms Good
1. Best policy option –we debate the perm, the plan, and the counterplan,
allowing us to find the best policy option.
2. Most real world – congress is allowed to remove sections of bills. Debate
trains us to be policy makers.
3. Neg Block checks – they have 13 minutes of the block to answer the 8
minute 2AC with the perm.
4. Increases strategic thinking – severance makes the neg adapt just as the
2AC adapts to the 1NC.
5. Education- debating the perm, plan, and cp increases education.
6. Reject the argument not the team- perms are just a test of competition, not
an advocacy, so we shouldn’t be voted down for a bad perm.
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Intrinsic Perms Good
1. Search for the best policy- debating the perm, plan, and cp allows us to find
the best policy.
2. Real World- congressmen add sections to legislation all the time. The
purpose of debate is to train policy makers.
3. The Block checks abuse- the neg has 13 minutes to answer the 8 minute 2AC
with the perm.
4. Education- debating the perm, plan, and cp increases education.
5. Reject the argument not the team- perms are just a test of competition, not an
advocacy, so we shouldn’t be voted down for a bad perm.
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Multiple Perms Good
1. Tests of competition – they’re not advocacies, so we don’t open up more
worlds.
2. Neg block checks time skew – neg block skews 1ar time more than perms
skew the block.
3. Reciprocal – neg gets to read multiple off cases, we respond with multiple
perms.
4. Education – we get to go more in-depth into the competitiveness of the
counterplan and more perms means more education.
5. Condi/Dispo checks- they can drop the CP, mooting the time we spent on
the perms.
Reject the arguments not the team- perms are just a test of competition, not
an advocacy, so we shouldn’t be voted down.
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Neg Fiat Bad
1. Illogical decision making- logical decision making is the squo versus the
plan. Neg fiat is a departure from this.
2. Unfair Balance of ground- neg fiat gives the neg counterplans and the
squo which skews ground unfairly.
3. Predictability- we can’t predict what they will fiat.
4. Infinite regression- there are an infinite number of things they could fiat.
This explodes the research burden and kills fairness.
5. In depth education- neg fiat prevents us from going in depth into the status
quo.
6. Resolutional basis- “should not” is not in the resolution, so neg has no
basis for fiat. “Should” gives the aff a normative basis for fiat.
7. Not key to ground/education- DA’s test the comparative necessity of the
plan. The CP isn’t necessary.
8. Voter for fairness and education.
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Object Fiat Bad
1. Steals aff ground- steals the impacts to our 1ac, making the 1ac moot and
making it difficult to produce offense.
2. Forces us to debate against ourselves- causes us to debate against our
own harms we read in the 1ac.
3. Not real world- no policy maker has the option to fiat world peace.
4. Unfair research burden- impossible to produce offense against world
peace or the elimination of racism.
5. Voter for fairness and education.
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2NC CP’s Bad
1. Time skew- the neg gets 13 minutes and we only have 5 minutes to
respond to a new argument and we are unable to draw upon the 2AC.
Has the potential to make the 2AC moot if they go for it.
2. Not reciprocal- the aff can’t read the plan in the 2AC, the neg shouldn’t be
allowed to read a counterplan in the 2NC.
3. Infinite regression- 2NC counterplans justify 2NR counterplans which
destroy education because we can’t go in-depth.
4. In depth education- we have less time to respond, meaning we can’t go as
in depth into the argument.
5. Voter for fairness and education.
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Floating PIC’s Bad
1. Cross apply all the reasons PIC’s are bad.
2. Forces us to debate against ourselves- forces us to debate against our
plan, making it difficult to generate offense.
3. Steals aff ground- it’s difficult to get offense against a word or
representation we made.
4. Irresponsible argumentation and shifting advocacies- floating PIC’s have
the neg shift to supporting the plan and then rejecting the plan, which
creates irresponsibility and kills education and fairness.
5. Voter for fairness and education.
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No Text to the Alternative Bad
1. Moving target- no text means they can shift out of our offense.
2. Not reciprocal- the aff must write a plan text so the neg should have a text
to their alternative.
3. Justifies irresponsible argumentation- allows them to change their
advocacy and not be responsible for their original advocacy.
4. Education- makes it impossible to go in depth into the specifics of the
alternative.
5. Kills aff ground- difficult to produce arguments against an unclear
alternative.
6. Voter for fairness and education.
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NEGATIVE THEORY BLOCKS
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Condo Good
1. Spurs critical thinking – Aff has to pick their best arguments for both the
squo and the cp.
2. Perms check abuse – their perms are a greater time skew.
3. No impact to multiple worlds.
4. Most real world – Congressmen change their minds all the time for no
reason. Policy debate trains us for the world of policy making.
5. Logical decision making- not having the option of the squo would be an
extreme departure from decision making.
6. Time skew inevitable- the 1AR has 5 minutes to answer the 13 minute
block.
7. All arguments are condi- we should be able to drop a CP just as we drop
T.
Generics
Checks Aff bias- aff gets infinite prep, first and last speeches, and lit bias
Negation theory- we are fulfilling our job which is to reject the plan
Search for the best policy- we use the arg to find the best policy
No voter- reject the arg not the team.
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Dispo Good
1. Puts the aff in control – they can straight turn forcing us to have the counterplan
the rest of the debate.
2. All arguments are dispo – we should be able to kick cp’s like we kick DA’s or
topicality.
3. Perms check abuse – multiple perms are a worse times screw.
4. No impact to multiple worlds.
5. Logical decision making- not having the option of the squo would be an
extreme departure from decision making.
6. Time skew inevitable –a thirteen minute neg block is always going to pressure
the 1AR.
7. Increases strategic thinking- forces the aff to pick their best args against the
squo and the counterplan, improving education.
8. Real world- policy makers change their minds all the time if they see an option
is not as good.
Generics
Checks Aff bias- aff gets infinite prep, first and last speeches, and lit bias
Negation theory- we are fulfilling our job which is to reject the plan
Search for the best policy- we use the arg to find the best policy
No voter- reject the arg not the team.
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PIC’s Good
1. Aff should have to defend the entirety of their plan- allowing the aff to
spike out of part of their plan kills fairness
2. Education- trivialities matter.
a. In-depth because we go deep into the details of the plan
b. Real world because congressmen discuss specifics of bills.
3. Neg Ground- Almost all CP’s are PIC’s. Rejecting these destroys fairness
and education by reducing the number of neg options.
4. Net benefit and solvency checks abuse- PIC’s are grounded in the
literature which limits what we can PIC out of.
5. We don’t steal aff ground- aff can easily produce a solvency deficit for
whatever is changed in the plan text.
Generics
Checks Aff bias- aff gets infinite prep, first and last speeches, and lit bias
Negation theory- we are fulfilling our job which is to reject the plan
Search for the best policy- we use the arg to find the best policy
No voter- reject the arg not the team.
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50 State Fiat Good
1. Tests the Resolution- tests the words “Federal Government” in the
resolution
2. Key to Neg Ground- 50 states cp key part of neg ground especially on
transportation incentives
3. Increases Critical Thinking- forces arg thought on the fly and the aff to
defend all parts of their plan
4. Education- we learn about policy making at the state level versus the
national level.
5. Real world impossible- debate is not real world. Fiat doesn’t exist in the
real world.
6. Resolution mandates- states are an integral part of policy that needs to be
debated.
7. Increases aff ground- allows aff to read a DA against one of 50 states
8. Rooted in the Lit- many authors discuss policy at the state and federal
level.
9. Reciprocal- USFG includes many branches and agencies that the aff gets
to have act.
Generics
Checks Aff bias- aff gets infinite prep, first and last speeches, and lit bias
Negation theory- we are fulfilling our job which is to reject the plan
Search for the best policy- we use the arg to find the best policy
No voter- reject the arg not the team.
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International Fiat Good
1. Tests the resolution – Aff has to defend the USFG action.
2. Solvency and net benefits check abuse – only a few countries have
solvency advocates for transportation infrastructure.
3. Reciprocal – Aff gets the entirety of the federal government – it’s so big
they could choose a tiny department as well.
4. Combats ethnocentrism- we destroy the focus that the US is the only legit
actor. Given the negative perceptions about the US around the world,
combating ethnocentrism via CP is good.
Generics
Checks Aff bias- aff gets infinite prep, first and last speeches, and lit bias
Negation theory- we are fulfilling our job which is to reject the plan
Search for the best policy- we use the arg to find the best policy
No voter- reject the arg not the team.
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Agent Counterplans Good.
1. Checks aff bias – aff gets first and last speech and infinite prep.
2. Negation theory – neg’s burden is to prove aff wrong
3. Best policy option – the flaw in the plan leads us to try and get the best
policy option at the end of the round
4. Reject the argument not the team.
5. Aff must defend USFG- They provide it as an agent, and we can make
them justify anything in their plan .
6. Education – we learn the most about how actions go through the
government- this is perfect training for when we become policy makers.
7. Reciprocal – aff could have chosen any part of the USFG in their speech,
like the Courts, but they didn’t.
8. Perms check – they can claim the same benefits as we do.
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Delay CP’s Good
1. Education- we learn more by debating the future and the present.
2. Net benefit checks abuse- we need a net benefit for a counterplan. This
solves back their unpredictability and infinite regression claims.
3. Tests the entirety of the plan text- makes the aff defend the time of
implementation of their plan.
4. Test of the resolution- “should” implies immediate action which is tested by
the delay CP.
Generics
Checks Aff bias- aff gets infinite prep, first and last speeches, and lit bias
Negation theory- we are fulfilling our job which is to reject the plan
Search for the best policy- we use the arg to find the best policy
No voter- reject the arg not the team.
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Multiple Perms Bad
1. Time skew – aff is able to read perms in a short time – we have to take
much more time answering them, that’s unfair because they make less
time available to answer the rest of the speech.
2. Multiple worlds- aff allows for more scenarios- this is bad because it’s
unpredictable and they could advocate any of the perms in the end of the
round
3. Spikes out of links- aff can just put perms on the counterplans to spike out
of all our disads – makes it impossible to win that our cp is competitive.
4. Kills in-depth education – we don’t spend time talking about the actual
plan and the way it works – we come here to learn about policy and the
perms take us away from that.
Multiple perms are a voter for fairness and education.
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Severance Perms Bad
1. Plan is the focus of the debate: we base our 1NC on the plan and the
1AC. They must unconditionally advocate the plan.
2. Moving target: severance perms allow the aff to spike out of our DA’s and
net benefit, which is illegit.
3. Unpredictable: we can’t predict what parts of the plan they will sever out
of. This jacks fairness.
4. Education- we lose education on the part of the plan they sever out of.
5. Voter for fairness and education
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Intrinsic Perms Bad
1. Unpredictable- we can’t predict what they will add to their plan text, so we
can’t be prepared to debate it, meaning we will always lose. This is bad
for fairness and education.
2. Kills Neg Ground- they can use intrinsic perms to spike out of links or
uniqueness to our DA.
3. Fairness- they can get extra advantages outside the resolution that we will
be unprepared to defend against. Killing education and causing the neg to
always lose.
4. Voter for fairness and education.
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Neg Fiat Good
1. Reciprocal- the aff gets fiat so we should get to fiat.
2. Key to Neg ground- without neg fiat, it’s nearly impossible to produce
counterplans. Counterplans are key to fairness and education.
3. Real world- policy makers present alternative plans often.
4. Lit checks abuse- we can only fiat a counterplan if we can produce
solvency advocates and a net benefit.
Generics
Checks Aff bias- aff gets infinite prep, first and last speeches, and lit bias
Negation theory- we are fulfilling our job which is to reject the plan
Search for the best policy- we use the arg to find the best policy
No voter- reject the arg not the team.
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Object Fiat Good
1. Checks aff unpredictability- we can’t predict their advantages. Object fiat
checks this and improves fairness.
2. Key to neg ground- allows the neg to produce offense against impacts
such as racism, rape, or dehumanization.
3. Net benefit checks abuse- we can only run an object counterplan if we can
produce a net benefit. This prevents unpredictability and infinite
regression.
Generics
Checks Aff bias- aff gets infinite prep, first and last speeches, and lit bias
Negation theory- we are fulfilling our job which is to reject the plan
Search for the best policy- we use the arg to find the best policy
No voter- reject the arg not the team.
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2NC CP’s Good
1. Education- allows us to read more arguments and go more in depth in the
1NC and 2AC.
2. Time skews inevitable- the aff has 5 minutes to respond to the 13 minute
negative block.
3. Increase strategic thinking- forces the aff to pick their best arguments to
read against the counterplan since they have less time to respond to it.
4. Not infinitely regression- new arguments can only be read in the
constructive speeches, not the rebuttals.
Generics
Checks Aff bias- aff gets infinite prep, first and last speeches, and lit bias
Negation theory- we are fulfilling our job which is to reject the plan
Search for the best policy- we use the arg to find the best policy
No voter- reject the arg not the team.
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