[eDebate] Top 10 Debate Cards of All Time

[Galloway, Ryan]

The Top 10 Debate Cards of All Time:

I know this won't top people wanting to talk about Saddam's capture, but...

A long car ride back from the Dowling Tournament in Des Moines got Becky and
I to talking...
What are your favorite debate cards of all time?  I chose my list primarily
based on:
-popularity of use
-importance/relevance to an argument in the activity


10) Rorty 98 "cultural/liberal left split:"
Reason for inclusion: While there are a lot of Rorty cards around, this one
seems to be the one most people read.  For me, it signifies the continuing
importance of Rorty as one of the primary K answers in the activity.
Reason its not higher: Its probably just the squads I'm on that read this a
lot, and there are a lot of different Rorty cards people read.
9) Mead 98 "Saving Private Ryan..."  
Reason for inclusion: Had a brief moment in the sun as people tried to
replace Mead 92...
Reason its not higher: Hasn't managed to replace Mead 92, and its six years
more recent.
8) Spicer "Nuclear weapons at 2 cents a penny"
Reason for inclusion: Almost a guaranteed card if the team is saying
anything about protectionism, and even though it is of questionable quality
to actually say "nuke war" it seems to be the way around having to read an
internal link through a depression.
Reason its not higher: Probably a bit overtagged...
7) Lewis "neo-colonial nuclear wars"
Reason for inclusion: Prominent in the 2002 NDT final round, also sparked a
significant ethics challenge at the NDT and on e-debate.
Reason its not higher: Seems to have waned in popularity in the last year,
probably because of contextual fears.
6) Schlag "Where should we go?  What should we do?  Those are the wrong
questions..."
Reason for inclusion: Again, while perhaps not the chief Schlag card, its
difficult to dismiss the effects that Pierre has had, both as a debate
argument and as a means of challenging what we do in the activity.  Plus,
I've always been a big fan of the way the card sounds.
Reason its not higher: Not sure this card is the one most folks used, seems
to have waned in popularity a bit.  That probably just means West Georgia is
waiting to recycle it again ;)
5) Zizek: "Small changes have a more explosive impact"
Reason for inclusion: Very popular K answer proving the AFF. Has a better
means of accessing the K impact than the Neg.  Also seemed to be a
harbringer for future Zizek arguments.  Whether you like the Z-man or no,
the influence on the activity is somewhat undeniable.
Reason its not higher: This particular card has waned in popularity a bit,
other Zizek arguments seem more predominant.
4) Tribe in 78: "Congress will nibble away at state sovereignty, bit by bit,
until someday essentially nothing remains but a gutted shell."
Reason for inclusion: OK, this one dates me a bit.  But, when I was a
youngster, this was THE federalism card to have.  Answered their "no
threshold/not big enough argument," and you always hunted it down anytime
you wanted to run federalism.
Reason its not higher: Its day in the sun has clearly passed, but its an
oldie and goodie.
3) Calabresi in 95: The Lopez Counterplan Card.  
Reason for inclusion: This article basically ushered in a whole new version
of the states CP that teams used to run roughshod over folks for a while,
especially in the early days of the environmental regulations college topic.
Forever changed the idea that it was important that "the federal government
had the power to do 'x.'" They do now, BUT NOT AFTER THE COUNTERPLAN...
Reason its not higher: Speaks more to the two front-runners than anything
else.
2) Khalilizad in 95: US leadership stops nuclear war
Reason for inclusion: Its read so often...so few people are as efficient as
making this claim as our good friend Khalilizad (misspelled and
mispronounced Khalizad just about every single time).  Uncle Khal hasn't
gone away, even in an era where Bush is President and the stance of the US
today seems so different than it did 8 years ago.
Reason its not higher: No one can really beat...
1) Mead in 92: "What if the global economy stagnates or even shrinks?"
Reason for inclusion: Well, what if?  It seems to have happened innumerable
times since the card was written 11 years ago, but no one seems to be able
to slow down the mighty power of Mead in 92.  I can't count the number of
times I've hunted down a copy of this card to include in a disad shell.  And
despite the also rans of Lewis, Bailey, and Mead 98, Mead 92 seems to be a
card that will never die.  People will probably be worried about Russia,
China, India and their nuclear weapons a decade from now...

So, what are your favorite all time cards?  Love to hear some discussion on
this...just for fun...

RYAN
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