The film mentioned in the last post, Thank You For Smoking is a great way to understand lobbying as well as how to argue both sides of an issue effectively.  In this case, Nick Naylor played by Aaron Eckhardt is a lobbyist forced to defend the tobacco industry.  This clip shows you how to think critically when you may be defending something that appears indefensible.

The February topic (Resolved: In the United States, organized political lobbying does more harm than good.) is one of those issues which seems to carry a natural bias in to a debate round.  Lobbyists often get branded as slimy tricksters, secretly orchestrating conspiracies and making millions in the process.

The truth is that lobbying is like any industry in America; most people do it the right way and a minority abuse the rules.  Lobbying infractions are just much more heavily scrutinized because of their connection to the madness that is Washington, D.C.

Lobbyists are experts in government and span a tremendously diverse range of different expertise.  As a citizen, you are being lobbied for to some degree.  Yes, the oil companies have lobbying firms but so do the schools.  Lobbying can’t do more harm than good because it’s an essential commodity like liberty and democracy, they will always be inherently good.

The focus of discussion should be on how to strictly enforce the already established code of ethics and change the environment in Washington.  If we can put pressure on the people whose job it is watch for violations and ensure they don’t look the other way; the culture will naturally become more conservative in terms of willingness to break the law.  If the majority of people follow the rules, the system will work.

Today is the beginning what will hopefully become a great tradition, The Midwest Public Forum Classic.  The MPFC is part of the one of the most competitive speech and debate tournaments in the Midwest, the Bob Bilyeau Winter Classic at Parkview High School in Springfield, Missouri. This year, the Public Forum section will be known as the Midwest Classic.

For the first year, the Winter Classic has become a national qualifier for the Tournament of Champions.  The Tournament of Champions is the premier invitational debate tournament in the country and we are pleased to be part of it. The winners of the Midwest Classic will have the opportunity to compete in the 2010 TOC, May 1-3 in Lexington, Kentucky.  Find out more information about the TOC here.

Now that January Public Forum is wrapping up, don’t forget to buy the February file which looks at whether or not organized political lobbying is harmful.  The file is available for immediate purchase and download here on the website, over on the left side.