HVDU presents the Confidence in Obama Debate (February 9, 2010)
Classic motion of the Oxford debate genre comes to the Hudson Valley
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Patrick McGrath 845-429-3206
STONY POINT, NY (31 January 2010) – The Hudson Valley Debate Union, which brings face-to-face “Oxford-style” debating to Rockland County, the Hudson Valley, and beyond, announces the Confidence in the Obama Adminstration Debate, between the prominent supporters and opponents of current Presidential Administration.
The debate will take place on Tuesday 9 February 2010, from 7 to 9 pm, in the Council Chambers of Haverstraw Town Hall, 1 Rosman Road, Garnerville, New York 10923. Haverstraw Town Hall is just off U.S. Route 202 in Garnerville in Rockland County, just to the west of the Garnerville Shop-Rite.
The motion for the debate will be, “This House has confidence in the current executive Administration in the White House.”
Scheduled to participate as Principal Speakers are:
In favor of the motion:
* Mr. Brian Cocolicchio, Clarkstown Democratic Committeeman and returning HVDU Principal Speaker
* Mr. Steve Pappas, representing the office of Ellen Jaffee, New York State Assembly (95th District)
* Mr. Cliff Weathers, progressive blogger at “Left of the Hudson” and “Rock-Prog.org”
Against the motion:
* Mr. Jim Coleman, returning HVDU Principal Speaker
* Mr. Matthew E. Neuringer, legislative director and campaign manager, Greg Ball for Assembly; candidate for Town Council, Town of Southeast (Putnam County)
* Ms. Doreen Alli Linder, writer and columnist at Examiner.com
HVDU Founder and Executive Director Patrick McGrath commented:
“For the first time, the HVDU presents one of the classics of the Oxford debate genre: the no-confidence debate. Every year, the ancient debate societies of the Oxford and Cambridge Unions in England argue the motion, “This House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government.” These events are modeled after the real “No Confidence” debates in Britain’s House of Commons that can, and have, brought down British Governments.
“I thought it was high time to bring that classic motion to the Hudson Valley Debate Union.
“To make things somewhat easier on everybody, I’ve ‘reversed the polarity’ of the motion—it just makes things easier to understand if you’re voting ‘Yes’ to a positive statement. However, that will not make this debate all sweetness and light. To the contrary, the contention brought about by the policies of the Obama Administration have been almost unprecedented in American history. From historic high poll ratings at the Inauguration in January 2009, to historic low poll ratings a mere twelve months later, is there still confidence that the current Administration can govern America? That’s what our six Principal Speakers will try to thrash out.
“They will only have an hour to do that, so they’re going to have to concentrate and get to the point. And they’ll need to think on their feet, because our Oxford-style format allows both Principal Speakers and Voting Guests from the public to confront their opponents directly. Both sides will have to respond coherently to opponents’ questions. I think that this will be the HVDU’s most exciting event to date.”
WHAT HAPPENS AT AN ‘OXFORD STYLE’ HUDSON VALLEY DEBATE UNION EVENT?
“Voting Guests in the HVDU audience participate along with the Principal Speakers,” McGrath explained. “The six Principal Speakers at the debates will each get ten minutes for their speeches. The first two minutes and the last two minutes are ‘protected’ — but the middle six minutes are subject to Points of Information. That’s where anyone in the the audience can stand up, raise his or her hand, and shout out, ‘Point of Information!’ Nothing between you and the Principal Speaker—you just stand up, right from your chair — and rip it. The Principal Speaker on the floor at the time has the right to refuse any and all Points of Information, but they are strongly urged to take at least one or two. “When all of the Principal Speakers are finished, the question will be called, and the audience will vote on the motion. We’re doing this low-tech: we’ll pass around the ballot box, the Voting Guests will drop in the green and red poker chips we use as ballots, then we’ll count the chips, announce the vote total and find out if the motion has passed. Now that’s what I call participatory democracy,” McGrath said.
Further information about the Hudson Valley Debate Union can be found at the HVDU’s Web sites: www.hvdebateunion.org and www.hudsonvalleydebate.com. Both sites have links to YouTube videos of the HVDU’s recent Stony Point Debate. The HVDU’s YouTube channel is located at http://www.youtube.com/user/hvdebateunion
