The Triangle

Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Melissa Cell

The Drexel Democrats debated the College Republicans Oct. 8 as both team of debaters sought to promote their corresponding presidential candidate on their views on energy.

Professor Scott Knowles of the department of history and politics opened this student organized Energy Policy Debate, introducing Justin Gero, Editor-in-Chief of The Triangle and Lisa Leone of the Drexel Energy Club as co-moderators.

The Drexel Democrats, represented by James Harl, Charis Jones and John Lloyd, began their 10 minutes outline period with their "triangle" of pressing issues made up of National Security, Climate Change, and Rising Energy Prices. "All need to be addressed," they asserted and continued to outline Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama's (D-IL) plan for energy in those three sectors.

The College Republicans, represented by Raghav Srinivasan, Ian Skakun and Mike Hess, iterated Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain's (R-AR) Lexington Plan for energy reform, involving a free market but giving companies incentives, asserting "the more [companies] promote climate change, the more money [they] make."

The College Republicans praised McCain on promoting energy bills and working in bi-partisan committees before Obama had become a senator.

The College Republicans defended their ideas by defending big oil companies from Obama's policies by comparing taxing these companies to "taxing and hurting the investments of the middle class."

"Senator Obama's methods have generally had a history of inefficiency and mismanagement," they said.

The Drexel Democrats linked McCain to President George W. Bush, and described his Cap and Trade policy which would put a cap on carbon dioxide emissions as "one of his few policies" but still nothing compared to Obama's Cap and Trade plan, stating that "the devil is in the details." They described the rest of McCain's energy plan as "half-hearted measures" and "kind words with no substance."

Controversy arose when the College Republicans described the $300 million prize to whichever company created a climate-friendly car battery, admitting that this idea "sounds like a gimmick, but throughout the years, the American economy has prospered on entrepreneurs."

The Drexel Democrats said this was a gimmick as $300 million was not enough, and McCain never cared about renewal energy, as they plastered a list of when McCain failed to show up to vote on energy bills in Congress.

Continued...

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