Falwell's Liberty U. debate team may win all 3 national competitions

NYT: Ministers of Debate
By ZEV CHAFETS
Published: March 19, 2006

....The most interesting thing about modern Lynchburg (VA) is that Liberty (University) consistently produces one of the nation's great collegiate debate programs. This season Liberty is closing in on an unprecedented sweep — first place in the rankings in all three national college debate groups: the American Debate Association, the Cross Examination Debate Association and the National Debate Tournament.

Two men are responsible for this improbable success. One is Liberty's founder, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who has spared no effort to make his school into a national debate power. The other is the team's head coach, Brett O'Donnell.

O'Donnell, who is 41, is an intensely competitive man — he works 80-hour weeks and spends half of every year away from his wife and two children on the road coaching, scouting and recruiting. He is a political junkie with autographed photos of Karl Rove, Oliver North and Newt Gingrich on display in his small office. His heroes are Jesus Christ and Ronald Reagan — closely followed by the 79-year-old Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno, whom he admires for his work ethic. In 2004, Karl Rove brought O'Donnell in to help the Bush presidential debate team, and O'Donnell expects to be working with Republican candidates again this year. But politics is a sideline for O'Donnell. His day job is teaching nice Christian cheek-turners how to cut their opponents' throats....

***

"Our football program can't change the culture," Falwell said. "Our debate program can, by producing advocates who know how to argue for Judeo-Christian ethics and the American Constitution. We have 32 kids on our team this year, and they'll all be lawyers or leaders of some sort. Our goal is to create an army of people who know how to make our case. These are brilliant, articulate students. I couldn't have made the Liberty debate team when I was that age. I couldn't talk that fast."...


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/magazine/319debate.html

was offered a full scholarship at Liberty.

She declined.

I have read that school's rules. It would take a certain type of person to enjoy campus life there.

democratic organization, it really wouldn't have been a good ideological fit.

AND, my daughter is a Christian. Just not THAT kind ;)

Maybe some other colleges should do the same.

have overlooked the best masturbater around. YES!! I'm talking about the great Allen Keyes


Please give me a chance Jerry!

I concede the cleverness of this strategy. Training these think-alike clones in debate skills provides them with the power of persuasion that can lead eventually to persuading masses of people to vote away their rights. Like 1933, in some country in Europe, as you may recall. The Right already has unlimited wealth and single-minded determination. Now they will have a cadre of well trained, well spoken and skilled propagandists.

"Liberty's program has five full-time coaches and a budget of half a million dollars. And in college debate, money talks."

Somehow we need to start intensive debate training for large numbers of progressives. Maybe DU needs a debating forum where we can discuss techniques and link to resources.

Maybe we could even hold online practice debates. I know that I could stand to improve my debating skills.

Especially the year we were #8 nationally.

Unfortunately, forensics is a lost art in America- and our univerities aren't anything like what they were when I was an undergrad, so I guess this doesn't surprise me all that much.

(Actually, considering some of the grad students I see today, this doesn't surprise me at all).

was an undergrad and that was only 14 years ago.

....the tournaments in each, i.e. have the first-place team -- or lead overall rankings as a school?

The latter is highly dependent on number of entries, not quality of entries.

Spin, spin, spin.

the local religious hs (homeschool) groups have classes in "Christian Worldview Debate".

I would LOVE to have my kid in some debate classes, but there are none around. Yet.

The fundies are doing a much "better job" in general of training their kids to further their agendas. Good brainwashing techniques.

I would like to - within the next year or so - start a philosophy club for middle/high schooler aged homeschoolers - and then segue into a debate club. I just need to locate some other parents of like mind.

My grandmother lives in Lynchburg--but she's definitely not one of Jerry's Kids--and I lived there for about a year. Liberty "University" is a joke. I worked in a restaurant very close to the campus and I knew a lot of people who went there. MANY were forced into the situation by parents who refused to pay for college if they went anywhere else. These kids didn't buy into the whole philosophy, they were just trying to get an education (such as it was). They used to have to sign a contract when they enrolled that they wouldn't dance, drink, or even go to the movies. Things are a bit less restricted now, but they are still required to dress up for class--skirts for the girls and shirts/ties for the guys. When I was there, my best party buddies were Liberty students. :toast: I don't know whether it's still accurate, but at one time Lynchburg had the highest beer consumption (per capita) in the nation. Coincidence? HA. I know I certainly drank more when I lived there over anywhere else! Falwell and his entourage frequented the restaurant where I worked. Not great tippers. Surprise surprise.

Prepping them for "debate" is just a scary proposition. I was just down there last weekend, and the new "law school" has overtaken/rebuilding on the site of a once thriving local business. Their campus is growing TREMENDOUSLY and, as stated in the article, Falwell is happy with nothing but complete domination. The last three years have brought in all the big boxes and chain restaurants--and they (almost) all sit on Jerry-owned land. If it's not his, it's at least the "university's." As if he doesn't rule that town enough, his expansion plans for this "school" are frightening to say the least. Lynchburg has changed a lot over the last few years (and I will beg hugely to differ with the NYT reporter who dubbed it a "sleepy little town"), and people from all over have moved into the area--many who don't even know about Falwell and his empire--but the christian right most definitely has a stronghold there, even if they're not all Falwell-ites. There is even now a "retirement village" so baby boomers can live out their fundamentalist fantasies into old age. My 90yr old grandmother no longer considers herself a Southern Baptist because of what they've become. She follows Jimmy Carter's take on things--it's just not "her church" anymore.

for the welcome!

Whatever ya wanna know about Jerry's kids...just ask! :rofl:

is that debating skills won't matter when fundie premises are rejected by mainstream culture.

I have my doubts that Falwell will see too many of these kids stay on his team.

I agree that debating tactics by the RW are winning for them. But that is because opponents don't know how to catch them at re-framing issues, erecting strawmen arguments, and using the "I reject your .... whaterver. All you have to do is listen to all the pundits interview the RW and the Leftwingers. The RWers are always re-framing, refusing to directly answer questions, using diversion, and outright lying and fabricating (they know that most Dems won't challenge them). The lefties are too busy trying to answer the questions asked, offering facts and truth and they get smacked down routinely. The left needs to do more in-your-face challenging to come out looking like winners.

Whoohooo! score one for family values! :sarcasm:

Since they REALLY believe that the Jews are going to hell!