Debate Prep

Each week, IW’s policy experts work together to craft talking points that help us deliver our messages as effectively as possible. IW spokeswomen use these very same focal points to prepare for television and radio appearances and we want you to have the same prep materials so that you can debate these issues with community officials, school officials, and even your family, friends, and neighbors.

FOCAL POINT #1: FINLAND’S BID TO JOIN NATO

Background: Putin recently told Finland’s President Niinisto in a phone call that joining NATO is a “mistake.” Despite Putin’s objections, Finland is bidding to join NATO. While this is welcome news, there remains the question what happens with Ukraine. Will NATO allow Putin to dictate that it may not join? Will President Biden continue to push for renewing the Iran Nuclear Deal, a deal that rewards Putin?

Talking Points:

• Finland is valuable to the NATO alliance. Finland has a well-respected and capable military, a good potential contribution to NATO’s forces; and long experience deterring and dealing close up with Russia. 
• Notably, this underscores in very practical terms that NATO — at least in the case of Finland (and likely Sweden)– will not let Putin dictate which countries may join the NATO alliance. 
• Russia will now have a much longer land border with NATO — which is the opposite of what Putin set out to achieve with his war on Ukraine.
• But beware Putin’s long game, and the potential continuing follies of the Biden administration.
• Russia under Vladimir Putin is one of America’s and the free world order’s most dangerous adversaries.
• Our President is failing at every turn. President Biden, with a foreign policy signaling weakness, presented Putin with opportunities to advance his messianic projects. 
• Putin, with his renewed assault on Ukraine, is seizing those opportunities to create the worst crisis in Europe since the end of the Cold War.
• To preserve freedom and democracy, a top priority is the rebuilding of the U.S. military focused on deterring and winning wars, rather than social issues and eco-fuels. 
• And policies should aim to return the U.S. to energy independence. Russia’s economy depends on oil, and liberating U.S. oil production could downgrade Putin’s leverage as czar of the world’s biggest gas station.
• This means that our President must change course. But this is unlikely, given that the President refuses to acknowledge his administration’s failure to deter Putin in the first place. 
• Since America prevailed in the Cold War with the 1991 Soviet collapse, Russian aggression has again become a severe threat to peace and the freedom of an American-led world order.
• To make matters worse, the Biden administration has been working for months now to restore the feckless Iran Nuclear Deal.
• The administration’s desire for an Iran nuclear deal means the U.S. has been groveling to Russia at Iran nuclear talks. America must walk away from these talks.
• And it is vital that the Biden administration stop negotiating with America’s most dangerous adversaries.

Learn more here:

FOCAL POINT #2: PARENTS FACE INFLATION, INFANT FORMULA SHORTAGE 

Background: The latest consumer price index report revealed that inflation hit 8.3% in April compared to a year prior.  Alarmingly, the food index increased 9.4%, the largest 12-month increase since 1981, and over the weekend, we learned that the average price of gas hit a record high of $4.45 per gallon. 

Talking Points:

• Sadly, many elites in government are shockingly out of touch with the impact of inflation on family budgets. 
• Parenthood is more expensive now than ever. Average gas prices just hit a new high which affects transportation costs for families across the country. 
• Feeding their families is one of the most basic responsibilities that parents have, and right now, parents are forced to spend 22.6% more on eggs, 9.1% more on bread, and 14.7% more on milk.
• Formula is up +8% in March, baby food +10.8%, and diapers and baby clothes +13%. 
• With the worsening baby formula shortage that so many families are facing right now, the cost of formula will likely climb even higher. 
• Currently, 43% of baby formula inventory is out of supply nationwide, up from 18% at the start of 2022 and 3% from 2021. 
• This is a crisis of life or death for our littlest Americans: three out of four babies below the age of six months consume infant formula, and some have dietary restrictions that require specialized formulas which are even more difficult to track down right now. 
• This is why it is imperative that parents have access to the nutritional sources their babies need.
• In addition to boosting access to infant formula, policymakers must focus their efforts on slowing inflation, slow down trying to stimulate the economy, and steer clear of plans to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars recklessly.  

Learn more here: 

FOCAL POINT #3: WHY WE NEED A WOMEN’S BILL OF RIGHTS 

Background:  Right now, activists are working to eliminate biological sex categories in our society —from our laws, from our schools, and from science.  The Women’s Bill of Rights defines “sex” as a person’s biological sex (either male or female) at birth and seeks to enshrine in law the common understanding of the words “woman,” “girl,” and “mother.” 

Talking Points:

• While most Americans understand that a ‘woman’ is an adult human female, radical gender ideologues want to redefine womanhood as a subjective state unrelated to biological sex. 
• Policies that redefine ‘sex’’ to mean ‘gender’ or ‘gender identity’ erase biological women from our civil rights laws and jeopardize women’s safety, privacy, and opportunities.
• American women and girls deserve better. This is why we need a Women’s Bill of Rights.
• The Women’s Bill of Rights is a declaration on the biology of sex that will help protect the legal definition of ‘woman.’ 
• The Women’s Bill of Rights does not create new rights or entitlements. It simply seeks to codify current jurisprudence regarding sex discrimination and single-sex programs and facilities. 
• It’s time to stand up for women, for science, and for common sense. Help policymakers speak honestly and forthrightly about sex discrimination, equality, and women’s rights by signing the Women’s Bill of Rights.

Learn more here:
https://www.iwv.org/campaign/womens-bill-of-rights/