I'm Peter Sutterman.

I'm going to be your moderator tonight.

And full disclosure, I do work at reason.

But I also appear on a podcast that has run through the bulwark.

So I'll try to be fair and not take sides.

However, that might be a little bit complicated given our resolution, which is you don't have to

pick a side in politics. So if I'm not taking sides, am I actually kind of taking sides?

I think that's the sort of thing that's going to come up in tonight's debate. Now, because this is a debate, there will be a winner, and that winner will be

decided by you, the audience. The way this is going to work is there are going to be two votes.

The first vote, you've either already voted or you should vote right now, and then there's

going to be another vote after the debate happens.

And the team that wins will be the team that moves the most number of people towards their position.

So if you have not yet cast your vote, please follow the instructions on the screen and vote now.

As you do that, I want you to think just a little bit about the resolution before us tonight.

What does it mean to pick aside in politics?

We are gathered here this evening in Washington, D.C., where national politics is dominated by two political parties that are constantly asking you to pick a side.

When Americans go to the voting booth, most of them pull the lever for one of those two parties,

and in the vast majority of races, one of those two parties wins.

Fundamentally, voting in a democracy is about picking sides.

The very structure of American politics all but forces you to do so. Ultimately, voting in a democracy is about picking sides.

The very structure of American politics all but forces you to do so.

And if you decide not to, are you throwing away your influence?

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