Free Republic

Bravo for Ann Coulter. That's not a sentence you might expect to read in this space, and I'm sure my endorsement will please nobody less than Ann herself. That said: bravo.

The Republicans' Farcical Candidates The US Republican race is dominated by ignorance, lies and scandals. The current crop of candidates have shown such a basic lack of knowledge that they make George W. Bush look like Einstein. The Grand Old Party is ruining the entire country's reputation. Africa is a country. In Libya, the Taliban reigns. Muslims are terrorists; most immigrants are criminal; all Occupy protesters are dirty. And women who feel sexually harassed -- well, they shouldn't make such a big deal about it. Welcome to the wonderful world of the US Republicans. Or rather, to the twisted world...

Yesterday, 11 National Post contributors named their preferred Republican nominee in less than 250 words. Being more indecisive and longer-winded, I needed 24 extra hours and 500 more words. I’m looking for two chief things in a candidate for 2012: The temperament, judgment, deftness and largeness of spirit required in the presidential office; and The creativity and intellect to respond to the global economic crisis — a crisis threatening to actually get worse if (or when) the euro implodes. Those conditions obviously and categorically exclude the clownish Herman Cain, the daffy Ron Paul, the dim Rick Perry and the firebrand...

October 25, 2011 (Unmaskingchoice.ca) - Earlier this week, noted conservative commentator David Frum, a former speechwriter of President George W. Bush, published a column on CNN’s website musing on the question “What if abortion became a non-issue?” While Frum has, in former days, been an impressive advocate for socially conservative values, ever since the 2008 election he has advocated for a desertion of social conservatism in order to “win” more elections based on fiscal issues. Besides the inherently flawed logic behind this position—it is impossible to advocate for smaller government while simultaneously deserting the protection of the family unit that...

David Frum makes the argument that the spending cuts promised in the 1990 "read my lips" tax hike budget deal indeed did come to fruition (contra to my argument yesterday). He argues that, since spending as a percent of the economy declined in the 1990s, the spending cuts must have materialized.This is eminently-wrong for several reasons: CBO data shows that the promise--$274 billion in baseline spending cuts--not only didn't happen, but that baseline spending actually increased by $22 billion. This is simply what the data show. Spending as a percent of the economy did decline in the 1990s, but not...

- “I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets…” - From Sarah Palin’s statement announcing her decision not to run for president. Um, probably not. Sarah Palin’s political voice had dwindled well before she announced her decision not to run. Now it will sink altogether into inaudibility. She will be no kind of force in future national discussions. She will have no sway over party debates. She will retain some starpower for a little while longer. She may for another cycle or two be able to help certain candidates for certain political offices raise some money. Even...

How do you score partisan points against a president who looks to have won a military victory in Libya at very low cost? Simple: Attack him for being away from Washington at a summer house when the victory was won. That line of attack was tested by some Republican talkers and bloggers this weekend. I wonder if we'll hear more of it in the coming days. Almost nothing in American politics drives more people to say more ridiculous things than the subject of presidential summer vacations. Back during the George W. Bush years, Democrats sneered and scoffed at the 43rd...

This week, Sarah Palin stoked a late, brief flurry of speculation that she might enter the 2012 presidential race. I wont try to predict the former Alaska governor's decision. But I will predict this: If Palin does enter the race, she won't be any kind of factor. Over the past three years, Palin has systematically laid waste to the basis for a presidential campaign. By her own words and actions, she has discredited herself and alienated her one-time supporters. But before Palin vanishes into her hard-earned obscurity, Republicans need an assessment and an accounting. Had John McCain won in 2008,...

David Frum is a writer who, in 1997, engaged in a spirited online debate with homosexual writer Andrew Sullivan over the topic of homosexual "marriage." In over 5,500 words of text, Frum was articulate, cogent, and compelling in his opposition to radically redefining marriage, saying that "this request isn't just misplaced, but is actually logically impossible." Now, however, Frum has changed his mind. In a short CNN op-ed last week, he wrote that "the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality. The case has not passed its test." Tested? Only five out of the fifty states (soon to...

I was a strong opponent of same-sex marriage. Fourteen years ago, Andrew Sullivan and I forcefully debated the issue at length online (at a time when online debate was a brand new thing). Yet I find myself strangely untroubled by New York state's vote to authorize same-sex marriage -- a vote that probably signals that most of "blue" states will follow within the next 10 years. I don't think I'm alone in my reaction either. Most conservatives have reacted with calm -- if not outright approval -- to New York's dramatic decision. Why? The short answer is that the case...

Conservative Girl with a Voice has a lively post taking “liberal Republican” David Frum to the woodshed for his recent column on CNN.com (quelle surprise!) trashing Sarah Palin. Frum – it’s ironic, his name means “religious” in Yiddish – deserves a spanking, but not quite for the reasons CGV inveighs against him. CGV approvingly cites talk host Mark Levin that Frum is a “disgraceful, petty, Palin-obsessed Washington-insider.” And Frum does represents a resolutely left-leaning tendency within Jewish and general GOP circles. But Frum’s real sin here is that his CNN column was calculated to give the impression that there is...

One of the things that Sarah Palin did on her stopover at Israel was announce that she was eager to return for a longer visit, and we found ourselves wondering whether she will eventually make a visit to the Machpelah. For the first body laid to rest there in the cave purchased by Abraham was that of Mrs. Palin’s namesake, Sarah, Abraham’s wife and the mother of Isaac. We have sometimes found ourselves wondering whether the affection Mrs. Palin exhibits in respect of Israel is related to the fact that the former governor — the Alert Alaskan is our favorite...

As my colleague Janet Daley notes, ConservativeHome USA has declared war on Sarah Palin, rounding up US conservatives who think she’d be a disaster as the next Republican presidential candidate. What I find strange, however, is the way it’s gone about it. In a piece signed by “The Editors”, ConHomeUSA has awarded anti-Palin Republicans the melodramatic title of “Truth Tellers”. And, rather bizarrely, it is recruiting for more: If you are a Truth Teller, or want to recommend a commentator who is, email us here. Don’t get me wrong. I think Sarah Palin is basically nuts, as I suggested when...

...Foreign Policy magazine’s John Rogin reports that Grover Norquist wants to “‘start a discussion’ about leaving Afghanistan among the ‘center-right.’” He wants to “educate the conservative masses about the costs of the war in the hopes of shifting conservative opinion” and effecting an American defeat. Oh sure, Norquist didn’t say he wants America to lose in Afghanistan, but he might as well have: because that’s what an American withdrawal would mean: an American defeat... The conservative coalition, of course, includes three distinct types of conservatives: defense and national security hawks, social and cultural cons, and economic or free-market conservatives. Norquist...

RUSH: There is, or was yesterday, a fascinating post at a blog called "Le•gal In•sur•rec•tion." The headline of the post is: "We Just Witnessed The Media's Test Run To Re-Elect Barack Obama -- If Republicans want to know exactly what not to do to win in 2012, then follow advice similar to that offered by David Frum as to why Sarah Palin should 'stop talking now' about the false accusations that she was responsible for the Tucson shooting: 'There is no one left in America that would blame her.' [David Frum said.] Oh really? Two polls show otherwise. I previously...

David Frum takes Sarah Palin to task for not being more public in her reaction to the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords, not being sufficiently empathetic, and not grasping the scope (no pun intended) of the accusations against her, What Palin Needed To Say After Giffords' Shooting: "Palin failed to appreciate the question being posed to her. That question was not: “Are you culpable for the shooting?” The question was: “Having put this unfortunate image on the record, can you respond to the shooting in a way that demonstrates your larger humanity? And possibly also your potential to serve as leader...

A journalist yesterday asked me a thought-provoking question: Why does Sarah Palin command so much media attention? By most measures, she currently stands about equal in the Republican field alongside Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and only a little ahead of Newt Gingrich. Yet the cable shows do not erupt when Mitt Romney makes a speech. Newt Gingrich is on Twitter almost every day, but his messages don’t make news. So why Palin? Five guesses. 1) She polarizes. Modern media culture favors contrast and conflict. Sarah Palin serves both up by the bucketful. Most presidential candidates present themselves as gracious and...

“A nightstick the size of a telephone pole and the muscle to wield it effortlessly.” Mike Huckabee, who knows a thing or two about insurgent campaigns, sees the power of the Palin candidacy. Taegan Goddard links this morning to the Des Moines Register: Mike Huckabee told the Des Moines Register that Sarah Palin would be a strong contender for president should she decide to run. Said Huckabee: “No question, she will be a very, very strong presence and force, if she gets in. You know, she may run away with it. And that’s one of those things everyone needs...

On the whole, these insurgents lost big. And that's good news for the Republicans David Frum The Republican leaders won twice last night. They won a majority in the House of Representatives and a big gain in the Senate. Those leaders also won an important psychological contest inside the Republican party: Three ridiculously winnable Senate seats have been thrown away by incompetent Tea Party radicals: Delaware, Nevada, and possibly Colorado. Meanwhile two tough seats have been won by level-headed Republican moderates: Illinois and Ohio. The ultra-radical Rand Paul won his race in Kentucky and will be coming to Washington to...

I was so eager to forgive David Frum and return to the status quo we had before he believed Alex Knepper's lies about us. Politically Frum and NewsReal Blog might have some substantive disagreements but on the key issues of support for Israel and a hawkish response to Islamofascism he maintained my respect. And so I hoped we could return to a more cordial relationship akin to when he and David Horowitz debated the merits of Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and the Tea Parties last fall. Unfortunately Frum has chosen to be more horrified by our attempt to prevent...

When Andrew Breitbart unveils a selectively edited tape to defame a federal employee, conservatives blame Barack Obama. You want to see media bias in action? Okay — look at the conservative media reaction to the firing of Shirley Sherrod. Sherrod is the former U.S. Department of Agriculture employee fired for supposed anti-white racism. On July 19, Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com website posted a short video clip from a speech Sherrod had delivered to an NAACP gathering in March. In the clip, Sherrod confessed to having deliberately declined on racial grounds to help a white farmer faced with a foreclosure on his...

It's shaping up to be a busy week for David Frum, what with manning the speculum for Andrew Sullivan (OB-Atlantic), picking irrational fights with David Horowitz, and hourly dry humping of his blog visitor stats.  Perhaps that's why honesty, integrity, and concern for his reputation fell completely to the wayside. Visions of a traffic spike dancing before his eyes, Frum jumped to the defense of ex-NewsReal blogger Alex Knepper, intimating that Horowitz fired Knepper because he wouldn't toe the paleoconservative (?!) line.  Today Frum doubled down at The Daily Dish, ridiculing NRB managing editor David Swindle for "accusing our young...

David Frum’s self-serving war on talk radio has alienated many conservatives who once respected what he had to say, but the latest from his website may hit a new low. FrumForum’s Tim Mak reports that a Mormon radio station in Salt Lake City has dropped Sean Hannity’s show, and it couldn’t possibly be a simple business decision: While the station asserts that the move was made to make room for more local programming, the Salt Lake Tribune’s Glen Warchol reports that Hannity’s show apparently ran counter to the LDS-owned KSL radio’s new mission statement, which includes articles such as: -...

The Tea Party Is A Turn-Off For US Moderates America's angriest political force could learn from David Cameron, argues David Frum. By David Frum 20 Jun 2010 The bill for the Republicans' Tea Party is about to arrive. Through 2009 and the first half of 2010, the media have buzzed with delighted horror over the supposedly unstoppable Tea Party movement in the United States. Now it's reality time. Compare two sets of Senate races. The first is made up of contests in New Hampshire, Ohio and Illinois. The first two of these seats had been held by Republicans who did...

It's called "Left, Right and Center," which claims to be a "civilized yet provocative antidote to the screaming talking heads that dominate political debate." But there's not a whole lot of truth in advertising for KCRW Santa Monica's radio program, which is also podcasted on the Internet. The show normally features Robert Scheer, editor of the left-wing investigative Web site Truthdig.com and a former Los Angeles Times columnist, representing the left. Matt Miller, a former Clintonista and senior fellow at the left-wing Center for American Progress represents the so-called center. And former Washington Times editorial page editor and visiting senior...

So what happens when you put the likes of David Frum, Bruce Bartlett and now apparently Jim Manzi - pseudo-conservatives with a penchant for criticizing Republicans and other conservatives all in the same place? You have the makings of a New York Times hit piece on conservatism. In the April 27 issue of the Times, a story in its Style section of all places by Patricia Cohen, singled out and accused a number of conservatives of "closed-mindedness" or as the article claimed "epistemic closure." "It is hard to believe that a phrase as dry as ‘epistemic closure' could get anyone...

At this point David Frum is just making a fool out of himself, he bashes Rush and then takes a shot at the talk radio audience numbers, this from CNN's Reliable Sources (Video)

Is it possible to be so wrapped up in a media culture that one could minimize a sacred religious holiday in a shoddy attempt to write a clever headline? Mediaite's Tommy Christopher and his editors seemed to have pulled this feat off. Christopher, who has had a much-publicized run-in with Andrew Breitbart, has a new hero, former American Enterprise Institute scholar David Frum. Christopher elevated Frum to messianic status in a Good Friday April 2 post headlined "Did David Frum ‘Die' For GOP's Sins?" specifically praising the former AEI scholar for his appearance on Comedy Central's April 1 "The Colbert...

David Frum’s forced exit from the American Enterprise Institute has precipitated rhetorical fire from the company men of the conservative movement. How disappointing is the Right’s reaction to David Frum’s dismissal from the American Enterprise Institute? Well, let’s review. To the National Review’s Mark Steyn, the entire brouhaha is little more than a personality squabble involving David, Bruce Bartlett and Conor Friedersdorf. As such, Steyn argues, this incident is unworthy of anyone’s time or attention. Steyn even belittles David for arguing with other conservatives, including the late great Robert Novak, Pat Buchanan, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin,...

By now, many Chronicles readers have no doubt heard that David Frum was fired from his cushy job at the American Enterprise Institute, following an online column claiming that the passage of Obamacare was the GOP’s “Waterloo,” which could have been avoided if the GOP had been more willing to negotiate with Obama. Frum is now charging that AEI tossed him because it was responding to pressure from its donors, a charge eminent AEI scholar Charles Murray has denounced at National Review Online as “despicable,” since it is unsupported by evidence and is calculated to appeal to the leftist media....

The Right’s response to David Frum’s perceived heresies has inflicted serious intellectual and political damage on the conservative movement. I’m a full-spectrum conservative of conviction. But even if I leaned to the left, I still would find it laudatory that, in recent decades, political conservatives in America have been the most steadfast defenders of freedom of speech and the most vigorous champions of free and open intellectual inquiry. Indeed, no graduate of an American college or university in the past quarter century cannot help but notice that the biggest threat to free speech today comes not from the political Right,...

Three days after calling health-care reform a debacle for the Republicans, David Frum was forced out of his job at the American Enterprise Institute on Wednesday. The ouster also came one day after a harsh Wall Street Journal editorial about the former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, which said that he "now makes his living as the media's go-to basher of fellow Republicans" and accused him of "peddling bad revisionist history." Frum made clear in a letter to AEI President Arthur Brooks that his departure after seven years at the conservative think tank was not voluntary. "I have had...

Being reported by Huffington What took the think tank so long?

Dear Arthur, This will memorialize our conversation at lunch today. Effective immediately, my position as a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute is terminated. I appreciate the consideration that delays my emptying of my office until after my return from travel next week. Premises will be vacated no later than April 9. I have had many fruitful years at the American Enterprise Institute, and I do regret this abrupt and unexpected conclusion of our relationship. Very truly yours, David Frum

David Frum made headlines by branding Obamacare the Republicans’ Waterloo. Tunku Varadarajan on the rise of the ‘polite-company conservative’—and how Frum gets it all wrong.. Yesterday, I got an email from a prominent conservative academic; it was, I think, a touch harsh on the object of its attention. Here’s what it said: “Frum's pathetic, desperate whining reeks of self-loathing. At least that shows good judgment: I loathe him, too.” The Frum in question is David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush, and the “whining” that so goaded my correspondent was a blog by David, written on the day the...

Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s. It’s hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster. Conservatives may cheer themselves that they’ll compensate for today’s expected vote with a big win in the November 2010 elections. But: (1) It’s a good bet that conservatives are over-optimistic about November – by then the economy will have improved and the immediate goodies in the healthcare bill will be reaching key voting blocs. (2) So what? Legislative majorities come and go. This healthcare bill is forever. A win in November is very poor compensation for this debacle...

t’s page 258 – and suddenly we are back in Campaign Mode. The transition is very abrupt. On pages 256, Romney is describing an interesting program he advocated in Massachusetts: “a Parental Preparation Program for every underperforming school district. In order for parents in these districts to enroll their children in public school, the parents would have been required to attend classes themselves, where they would learn about the value of education as well as ways in which they could support their children’s educational experience.” On p. 257, a funny story about Romney’s business career, about his unsuccessful attempt to...

Frum sees him as an antidote to the Tea Party madness: Strong on defense and school choice, opposed to the Obama administration’s signature initiatives, Brown voted in favor of Mitt Romney’s health plan in Massachusetts. He describes himself as pro-choice (subject to reasonable limitations), accepts gay marriage in Massachusetts as a settled fact, and told the Boston Herald editorial board he would have voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayor.

Friends, Romneybots, CBSnewmen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Palin, not to praise her. The gaffes that candidates do lives after them; The good is oft interred on the cutting-room floor; So let it be with Palin. The noble Frum Hath told you Palin was uncultured: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Palin answer'd it. Here, under leave of Brooks and the rest - For Brooks is an honourable man; So are they all, all honourable men - Come I to speak in Palin's funeral. She was my friend, faithful and just...

Canadian David Frum is like the cross-eyed marksman, he can see the target but just can't ever hit it. The self-styled conservative has been the Old Media's leading conservative in attacking, well, other conservatives. Naturally his Dec. 25 piece on theweek.com is no exception. Not only does he attack other conservatives, as is his wont, he so badly misreads the Constitution and certain other facts in the healthcare debate, it makes one wonder if he's muffing it all on purpose? He does, however, get one salient fact right: the U.S. has already so ignored the U.S. Constitution that this socialist...

Having urged the president to honor his commitment to the Afghan war, we Republicans must honor our commitment to support him as he fights it. Given the public unenthusiasm for the conflict, there will be political temptations to “go rogue” on the president, if not now, then in the summer of 2010. That will be our test, for us to pass as the president has passed his. I know many Republicans and conservatives will say: “Hey – the Democrats did not give President Bush support when he most needed it.” Correct. They didn’t. And the country suffered for it. The...

(CNN) -- Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical Christian leaders last week issued a bold political statement. They intended to target the Obama administration. Inadvertently, they may have also hit probable Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney ought to rank atop the Republican candidates for president in 2012. He finished second in votes cast in the primaries of 2008. He is a candidate with immense private-sector economic expertise in a time of urgent economic debate. But Romney has a political problem: his Mormon religious faith. A Gallup survey in December 2007 found that 18 percent of Republicans would not vote for...

(CNN) -- The Republican fratricide in the Nov. 3 special election in upstate New York may prove just an opening round of an even more spectacular bloodbath in Florida in 2010. In New York, Republican feuding lost the party a seat in the House of Representatives. At stake in Florida is not only a senatorship -- but very possibly Republican hopes for 2012 as well. The battle in Florida pits Gov. Charlie Crist against former Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio. Both men claim to be conservative, pro-life, tax cutters. On the issues, they would seem to agree far...

Writing on his website, which used to be called “New Majority” until he got tired of people laughing at him, David Frum published an essay called “The Palin Fantasy” over the weekend. Even as the House of Representatives was preparing to pass the most blatantly unconstitutional assault on America’s freedom in Congressional history, Frum found something really outrageous to write about: Matthew Continetti’s admiring essay on Sarah Palin’s populist appeal. It’s a good thing Frum has his priorities in order. We wouldn’t want Palin to get into office and drop a few trillion dollars of unsustainable debt on us. Frum...

Andrew Sullivan directs attention to this fascinating query: All of this gets me to Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Both of them have been in the news a lot for their outspoken and controversial views. And once again, people don’t seem to understand that their jobs are entertainment, nothing more… Talk show hosts have no legal or ethical obligation to do anything but entertain. And judging by their successes, Limbaugh and Beck are brilliant at their jobs. I find it mind boggling that anyone believes a TV talk host is expressing his own true views… Do you think that Limbaugh...

In his worst post yet David Frum picks up some Andrew Sullivan foam (which is pretty much what Andrew produces since he became a celebrity of the left) and takes it to the next level of nasty. “Do Limbaugh and Beck Believe What They Say?” is the title of Andrew’s thoughtless little jape. At least Sullivan deploys the question as an unabashed instrument of derision which he doesn’t himself take seriously. We’ve all asked the question, which is our way of saying no one in his right mind could believe that. It’s what every liberal thinks (when they’re not thinking)...

Politics: Democrats say Rush Limbaugh is running the Republican Party. Better Rush than George Soros, who is running the Democrats. At least Rush believes in freedom, capitalism and letting you keep what you earn. The cover of the March 7 issue of Newsweek shows a picture of conservative icon Limbaugh with a piece of tape covering his mouth and the word "Enough!" So much for disagreeing with what you say but defending to the death your right to say it. Voltaire could never be a contributor to Newsweek

David Frum has a parting shot for our me in our debate. Before responding let me say that it is gratifying that we could go these three rounds without acrimony, and with a sense that we could engage these issues again down the line in a fraternal manner. That speaks to the health of the conservative coalition, and I am pleased about that. And it also pleases me that we can end on a note of agreement. Sort of. Here’s what David wrote along with my reply

Any questions?

For reasons best known to himself, David Frum has decided to suppress my side of the debate on his website. Thus my reply to his latest post (which follows below) doesn't appear on his website. I agree with you David that this dialogue is getting more focused, and I find it much more pleasurable (and hopefully informative) as a result. There are two issues here. One is a remarkable conservative outburst against the broadcaster Glenn Beck which includes you, Mark Levin and Pete Wehner among others, and which collectively wishes for his early self-destruction. The message from the three...