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Message for the Commenters

Hello everyone. David and I have been in meetings all day but we made time to check in on the comment thread announcing the move to the Daily Beast and Newsweek. The support in the comments has been remarkable. However, there seems to be some misunderstanding going around so we wanted to clear up …

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Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday January 6, 2012

All Good Things...

- Frum Forum Goes Live Frum Forum launched itself almost exactly three years ago, on Inauguration Day 2009. Over the subsequent interval, our hundreds of contributors have reached more than 5 million individual readers. I like to think that together we have helped to move the national …

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Written by David Frum on Friday January 6, 2012

It's Time to Debate Birthright Citizenship

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has introduced a bill to repeal “birthright citizenship.” It’s probably the most significant immigration reform bill introduced in Congress since 1965 when nation quotas on immigration were repealed. That revision in the Immigration and Nationality Act (“ INA ”) significantly …

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Written by Howard Foster on Thursday January 5, 2012

The Cordray Crisis

Constitutional abuse begets constitutional abuse. President Obama has engaged in a dubious maneuver to force a recess appointment through a Senate that denies it has recessed. (Brad Plumer has a good run-down of the legal issues, here .) The president's action has ignited a fireworks show …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday January 5, 2012

MSNBC Joins the Anti-Romney Bandwagon

I have always been weary of the whine regarding the purported "liberal media"; having won 60% of presidential elections over the last 40 years, near-complete dominance of the radio airwaves, and a cable news behemoth with ratings greater than the aggregate of both its nearest competitors, conservat…

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Written by Jay Gatsby on Thursday January 5, 2012

Santorum's Flawed Plan for Working America

In my column for The Week I discuss the problems with Rick Santorum economic plan: Santorum's concern for the American middle class has been one of the most attractive features of his candidacy for the Republican nomination. Alone among the Republican candidates, he took note of the …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday January 5, 2012

Seriously, Why Won't Perry Drop Out?

So it looks like the indications are that Rick Perry, former front-runner, last place finisher in the 2011 Republican Debate Tournament, is not hanging up his brush jacket yet. Despite his very melancholy nigh-concession last night, the Texas governor seems to be headed to South Carolina instead …

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Written by Zac Morgan on Wednesday January 4, 2012

Santorum Masters Retail Politics

David Frum argues that a "A Romney-Santorum contest is not much of a contest at all." He's probably right about this. Romney beats Santorum hands down in resources, organization, discipline, and support from GOP elites. But there's one wild-card that could make things interesting: Santorum may …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Wednesday January 4, 2012

Ron Paul's Bad Memory

Odd experience on CNN this morning. I was on a panel that had a chance to interview Ron Paul. I asked this question : "I attended a precinct caucus last night where the person who spoke on your behalf praised you as a strong social conservative: pro-life, anti-gay marriage. He also described …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday January 4, 2012

The Road Ahead

In the wake of the Iowa caucuses, what matters now is not the exact order of Romney, Santorum, and Paul; the numbers are very close. What does matter is the range between the candidates. Iowa gives us basically a tie between Romney and Santorum, with both at around 25%. Ron Paul comes out a strong …

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Written by Fred Bauer on Wednesday January 4, 2012

Confirmed: The Ames Straw Poll is Useless

We have just received yet another confirmation of the virtual uselessness of the Ames Straw Poll . The proud winner of the straw poll, Michelle Bachmann came in sixth in the Iowa caucuses (and in fact finished dead last among all serious contestants--Jon Huntsman just ignored Iowa). Furthermore,…

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Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Wednesday January 4, 2012

The Expectations Game

Byron York has a tough read on the meaning of the Iowa result for Romney. In the end, Romney escaped humiliation, and he did it at far less cost than in 2007-2008, when he gave Iowa everything he had in his first run for the GOP nomination. "If you look back four years ago, we had 52 paid …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday January 4, 2012

The Secret of Ron Paul's Success

Based on the tiny unrepresentative sample at the precinct caucus I attended: his core group are true believers, who have absorbed his message on Austrian economics and foreign policy non-interventionism. But when they communicate to the broader Iowa Republican rank-and-file, they repackage …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday January 3, 2012

You Read it First at FrumForum

Well, however tonight turns out it appears Rick Santorum is being given his chance . I particularly liked the analogy that makes the boyish Santorum Luke Skywalker, but whether the X-Wing takes down the well-coiffed Death Star Santorum's doggedness and convictions appear to be  paying off . And …

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Written by John Vecchione on Tuesday January 3, 2012

Wargaming The Caucuses

Result 1: Romney wins, Santorum second, Paul third, Gingrich fourth, Perry fifth. This is the result indicated by last day's polling. If it eventuates, this will be a very short nominating contest. Romney will proceed to win in New Hampshire. Perry and Gingrich will try to make a last stand …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday January 3, 2012

Drug Cartels Get More Sophisticated

The violence in Mexico related to drug trafficking has continued over the past year, even though it hasn't been in the headlines in the US in recent months. While in some cases there has been a lull in the violence, such as in Ciudad Mier, a small border town that was largely abandoned because of …

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Written by Mark R. Yzaguirre on Tuesday January 3, 2012

Ron Paul's Personal Responsibility

Andrew Sullivan  complained yesterday that I had engaged in a "McCarthyite" attack on Ron Paul by writing the following : A politician isn’t answerable for the antics of every one of his supporters. But there’s surely a reason, isn’t there, that racists, anti-Semites, 9/11 Truthers, and …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday January 3, 2012

Waiting Time in Iowa

I attended Romney's closing rally last night in Des Moines. Very professionally done, introduction by Senator John Thune. Three themes really stood  out: * Romney opened with a statement about the danger from Iran. Without mention of Ron Paul, it astutely poked at the top vulnerability of the …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday January 3, 2012

Who Supports Government Space Programs?

After quoting from a speech where a Republican presidential candidate praises the space program, Mark Palko writes : I [Palko] don't know what the reaction of the crowd was (the reporting wasn't that detailed) but I'd imagine it was friendly. You can usually get a warm response from a …

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Written by Andrew Gelman on Monday January 2, 2012