Overview for FF Spotlight

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

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

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 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

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

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

Change Iowa's Secret Ballot

University of Iowa professor Stephen Bloom has gotten a lot of well-deserved criticism for an error-ridden piece in em> The Atlantic

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Monday January 2, 2012

The Problems With Stiglitz's Depression

What is wrong with Joe Stiglitz's analysis of the Great Depression? Click here for Part 1 . Problem 1: Repeat after me - The Great Depression was a global event. That's a fact American economic historians always have great trouble keeping in mind, and Stiglitz here succumbs to the national …

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Written by David Frum on Monday January 2, 2012

Stiglitz Rewrites the Great Depression

Joe Stiglitz's offers in the current Vanity Fair an arresting theory of both the Great Depression and the current economic malaise. Contra the (now) orthodox view propounded by Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz, Stiglitz argues that the Depression was not fundamentally a monetary event. …

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Written by David Frum on Monday January 2, 2012

Catch Noah Kristula-Green on 'Up With Chris Hayes'

Don't sleep in once you are done with your New Year's Eve party. Instead, make sure to check out MSNBC's Up With Chris Hayes at 8am (EST) on New Year's Day. Frum Forum's Managing Editor Noah Kristula-Green will be on the show's panel. Also on the panel for the January 1st show will be …

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Written by FrumForum Editors on Saturday December 31, 2011

Ron Paul: No Pro-Lifer

For at least some of the Republican candidates, I don't doubt that the position that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape, incest and the mother's life stems from sincere, deep moral conviction. But Iowa front-runner Ron Paul's position that states should outlaw abortion even in …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday December 29, 2011

Lest We Forget

As the gold market tumbles , time to recall: even if the price of gold had remained high forever, people who trusted in Glenn Beck would still have been cruelly cheated . I'm trying to recall a worse case of media ethics malpractice than Glenn Beck and Goldline, but thus far I draw a blank. …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday December 29, 2011

Middle Class Taxpayers Still Lose

The recent fight over the extension of the payroll tax holiday has once again shown that the Republican Party does not particularly care about the middle class tax burden. The party is quite interested though in cutting taxes on the highest earners. What gets completely ignored is the fact that …

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Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Thursday December 29, 2011

The Coming Rand Paul Campaign

Andrew Sullivan predicts a future Rand Paul run. Fascinating that a movement of self-proclaimed individualists would manifest itself as a dynastic cult of personality.

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Written by David Frum on Monday December 26, 2011