Overview for FF Spotlight

The Mother of all Unforced Errors

During the September 7th Republican Presidential debate, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas repeated an earlier assertion of his that Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme. Read that again: in the age of Bernie Madoff, Rick Perry called Social Security a Ponzi Scheme. When the GOP nominating season was …

Written by Jamie McFadden on Thursday September 8, 2011

Perry's Goldwater Gambit

Over at Contentions , John Podhoretz says that “Perry’s handling of the [Social Security] question was crude last night.” However, he adds, Perry’s critics are foolish -- including Mitt Romney’s team -- to imagine that a candidate who says Social Security is unsustainable in its current …

Written by John Guardiano on Thursday September 8, 2011

Why Obama's Anti-Foreclosure Program is Failing

President Obama's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) isn't effective. Here's why. The Home Affordable Modification Program , which modified loans for eligible homeowners facing foreclosure, is not only failing to make things better for those who stand to lose their homes, it's actually …

Written by John S. Wilson on Wednesday September 7, 2011

Balanced Budget Amendments: Ineffective, Untried

The Balanced Budget Amendment has more support now than at any point in the past decade and a half. Nearly all Republican candidates for President support it in some form and many Democrats in Congress also have nice things to say about it. A look at states in the United States and countries around …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday September 6, 2011

Res Judicata: Perry's Faux Federalism

Is Rick Perry a real supporter of federalism? I have my doubts. As I wrote last week, the concept of federalism is based upon the allocation of powers between the federal government and the states. Article I §8 enumerates the specific subjects reserved for Congress. The Tenth Amendment …

Written by Howard Foster on Tuesday September 6, 2011

9/11 Plus 10: The Country We Lost

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Written by David Frum on Monday September 5, 2011

Memo to GOP: Don't Run on What Voters Don't Want

With the national debt skyrocketing, a faction on the right is hoping to turn the 2012 election into a debate on entitlement reform. No doubt, many Democrats are hoping the very same thing. Democrats would view that development as a chance to gain politically, while some Republicans would see it …

Written by Fred Bauer on Thursday September 1, 2011

Reg Reform, Meh.

Eric Cantor has announced that regulatory reform of the Clean Air Act and labor laws will top the GOP agenda when Congress resumes its work. As far as these proposals go, baring the National Labor Relations Board from restricting where employers can locate (a key component of economic freedom), …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Wednesday August 31, 2011

Rick Perry's Land Deals: Why They Matter

Jim Geraghty replies to our blogposts on Texas Governor Rick Perry's uncannily successful land dealings: Last year the Democrat gubernatorial candidate in Texas, Bill White, tried to make an issue of it , and Texans largely yawned. Some of these deals go back to Perry’s time as Texas …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday August 31, 2011

What Happened to the Competence Primary?

Jonathan Last argues that Mitt Romney has not been a very effective candidate over his 17 years of office-seeking: [I] in the 2008 cycle he went 3-16 [win/lose]. Combine that with the rest of his runs and you get a 17-year career average of 5-18. Fair shot. Rick Perry certainly has …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 29, 2011

Red Light Cameras: They Work

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Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Sunday August 28, 2011

More Conservative Than You Think

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Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Saturday August 27, 2011

The Eurozone - Too Big to Save?

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Written by David Frum on Saturday August 27, 2011

Remembering Jack Layton

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Written by David Frum on Saturday August 27, 2011

Buffett Tax Would Cover Seven Days Spending

Warren Buffett is known as the Sage of Omaha for a good reason: his outstanding ability to find profitable investments that took him from a small portfolio owner to one of the richest people in the world. Recently, he used his formidable reputation to suggest in the New York Times , …

Written by Herbert Grubel on Thursday August 25, 2011

Marco Rubio Bashes Republicans

I'll have more to say later about Marco Rubio's very interesting and very important speech at the Reagan Library from August the 24th. For now, just one point: You know, we at the Frum Forum take a certain amount of heat for the offense of "bashing fellow Republicans." My defense: part …

Written by David Frum on Thursday August 25, 2011

Economists See the Coming Double-Dip

Vincent Reinhart, a former director at the Federal Reserve, has written an economic outlook paper for the American Enterprise Institute. He argues there is a 40% chance of a double dip recession and that the Fed needs to respond with accommodating monetary policy. Reinhart's gloomy picture is …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Wednesday August 24, 2011

Eyewitness to the Syrian Revolution

If you had to put a face to the Syrian uprising, it would probably belong to Hamza ‘Ali al-Khateeb. If you do not know what Syrians are fighting for, Hamza symbolizes what they are fighting against. The 13 year-old child was not simply killed by Bashar al-Asad’s security forces; his body was …

Written by Mike Nahum on Wednesday August 24, 2011

Reagan: The Biggest RINO

What would the Club for Growth say about Ronald Reagan? We know what they think about Rick Perry since they have produced new Presidential White Papers on him. Their opinion: eh, not bad, but not great. Now, keep in mind, the Club for Growth is hard to please. We are talking about Rick Perry, …

Written by Paul Talley on Wednesday August 24, 2011

How I'd Reduce Healthcare Costs

“Easy for Me to Say” is a Frum Forum feature series in which David Frum answers reader questions about political issues. Readers are invited to pose questions that take the form of: “OK – so what would you do instead of this or that politician you’ve criticized?” Questions should be …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday August 23, 2011