Overview for FF Spotlight

The True Costs of Getting Off Oil

President Obama is right: We can take the U.S. off oil. But he omitted to mention the fine print: Doing so will be slow, will be expensive, and will involve huge dislocations in American lifestyles and business. My latest column for CNN.com criticizes Washington for failing to level with the …

Written by David Frum on Monday June 21, 2010

Crist Widens Lead Over Rubio

It was not long ago that Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio was the darling of not only the Tea Partiers but also many establishment Republicans. Now, new polling data shows that Rubio's campaign may be in real trouble. Charlie Crist isn't just winning in the Florida Senate race. His lead is …

Written by Jeb Golinkin on Monday June 21, 2010

Baltimore Police Sue Over City Budget Cuts

The city of Baltimore is being sued by its own police and firefighters for $66 million, after the cash-strapped city proposed cutting back on contributions to union pension plans. The city of Baltimore is being sued by its own police and firefighters for $66 million. The lawsuit is payback for the …

Written by Rachel Ryan on Monday June 21, 2010

Awkward TMI Moment for Texas GOP Chair

In his biography, posted on the the Texas GOP website , newly elected Texas Republican Chairman Steve Munisteri gives an excruciatingly personal recounting of how he met and divorced his ex-wife. In his biography, posted on the the Texas GOP website , newly elected Texas Republican Chairman …

Written by Tim Mak on Monday June 21, 2010

Proust's Political Wisdom

Within A Budding Grove develops Marcel Proust's ideas about love, art, class, and sex. But it also opens a side of Proust that is rarely if ever mentioned: his surprisingly astute analysis of politics. Within A Budding Grove is the second great subdivision of Marcel Proust's Remembrance of …

Written by David Frum on Monday June 21, 2010

Has the World Forgotten Gilad Shalit?

Hamas's kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit triggered the Gaza war. Four years later, the war has long ended; sanctions are being relaxed - and yet the atrocity that triggered it all continues. On 25 June, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will mark four years in captivity by Hamas. With the …

Written by Arsen Ostrovsky on Monday June 21, 2010

The Bloated G20 Hits Toronto

Toronto is a city under siege. Walls of concrete have divided the downtown core. Police redirect cyclists past the security barriers. All leading locals to wonder: Couldn't the G20 meet by teleconference? Toronto. As Monty Python would say: This is a city under siege. Walls of concrete have …

Written by David Frum on Monday June 21, 2010

FrumCast with Ayaan Hirsi Ali

For my latest FrumCast , I spoke with Ayaan Hirsi Ali about her life in America and the West's failure to acknowledge the danger of Islamic fundamentalism. For my latest FrumCast, I spoke with Ayaan Hirsi Ali about her life in America and the West's failure to acknowledge the danger of Islamic …

Written by David Frum on Sunday June 20, 2010

How Many Senate Seats Will the Tea Party Cost?

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. Now it's reality time. My recent article for The Daily Telegraph looks at the price the GOP will …

Written by David Frum on Sunday June 20, 2010

Obama's Costly Immigration Grandstanding

The Obama administration's decision to bring suit against the enforcement of Arizona's new immigration law will only hurt the Democrats at the polls. Whatever one’s views on immigration it is clear that upwards of 60% of Americans believe that Arizonans were justified in their new law that allows …

Written by John Vecchione on Saturday June 19, 2010

José Saramago's False Courage

The words of protest José Saramago never uttered against dictatorship in Portugal he unleashed against democracy in Israel. Jose Saramago, Nobel laureate in literature and anti-Semite, died Friday aged 87. Saramago won his prize in 1998. He put his new global fame to the service of a new cause: …

Written by David Frum on Saturday June 19, 2010

Fox Gives the GOP Their BP Talking Points

Why is the GOP defending the Barton's "shakedown" comments, when BP proposed the escrow fund in the first place? Andrew Sullivan links to a depressing clip of conservative pundits denouncing the idea of an escrow fund to prepay the environmental damage done by BP. Wince, ouch. …

Written by David Frum on Friday June 18, 2010

Dealing with the Drug Dealers Next Door

Writing in the Globe and Mail, David Eddie gives advice to a reader thinking about ratting out his noisy, teenage, drug-dealing neighbors. Writing in the Globe and Mail , David Eddie gives advice to a reader thinking about ratting out his noisy, teenage, drug-dealing neighbors: Now, over …

Written by David Eddie on Friday June 18, 2010

Obamacare's Costs are still Dire

Chait has some harsh words for me. Fair enough. But while we exchange posts on budget finances, the cost curve is still bending in the wrong direction. Busted. Jonathon Chait has harsh words for me over at The New Republic , criticizing a recent blog post on Medicare cuts and deficit …

Written by David Gratzer on Friday June 18, 2010

The New Low-Skilled American Workforce

In the 1970s, California had the seventh most educated workforce in the nation. Now, the latest census data shows it is at the bottom of the list. What happened? In the 1970’s, California had the seventh most educated workforce in the nation. Now, the latest census data shows it is at the …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday June 18, 2010

Glenn Beck's Novel Plays With Fire

Glenn Beck's new novel isn't just bad. It also displays how he cynically manipulates his readers with dangerous ideas -- including fanning "truthers" of terrorist attacks. One disturbing aspect of Glenn Beck’s new novel seems to have passed over every reviewer who has read it. In the novel, Beck …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday June 18, 2010

Barton's Gaffe is the Tip of the Iceberg

Rep. Joe Barton's statement that the deal to set up a fund to pay for damages from the Gulf oil spill was a "$20 billion shakedown" is not the first time the GOP has engaged in incoherent opportunism over BP. Yesterday, BP Chairman Carl Henric Svanberg declared that BP cares about the “small …

Written by Jim DiPeso on Thursday June 17, 2010

Attacks on Kirk Come Up Short

The media has been trying to discredit Mark Kirk's record. Instead, they should focus on the substance of the election. Ever since the story on Richard Blumenthal's embellished military record broke, there has been a mad dash to replicate the scoop. And in an election year featuring numerous races …

Written by Sam Siegel on Thursday June 17, 2010

Closing the Door on South Carolina's Sex Scandals

Before the affairs and allegations of affairs, South Carolina's governor Mark Sanford was praised as a libertarian-leaning reformer. Yet, he failed to curb the state's big government bureaucracies. Can his protege, Nikki Haley, do any better? The problem with scandals in politics is that …

Written by Cheves Ligon on Thursday June 17, 2010

Mr. Djou Goes to Washington

FF Exclusive: Republican Charles Djou’s victory in Hawaii’s 1st congressional district stunned political watchers. Djou spoke with FrumForum about his November reelection bid and his efforts to raise the Republican Party’s profile in Hawaii This week Frum Forum sat down for an exclusive …

Written by Tim Mak on Thursday June 17, 2010