Overview for FF Spotlight

Did MoveOn Crash the Tea Party?

Yesterday’s Tea Party at the Washington Monument attracted a counter-protest of Obama supporters. While these protesters denied any official backing, some comments by members suggested there were MoveOn.org members in the mix. Yesterday’s Tea Party at the Washington Monument attracted a counter-pr…

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday April 16, 2010

Beijing Vice

Number of English-speaking pimps and prostitutes working the two blocks between the Beijing Sheraton and the nearest subway stop at 10:30 pm on a Friday night: 5. Click here to read all of David Frum’s blogposts from China. Number of English-speaking pimps and prostitutes working the …

Written by David Frum on Friday April 16, 2010

Tea Party Leadership Still Up for Grabs

At yesterday's D.C. Tea Party rally, we surveyed attendees to determine which public figures Tea Partiers saw as potential leaders. Our results found a movement drawn to media figures such as Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, but still unable to identify with any one elected official. At the Tax Day Tea …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday April 16, 2010

Will Rand Paul Wreck GOP Kentucky Hopes?

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has tried to block Tea Party favorite Rand Paul, son of Ron Paul, from winning the GOP nomination for the state’s other Senate seat. But his efforts appear to be failing. Has Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell lost his political magic back home in …

Written by John David Dyche on Thursday April 15, 2010

Three Sneak Tax Hikes to Watch For

My latest column for The Week dismisses the growing speculation that the Obama administration is planning to introduce a European-style value added tax. Count on Obama to instead opt for tax hikes that will garner less attention and less of a fight. My latest column for The Week dismisses …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 15, 2010

Debating Dubya

What's taking place in Glenn Beck's attacks on President Woodrow Wilson is a coy conservative self-conversation -- a way of actually debating the presidency of George W. Bush without explicitly mentioning our former President. So what IS this Woodrow Wilson thing all about? Well let’s think …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 15, 2010

Avoiding the Deficit Trap

Republicans should be careful not to oversell their ability to tackle the nation's deficit woes. Earlier this week, a Frum Forum contributor discussed the challenge of losing weight, and offered some advice that conservative politicians should heed. Don't set unrealistic goals for …

Written by Henry Clay on Thursday April 15, 2010

Newt's Government Shutdown Revisionism

The Newt Gingrich engineered government shutdown of 1995 destroyed Republican approval ratings and helped seal the reelection of President Clinton. Yet, Gingrich is now pushing a repeat of this disastrous strategy. In an interview with Dave Weigel, Newt Gingrich argues that the government …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Thursday April 15, 2010

Krugman's Not So Green Economy

Paul Krugman's scheme to cut emissions through cap-and-trade would fail to create the investment needed to sustain a carbon-free economy. Princeton economist turned fire-breathing lefty political pundit Paul Krugman recently wrote a much discussed piece in The New York Times Magazine titled …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Wednesday April 14, 2010

What Doctors Don't Know about Health Costs

Medical students are bombarded with an onslaught of medical coursework to master in a short period of time. But are they ever taught to be cost effective? As a patient you may be overdue to have a conversation with your doctor about cost control. As a physician I know that doctors face many …

Written by Victor Green on Wednesday April 14, 2010

Does Anyone Feel Safer After Obama's Nuke Summit?

This week's nuclear summit was a photo op without substance and did nothing to rein in the most dangerous nuclear offenders: North Korea and Iran. If big is better, then the recent two-day gathering of the greatest number of world leaders in Washington since the formation of the UN itself to …

Written by Peter Worthington on Wednesday April 14, 2010

Glenn Beck's Anti-Wilson Crusade

Michael Lind has a very smart piece up at Salon.com about Glenn Beck’s polemical reinvention of American history, in which Woodrow Wilson is cast as anti-conservative public enemy #1. Michael Lind has a very smart piece up at Salon.com about Glenn Beck’s polemical reinvention of American …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday April 14, 2010

It's Deja Vu All Over Again in NY-23

In New York’s 23rd congressional district, fighting has broken out between candidates in the GOP primary and the race threatens to be a repeat of the divisive 2009 election that saw a Democrat take the historically Republican district. In New York’s 23 rd congressional district, it’s déjà vu all …

Written by Tim Mak on Tuesday April 13, 2010

China's Real Estate Boom

The Chinese understandably take pride in their newly gained ability to buy expensive things. But the mania for buying up Hong Kong real estate is not a sign of success -- it's a warning of the likely consequences of China's imperfect transition to First World status. Click here to read all of …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 13, 2010

A Response to "RD"

The question posed by FF contributor RD, while relating his experiences as a gay officer at war — "Why should I put my life at risk to defend the freedom of Americans who think so little of me and my relationships?" — profoundly disturbs me. To get a few things out of the way at the outset: I'm …

Written by Alex Knepper on Tuesday April 13, 2010

Fighting for a Country That Thinks I'm Second Class

When the people of California voted to strip legal rights away from gay Californians I decided I could no longer serve in the military. Why should I put my life at risk to defend the freedom of Americans who think so little of me and my relationships? RD is the pseudonym of a 10-year armed …

Written by RD on Tuesday April 13, 2010

Outsourcing Pollution

Proponents of cap-and-trade ignore the possibility that it could actually hurt the environment, by forcing industry out of the United States to the developing world where lax environmental laws could allow unchecked pollution. Instituting a tax on energy probably isn't a good idea in a recession. …

Written by Jonas Stankovich on Tuesday April 13, 2010

Freedom in China

I talked today to a local writer who had lived and worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Mainland. Obviously, Hong Kong is the freest place of the three. But when I asked which was the least free, he surprised me: "Singapore." Click here to read all of David Frum’s blogposts from China. …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 13, 2010

How Stable is China?

I put that question to a political scientist here, an expatriate North American who speaks fluent Chinese. Click here to read all of David Frum's blogposts from China. I put that question to a political scientist here, an expatriate North American who speaks fluent Chinese. "Never …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 13, 2010

Crist's Costly Populism

Gov. Charlie Crist’s biggest accomplishments - a bill to subsidize property insurance for hurricane-prone Floridians and new property tax caps - may be popular with voters, but could also leave the state facing bankruptcy in the future. As a reformist Republican, I wish I could support Florida …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday April 13, 2010