Overview for FF Spotlight

Is Chavez the Next Fidel Castro?

Hugo Chavez is not a killer - not yet anyway. Opposition Venezuelans express fear of the regime, but what they are afraid of is economic retaliation: they will be fired from their jobs, their property will be confiscated, they will be attacked with arbitrary tax assessments. Click here for all …

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Written by David Frum on Saturday January 23, 2010

What I Saw at the March for Life

The March for Life has been going on for nearly forty years. Is the pro-life movement actually making progress? “No exceptions. No compromise.” So blared from the lips of Nellie Gray, the founder of the annual March for Life event, which brings hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates to …

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Written by Alex Knepper on Saturday January 23, 2010

Fixing the Filibuster

The Democratic majority in the Senate has dropped below 60, and suddenly the air is thick with calls for filibuster reform. This is the first installment in a series. Click here to read the rest of the series. The Democratic majority in the Senate has dropped below 60, and …

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Written by David Frum on Saturday January 23, 2010

Defending Internet Speech

I have just finished Justice Kennedy’s opinion for the Court in Citizen United v. FEC and one thing is mightily clear -- conservatives are now the chief defenders of free speech and the internet, and the importance of the blogosphere has broken through to the Justices. I have just finished …

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Written by John Vecchione on Saturday January 23, 2010

How Chavez Rules

President Chavez's Bolivarian "missiones" are a highly personalized form of presidential largesse financed by the secret unaudited accounts of Venezuela's oil revenues. But these "missiones" do not function like a social welfare program. Click here for all of David Frum's posts from Venezuela. …

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Written by David Frum on Friday January 22, 2010

Fox's Own Poll Shows Tea Party, Palin Less Popular Than Obama

Voters in a Fox News poll prefer Barack Obama to a hypothetical Tea Party candidate. And it's a result Fox News chose to bury in its reporting on the poll -- choosing instead to highlight "anti-Obama" voter sentiment. A new  Fox News survey shows that Americans remain deeply wary of the tea …

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Written by Tim Mak on Friday January 22, 2010

U.S. Air Reaction to Praying Jew Understandable

Some rabbis have criticized a US Air crew for religious insensitivity when it diverted a plane and called in a bomb squad to investigate a Jewish teen who turned out to be... praying . However, the reaction of the staff was very much understandable. Some rabbis have criticized a US Air crew for …

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Written by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld on Friday January 22, 2010

SCOTUS: No Means No

The Supreme Court must be wondering: When will you blockheads get the message? Limits on political giving are OK. Limits on political spending are not. The Supreme Court has again and again struck speech restrictions to the ground, only to be confronted with ever new attempts to control speech. …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday January 21, 2010

RNC to Offer Members Alternative to "Purity Test"

FF Exclusive: The Republican National Committee is backing away from a controversial "litmus test" for GOP candidates and will offer members a significantly watered-down version to vote upon at its annual conference next week, Frum Forum has learned. The Republican National Committee is …

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Written by Tim Mak on Thursday January 21, 2010

Has the GOP Learned its Lesson Too?

Scott Brown won in Massachusetts with a big-tent Republican campaign. Perhaps the GOP is coming to recognize that victory doesn't wear an ideological straitjacket. Congratulations Scott Brown! Yah-boo to the defeated Democrats. But now the challenge returns to the GOP: Can we learn the right …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday January 21, 2010

Edwards' Confession

John Edwards will acknowledge today that he has lied for more than a year about the paternity of his child with Rielle Hunter. It's a pathetic end to a squalid story. John Edwards will acknowledge today that he has lied for more than a year about the paternity of his child with Rielle Hunter. It's …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday January 21, 2010

Palin's Bunker Mentality

To Sarah Palin, every media figure -- even those like Glenn Beck who support her -- has become the enemy. Let's start off with a fact: America doesn't elect victims to the White House.  Michael Dukakis did not become our 41st chief magistrate by complaining about the worst ads he'd seen in 25 …

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Written by Zac Morgan on Thursday January 21, 2010

Obama's Wake-Up Call

The American people are speaking out loudly against Obama’s agenda. Even with last minute campaign appearances with N.J. Governor Corzine and Martha Coakley, Obama couldn’t help either candidate pull out a win. First Bob McDonnell won the Virginia Governor’s race, then Chris Christie captured …

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Written by Crystal Wright on Wednesday January 20, 2010

The GOP's Northeast Resurgence

Chris Christie’s inauguration as the new GOP governor of New Jersey garnered little attention in the national press, overshadowed by Scott Brown's win in Massachusetts. But these two Republican wins in solidly blue states can offer important lessons for both parties. January 19 was the best day …

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Written by Jennifer Marsico on Wednesday January 20, 2010

What Kind of Senator Will Brown Be?

Boris Shor crunches the numbers and suggests - as liberal as Olympia Snowe. Boris Shor crunches the numbers and suggests - as liberal as Olympia Snowe.

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday January 20, 2010

Did the Dems Get the Message?

The Democratic leadership has said and seems to believe that they must pass the healthcare bill no matter what. But after the election in Massachusetts if the Democrats continue on this drive they will lose—and lose big. Scott Brown’s victory in the Massachusetts Senate race vastly complicates the …

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Written by Barbara Ledeen on Wednesday January 20, 2010

The Biggest Loser

After last night’s stunning defeat, the Obama White House is likely to blame others first, and ask hard questions later. But in the coming weeks, someone close to the President will pay dearly. Years ago, Martha Coakley told the Boston Globe that if things didn’t work out with her political …

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Written by David Gratzer on Wednesday January 20, 2010

A Warning for the Dems and a Lesson for the GOP

Scott Brown’s win cannot help but create panic among the Democrats. By focusing on an unpopular health care bill and high unemployment, Brown provided a message that resonated with both moderate and socially conservative Republican voters. Scott Brown’s decisive win in the Massachusetts U.S. …

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Written by Jeannemarie Devolites Davis on Wednesday January 20, 2010

Brown's Win a Lesson for Tea Partiers

The Tea Party movement has finally done what Frum Forum has long been urging: they supported a less dogmatic Republican in a moderate state. But how long will this detente between moderate and conservative factions in the GOP last? The Tea Party movement has finally done what Frum Forum has …

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Written by Tim Mak on Wednesday January 20, 2010

Can Massachusetts GOP Ride on Brown's Coattails?

Exclusive : FF spoke to Scott Brown and Massachusetts GOP state chair Jennifer Nassour about rebuilding the Massachusetts Republican party. “Après moi, le deluge?” is a fair question for Scott Brown to ask. The real question at the heart of this most bizarre special election is whether …

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Written by Byron Tau on Tuesday January 19, 2010