Overview for Frum Now

A Future for the Pro-Life Movement

Matthew Schmitz of First Things registers a complaint by Twitter about my CNN column hoping that the abortion controversy may someday be de-escalated: "It is chilling that  @davidfrum doesn't have a spare second to consider the morality of abortion. Politics trumps all." For the …

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Written by David Frum on Monday October 24, 2011

Why Defend Exaggeration?

Breaking ... Jimmy Carter was not actually a nuclear engineer, and Ronald Reagan did not actually witness the liberation of concentration camps. Like a lot of politicians, President Obama very much included, Marco Rubio shaded his biography to make his life story slightly more compelling. …

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Written by David Frum on Friday October 21, 2011

Alec Baldwin is not Worthless

Alec Baldwin visited Zuccotti Park last night and got drawn into an exchange with some of the wilder and woolier protesters. NY Mag describes one exchange which was caught on video: It's pretty clear that Baldwin, a liberal Dem, wanted to like what was going on there more than what he …

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Written by David Frum on Friday October 21, 2011

Tell Us How You Really Feel About Romney

Our friend John Vecchione this morning received a solicitation to donate money to Mitt Romney. He emailed me in despair: "I feel like the bride in an arranged marriage I can't get out of."

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Written by David Frum on Thursday October 20, 2011

The Children Still Left Behind

In National Affairs , Fred Hess makes the point that over-emphasis on racial/class/ethnic "gaps" risks shunting aside most of what Americans should expect their schools to do. [D]isadvantaged and advantaged children have different educational needs and stand to benefit from different kinds …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday October 19, 2011

Mitt Romney: Constitutionalist

On the Las Vegas stage, Anderson Cooper asked the candidates about the role of faith generally and then specifically to the disparaging comments about Romney's Mormonism by the pastor who introduced Rick Perry at the Values Voters Summit. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich used the opportunity to …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday October 19, 2011

Is This What Democracy Looks Like?

Anne Applebaum has just written the best column I've yet seen on the Occupy Wall Street protests. She makes two key points , one chastening to OWS supporters, one to skeptics. Counter supporters, Anne notes: [T]hese international protests do have a few things in common, both with one …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday October 18, 2011

Palestinians Behaving Badly

The Palestinian envoy to Canada is asked to leave after she tweets a link to a call to "destroy the Jews." Linda Sobeh Ali, the chargé d’affaires of the Palestinian delegation in Ottawa, is just one cut above persona non grata. The Canadian government called her in for a high-level …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday October 18, 2011

About that Perry Jobs Plan

The governor's jobs plan is to open more of the US to energy exploration and production. He promises that such a policy will create 1.2 million new jobs. When I heard this, it seemed to me utterly implausible: the US oil and gas industry employs 2.1 million today, coal under 100,000 - and these …

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Written by David Frum on Monday October 17, 2011

Herman Cain Can't Be President

In my column for CNN, I explain why Heman Cain can't be President: If Herman Cain had served as governor of Georgia, or even mayor of Atlanta, he'd be a valid and credible candidate for president of the United States. But here's the trouble: he has not held those offices or any other …

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Written by David Frum on Monday October 17, 2011

Running Down the Road

Everybody wants to be a hometown hero. I was interviewed this month by Quinte & County Living , the lifestyle magazine of Prince Edward County, Ontario, where my wife and I and my kids have been spending summers since 1988. After almost 20 years of schnorring off my in-laws, this year …

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Written by David Frum on Saturday October 15, 2011

Our Frum Family Sukkah

Washington's rains finally ceased and so we were able to build a Frum family sukkah in time for night 4 of the holiday. Those are sheaves of corn stalk standing beside, and more corn stalks forming the roof. I'm thinking that Sukkot, not Hanukkah, truly is the Jewish answer to Christmas, at …

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Written by David Frum on Saturday October 15, 2011

Recovery First, Fiscal Discipline Second

In my column for the National Post , I explain why long term deficit reduction needs to happen after the economy recovers, not before: That's why the bottom of a bad recession is a bad time to worry about deficits. The recession makes the deficit problem look bigger than it really is. …

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Written by David Frum on Saturday October 15, 2011

If I Do Say So Myself

Googling one's own name is sometimes called a "vanity search." In my case, the practice calls for another name, since I can assure you the results are generally 10-1 ungratifying to vanity. Call it defensive Googling. But this morning it did yield a positive result, unearthing a line I'd written in …

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Written by David Frum on Friday October 14, 2011

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Matt Yglesias says he doesn't "get" why Tyler Cowen would describe public-choice theorem as important. Here's why. There's much more to public choice than a cynical assertion that politicians act in self-interested ways. Public choice (like so much else!) builds on an insight of the great …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday October 13, 2011

Does the Tea Party Have a Future?

In my column for The Week , I discuss what the future of the Tea Party will be if Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee for President: The astounding result: After three years of battling against ObamaCare, the most likely winner of the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 is the …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday October 13, 2011

My Farewell Interview with Marketplace

My final interview with Marketplace is up on the web: RYSSDAL: So why this move? Why is this no longer a good fit for you? FRUM: Well, we've been doing a point/counter-point here between me and Bob Reich for a couple of years. And it's been a lot of fun. I've certainly learned a lot …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday October 12, 2011

Conceding One to the Critics

As readers of this site have no doubt noticed, I'm not one who is greatly troubled by hostile criticism. On the other hand, sometimes the critics make a valid point. When they do, I'm not too obstinate to concede. For years, I've shared the Marketplace airwaves with former Secretary of …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday October 12, 2011

No Disrespect But...

Who produces the first big analysis: Why the Tea Party could not produce a credible presidential candidate?

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday October 12, 2011

Perry's Dangerous Debate Temptation

Rick Perry has thrown away his opportunity to make a good first impression. Will tonight's debate be a last chance to correct a negative view? I think I can guess the advice Gov. Perry is receiving in advance of the debate. He needs to "go on the attack," hit hard on Romneycare and the individual …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday October 11, 2011