Overview for Frum Now

Is Perry Dumb?

Politico asks the question out loud. The answer from Perry's friends and supporters is not reassuring. “If he should know about John Locke, he’ll know about John Locke,” said [Tex lobbyist and Perry supporter] Bill Miller. “If it’s not on his schedule, it’s irrelevant to him.” In …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 29, 2011

Bachmann Blows Off NH

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Written by David Frum on Sunday August 28, 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

Listen to this Canadian Politeness Expert

Here is Miranda Frum doing her first radio interview, discussing her blogpost on Canadian vs. U.S. politeness.

Written by David Frum on Saturday August 27, 2011

Common Ground

Rep. Joe Wilson of "you lie" fame has been hospitalized with Lyme disease. I suffered a case of the disease last summer, and I can attest: it's a nasty and very painful business. My sympathy to the congressman. I hope he makes a swift and complete recovery - and that he will then join my campaign …

Written by David Frum 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

Conservatism's Hidden Powerbrokers

Everybody has to make a living, self-designated arbiters of conservatism like Erick Erickson very much included, reported Ben Smith in Politico yesterday: A leading conservative blogger and commentator, Erick Erickson, said he shifted his stance in a key Senate race because the company that …

Written by David Frum on Thursday August 25, 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

Can Romney Believe What He Says?

What's Romney thinking? Mitt Romney is hitting President Obama hard on America's weak job performance over the past two and a half years. Yet Romney himself has pledged himself to policies that will squeeze jobs in the near term, at least according to conventional economic theory. He has …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday August 23, 2011

Nice Central Bank You Have Here

One of the highest forms of political jiu-jitsu is to accuse your opponents of exactly the same offense that you yourself then proceed to commit. If executed properly, the audacious maneuver will stun critics into silence - and overwhelm spectators so impressed by the Parson's sermon against …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 22, 2011

Preventing Another Palin Disaster

In my column for The Week I discuss the lessons that Republicans must learn for 2012 and beyond, so they don't repeat the same mistakes they made with Sarah Palin: The people who promoted and celebrated the Palin pick have disavowed — or at least abandoned — their former enthusiasm. They no …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday August 17, 2011

UN Indicts Hezbollah

The indictment for the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was handed down June 30, but only published today. The tribunal delivered indictments on June 30 against four men that Hezbollah has acknowledged as members of the organization. Nearly no one here expected the …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday August 17, 2011

Romney Gets His Challenger

For two years, disaffected conservative Republicans have shopped for an alternative to Mitt Romney. They have worked their way through Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, and Donald Trump among others. The Ames straw poll turned a spotlight on Michele Bachmann. Until now, anti-Romney Republicans have …

Written by David Frum on Saturday August 13, 2011

Be Euro-Scared, Very Euro-Scared

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Written by David Frum on Thursday August 11, 2011

Decline and Fall

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Written by David Frum on Thursday August 11, 2011

The Law Answers in Britain

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Written by David Frum on Thursday August 11, 2011

Obama's Ugly Campaign Plan

In my column for The Week , I discuss a possible reason why Obama's campaign staffers leaked their strategy against Mitt Romney to Politico : Pessimism about the economy is rife, and Obama's job approval is sagging. He could well lose the next presidential election to a candidate who can …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday August 10, 2011

The Downgrade's Real Casualties

Suzy Khimm at the Washington Post astutely identifies them: city governments. Which in turn means, still more local austerity to come: S&P’s is poised to downgrade thousands of municipal bonds that are directly tied to the federal government, with an announcement expected later …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday August 10, 2011

The S&P Bond Rally

In a column for the National Post , I explain why the current price of government bonds repudiates the S&P downgrade of American debt: If I were Standard & Poor's, I'd be damn embarrassed. On Friday, the famous bond-rating services took the momentous step of downgrading the sovereign …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday August 9, 2011