Overview for Frum Now

On Immigration: Romney is Right, Gingrich is Wrong

In my column for CNN, I explain why K street lobbyists will like Newt Gingrich's immigration plan: Immigration is the only issue where a political candidate can totally do the bidding of the K Street lobbyists and still be hailed as compassionate and humane. At CNN's Republican National …

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Written by David Frum on Monday November 28, 2011

On Air

NPR's Morning Edition yesterday aired an interview I did about my recent  New York magazine article on the state of the Republican Party. It can be heard here .

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Written by David Frum on Friday November 25, 2011

Home News

The Anne Applebaum--Danielle Crittenden Polish cookbook, released in Polish last month, has hit the  Polish bestseller lists . The English-language edition will be released in 2012.

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 23, 2011

Where Was Santorum's Safety Net?

Serious question: Why didn't the Bush administration give Rick Santorum some kind of consolation prize after his defeat in 2006? Here's a two-term senator, brought down by no mistake of his own, who had performed well in Congress and stood by the party leadership when called upon--eg, endorsing …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday November 22, 2011

Signs of Hope

My article in New York magazine on the state of conservatism presented a grim picture. Yet there are also signs of hope in the conservative world, evidences of intellectual openness and readiness for problem-solving. We'll try to monitor them here, with links as they appear one by one. …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday November 22, 2011

King Dollar

Remember all the laments about the weak dollar? The demands for tighter policies to strengthen King Dollar? On a trade-weighted basis, the dollar has been strengthening all fall. As of this week, the dollar has returned to its 1997 value. Happy now? I didn't think so. After steady …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday November 22, 2011

Today's Most Controversial Article

And I thought I published a controversial article today. Now I'm completely bested by Mrs Frum's HuffPost entry: " Bartender, a Dirty Martini With a Tampon!"

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Written by David Frum on Monday November 21, 2011

Where's My Party?

Last month, New York magazine challenged me to answer the question: Why are the other Republicans so mad at you? What's the argument about--and how's it going? They allowed me generous space for an answer, which you can read here .

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Written by David Frum on Sunday November 20, 2011

Salute a Brave Man

In an atmosphere of intimidation and menace, Pakistan's democracy-minded ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, accepts a summons to return home. Let's hope that the Pakistani military understands very well how closely the US is watching for the safety of the ambassador and his family.

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Written by David Frum on Friday November 18, 2011

The Republican Supercommittee Offer

Question for the supercommittee: Suppose the real purpose of this exercise is to frame the choice for 2012. Dems are offering the country a path to budget balance that relies heavily on tax increases. Republicans are offering a path that relies more heavily on spending cuts. OK, got it. If …

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Written by David Frum on Friday November 18, 2011

Premature Euro-Skeptics

The New York Times' profile of Euro-skeptic Bernard Connolly--who warned early of the danger of creating a single currency for a polyglot continent--is one more reminder of the enduring force of the old common-law rule: truth is not only no defense; truth actually compounds libel. People …

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Written by David Frum on Friday November 18, 2011

How Cyber Warfare Can Stop Iran

Eli Lake at the Daily Beast posts another of his amazing reports on super-secret spy stuff, this time on Israel's campaign of electronic sabotage of Iran's illicit nuclear program. Watching Eli pile up these scoops is starting to be like watching the New York Yankees pile up World Series …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday November 17, 2011

The Idea of Conservatism

Weeks ago, I sat down for a long interview at CBC Radio. It was a deeply nostalgic experience for me. The atrium of the CBC is named for my mother, Barbara Frum. The interviewer was Max Allen, who once produced my mother's radio show, As It Happens . For that reason, perhaps, we had an …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday November 17, 2011

That's a Lot of History!

It wasn't $300,000 that Freddie Mac paid Gingrich for his work supposedly as a non-lobbyist " historian ." It was between $1.6 million and $1.8 million. Gingrich says that all he did for that money was tell Freddie that their business model was "insane." Anybody find that believeable?

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 16, 2011

The (Liberal's) Case for Mitt

Kevin Drum states it: A few months ago I was pretty much rooting for a Perry or a Bachmann to win the GOP nomination because I figured (a) they'd lose big in the general election, and (b) their loss might push the Republican Party back toward the center sooner than otherwise. But it's just …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday November 15, 2011

With Friends Like Obama...

As Chris Sands writes at  Huffington Post Canada about the Obama administration's hostile action on the Keystone pipeline, with friends like President Obama, who needs enemies? [Canadian Prime Minister Stephen] Harper has been a great friend to Obama: supportive of the U.S. global warming …

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Written by David Frum on Monday November 14, 2011

Crowdsourcing a Personal Question

I've finished work on a novel about Washington in the time of the Tea Party. With a view to publishing during primary season, I'm weighing e-publishing as opposed to a paper book. I'm curious to know how many Frum Forum readers use e-readers--and in particular, whether you use them only for …

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Written by David Frum on Saturday November 12, 2011

My Questions for the Next GOP Debate

Had I been on the panel for Wednesday's economics debate, I'd have opened with the question: "Are taxes lower or higher today than on the day President Obama was sworn into office?" Just for fun. CBS and National Journal asked me among others to suggest some questions to ask the candidates at …

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Written by David Frum on Friday November 11, 2011

Coming Soon: A Keystone Op-Ed

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Written by David Frum on Friday November 11, 2011

Compare and Contrast

Here's the clip of Gerald Ford's famous gaffe from the 1976 presidential debate, in which he denies that the Soviets "dominate" Eastern Europe. It's pretty bad. But notice that Ford is struggling to make an intelligent and important point: what he wants to say is that the US does …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday November 10, 2011