Overview for News

What the Republicans Can Teach

I have a piece in November's Commentary on U.K. lessons for American conservatives. This week in The Spectator , I offer a companion essay : What the Conservatives can learn from Republicans. I have a piece in November's Commentary on U.K. lessons for American conservatives. This week in …

Written by David Frum on Thursday November 19, 2009

Kirk: No Margin for Error

Rep. Mark Kirk found himself heavily criticized when he opposed transferring Guantanamo detainees to a prison in Illinois. A debate is raging in Illinois over the possible transfer of terror suspects from Guantanamo Bay to a nearly empty prison facility Illinois" href="http://www.talkingpointsm…

Written by Jeb Golinkin on Thursday November 19, 2009

Bowing (and Scraping) Across the World

In the East, there is a right way and a wrong way to bow. What Obama did has the Japanese (and the rest of East Asia) rolling in fits of laughter, because it is the bow an employee gives to his boss, or a child gives to parents. I spent more than half my life in the Orient. In Thailand, they bow …

Written by Sean Linnane on Thursday November 19, 2009

Government Healthcare or Bust

In Sen. Reid's bill as in the House bill, Priority 1 is the creation of some kind of government-run plan. The Dems have made many concessions, but they know that all of those concessions will gradually erode. The key thing: establish the government-run plan now. Drive private insurers out of the …

Written by David Frum on Thursday November 19, 2009

Pakistan's Failure

In part 3 of his series on Pakistan, Kapil Komireddi advances an important point: India was partitioned because Muslim leaders insisted their people could not safely live in a state with a 75% non-Muslim majority. But the post-1948 emergence of India as a secular democracy debunked the argument …

Written by David Frum on Thursday November 19, 2009

Pakistan: It Could Not Succeed Unless India Failed

From its foundation, the primary challenge to Pakistan’s sense of itself came from India. India’s success at forging a nationality out of its diversity stood as a towering repudiation of the very idea of Pakistan. This is the third installment in Kapil Komireddi’s series on Pakistan. Click here …

Written by Kapil Komireddi on Wednesday November 18, 2009

Real Money, Pretend Jobs

A press release has come our way from the office of Senator Foghorn Leghorn of Texas... This press release has come our way from the office of Senator Foghorn Leghorn of Texas ... SEN. LEGHORN ANNOUNCES $14.7 MILLION FOR TEXAS; ‘YEE, HAW!’ HE COMMENTS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* …

Written by FF Washington Insider on Wednesday November 18, 2009

The Invention of Pakistan

The terrorism with which we contend has its origins in Pakistan as much as in the Arab Middle East. Our friend Kapil Komireddi has returned from traveling inside Pakistan. Today in part 2 of his series, he tells how Pakistan's instability may be encoded in the state's very origins . After the …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 18, 2009

Pakistan: Origins of a Failed State

Today’s Pakistan is at war with itself, torn between competing ideas of what it means to be Pakistani. This failure to create a humane or liberal nationalism has its roots in Pakistan's foundation. This is the second installment in Kapil Komireddi’s series on Pakistan. Click here to read the …

Written by Kapil Komireddi on Wednesday November 18, 2009

Who You Calling a RINO?

Why is it that those of us who are willing to do what it takes to beat Democrats are called "Republicans in name only" or worse? Meanwhile those conservatives willing to accept years of Democratic government rather than adjust any point congratulate themselves on their commitment and dedication. …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 18, 2009

What Obama Should Have Said in China

Conservatives should beware letting the (understandable) partisan impulse to accept all criticisms of the Obama administration no matter the source - and also the (less understandable) ideological conviction that a high dollar is always good - to mislead them into ignoring how much of the world's …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 18, 2009

Still New York's Favorite Republican

As a Republican, Rudy Giuliani would face an uphill battle for statewide office in New York, but according to the latest polls he is still the state's most popular GOP politician. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani trails current New York Attorney General and potential rival Andrew Cuomo by …

Written by Chris Brown on Wednesday November 18, 2009

On Oprah's Couch

During her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Palin tried to come across as a “perky, folksy” working mom and blamed McCain campaign staffers for her shortcomings as a candidate. During her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Palin tried to come across as a “perky, folksy” working mom. She blamed …

Written by Crystal Wright on Tuesday November 17, 2009

More Than Politics

A 10-year-old Arkansas boy is refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance until he - or rather his parents - believe the phrase "liberty and justice for all" applies equally to gay and lesbian citizens. What are liberals teaching their children about homosexuality? If they were enlightened and …

Written by Alex Knepper on Tuesday November 17, 2009

Sarah Hearts Learning

In her new autobiography Sarah Palin's attempts to establish her intellectual and educational credentials end up looking forced and do little to help her reputation. What’s the motivating factor behind Sarah Palin’s new autobiography Going Rogue: An American Life ? Did she write it to make …

Written by Stephen Richer on Tuesday November 17, 2009

Grovel Grovel

University of Connecticut College Republicans produce this damning video satirizing President Obama's bow to the Japanese emperor - funny and maddening all at once. University of Connecticut College Republicans produce this damning video satirizing President Obama's bow to the Japanese emperor …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday November 17, 2009

Try KSM, Not Bush

The trials of Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the other 9/11 plotters in civilian court will degenerate into a show trial of the Bush Administration's methods in the War on Terror. So now Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM) and five self-confessed 9/11 co-conspirators are to be tried not as war criminals in a …

Written by Brad Schaeffer on Tuesday November 17, 2009

Defending Sarah

Matthew Continetti's new book, The Persecution of Sarah Palin is lite-fare as much as it is red-meat, and should be taken with a barrel of salt. From the beginning, the Weekly Standard has been on Sarah Palin’s side. As the magazine’s associate editor Matthew Continetti reminds us throughout …

Written by Alex Knepper on Tuesday November 17, 2009

Pakistan Eyewitness

Pakistan may be the single most explosive foreign policy issue of the modern world. Our friend Kapil Komireddi recently paid an extended visit to Pakistan, and he has produced a brilliant and terrifying series of essays on what he witnessed. Pakistan may be the single most explosive foreign policy …

Written by David Frum on Monday November 16, 2009

GOP Must Rally Behind Kirk

A moderate Republican candidate like Rep. Mark Kirk seems ideally placed to win Barack Obama's old Senate seat in Illinois. A primary challenge that would force Kirk to run to the right though would jeopardize the GOP's chances for winning this seat in the general election. With the February 2 nd …

Written by Jeb Golinkin on Monday November 16, 2009