Overview for News

Obamacare: It's Not Over Until He Signs It

The left claims that the healthcare debate is over and Obamacare is inevitable. There's no legislative victory, however, until there’s signed legislation. The GOP must use whatever time is left to offer criticisms and alternatives. Did the Democrats become Calvinists when we weren’t looking? …

Written by David Gratzer on Tuesday October 27, 2009

Is Swine Flu A Secret Plot?

An email currently making the rounds suggests that President Obama's declaration of a national emergency over swine flu infections could give federal authorities dangerous and far-sweeping powers over the public. A friend forwarded me this piece of emailed alarmism: U.S. President Barack …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday October 27, 2009

New York City Opposes State on Natural Gas Drilling

The Marcellus Shale geological formation in the eastern U.S. may contain up to 516 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Gov. Paterson has pushed to begin drilling, but environmentalists and the New York City Council are attempting to stall the move. There is an intense debate unfolding in New York …

Written by Richard Brownell on Monday October 26, 2009

Living Through the Fall of Rome

My latest bookshelf entry discusses a superbly scholarly study of Europe in the Dark Ages, Chris Wickham's The Inheritance of Rome . You can read it by clicking here . My latest bookshelf entry discusses a superbly scholarly study of Europe in the Dark Ages, Chris Wickham's The Inheritance of …

Written by David Frum on Monday October 26, 2009

Same Dem Mistakes Call for New GOP Answers

Conservatives eagerly draw parallels between the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and that of Barack Obama. But conservatives should not expect the same playbook that brought them a conservative majority after Carter to work for them today. Political parties, like generals, have a tendency to fight a …

Written by Napoleon Linardatos on Monday October 26, 2009

Town Hallers: Not Crazy to Be Angry

I begin a new weekly column on CNN.com today. The first deals with the interconnection of the Medicare and immigration issues, and you can read it here . I begin a new weekly column on CNN.com today. The first deals with the interconnection of the Medicare and immigration issues, and you can …

Written by David Frum on Monday October 26, 2009

Obama Tries to Scale Back Government Flood Insurance

The Obama administration has helped reject plans to expand the National Flood Insurance Program which helps insure flood-prone homeowners. The program already has a $19 billion debt and no practical way to pay it back. The National Flood Insurance Program may well have earned the dubious honor of …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Monday October 26, 2009

Democrats' Health Budgeting: Garbage in, Garbage Out

President Obama pledged that any health reform bill would not exceed $900 billion in costs (over the next ten years). Despite the claims of the Democrats, the Baucus reform plan was kept under this cost limit only by the most transparent and dishonest budget trickery. The Congressional Budget …

Written by Douglas Holtz-Eakin on Monday October 26, 2009

New Poverty Count Means More Expensive Reform

The Census Bureau, using a new calculation, increased the number of Americans living in poverty by 7 million. This new figure will also raise the estimated cost of healthcare reform. The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 15.8 percent of Americans lived in poverty last year, using an …

Written by E. D. Kain on Sunday October 25, 2009

The Real Winner in NY-23: A Public Option

The conservative infighting between GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava and Conservative Party challenger Doug Hoffman in New York's 23rd congressional district is sending the message that there is not much to fear from the GOP. The recent resurgence of the public option may be a sign of the Dems …

Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Sunday October 25, 2009

When Politics and Baseball Collide

At age six, my son Nathaniel discovered baseball and the New York Yankees came into our lives. In our household, there was one special complicating factor: Since the Eisenhower administration, the Yankees have never won a World Series with a Republican in the White House. If you had told me 12 …

Written by David Frum on Saturday October 24, 2009

Bolton: Israel Must Bomb Iran

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, in an address at the American Enterprise Institute today, argued that "the use of force is required" to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and predicted that Israel would not "hesitate to act preemptively." Former U.S. Ambassador to the …

Written by Tim Mak on Friday October 23, 2009

Privatize Outer Space

NASA’s projected budget will not allow for any meaningful manned exploration beyond Earth. Now is the time to allow the private sector a role in space exploration and development. The Review of Human Spaceflight Plans Committee (also known as the Augustine Committee, after its chairman, …

Written by Kenneth Silber on Friday October 23, 2009

Hate Crimes

The Senate has just enacted the Matthew Sheppard Act, adding homosexuals to the list of groups covered by federal hate crimes laws. Like most conservatives, I flinch from hate crimes laws in general. But if we do have them - and we do - it's hard to see the justification for omitting homosexuals …

Written by David Frum on Friday October 23, 2009

Handling Limbaugh and Beck the French Way

To French conservatives, the problems Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck pose to the image of the Republican party are all too familiar. In the 1980s, the French Socialists tried to link conservatives with the politics of the far-right National Front party. From Paris, it is difficult to make an …

Written by Jean Granville on Thursday October 22, 2009

No Questions for Scozzafava

A funny ad from the Doug Hoffman campaign. A funny ad from the Doug Hoffman campaign.

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 22, 2009

Jeb Bush to GOP: Stop Being the "Party of No"

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush pushed for the Republican Party to transform itself into a party of “21st century reformers” in a speech to students last night at George Washington University. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush pushed for the Republican Party to transform itself into a party of …

Written by Sam Theodosopoulos on Thursday October 22, 2009

How Did the GOP End Up With Scozzafava?

Republican Dede Scozzafava's campaign in New York's 23rd congressional district is faltering. A recent photo-op was overtaken by supporters of an opponent and polls show her in third place. How did the GOP pick someone who is in favor of card check and had been approached by the Democrats to be …

Written by Tim Mak on Thursday October 22, 2009

Forgetting Communism's Crimes

While strolling down the streets of Manhattan the other day I saw a shirt which declared: “Communism Killed 100 Million People And All I Got Was This Stupid T-Shirt.” After immediately buying it, I reflected on what I had learned from those who had actually lived under the red jackboot. While …

Written by Brad Schaeffer on Thursday October 22, 2009

Warren Buffett on Gold

A reader forwards the Sage's assessment of the shiny metal: "It gets dug out of the ground in S. Africa or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head." A …

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 22, 2009