Overview for News

Pirates Makes Landfall on German Political Scene

The big surprise in Berlin’s recent parliamentary elections were the results for the so-called “Pirate” party. They reeled in an impressive 8.9% at the polls on Sunday. This has stunned Berlin’s political elite and pundits. Established parties in Berlin such as the Die Linke (The Left) seem …

Written by Robin Tim Weis on Tuesday September 20, 2011

Is Daniels' Jobs Warning A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

I’ve been reading through Gov. Mitch Daniels' new book to see if he has anything to say about the current jobs crisis that America is in. The early results are a little disappointing. The first third of the book is focused on long term debt, the middle is focused on his time as governor, and the …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Tuesday September 20, 2011

Repeat After Me: 2012 is an Uphill Battle for Republicans

The economy is in the dumps, President Obama's latest plans for taxes seem dead on arrival and his approval ratings are near the low point of his presidency. As a result, it's becoming conventional wisdom--at least among over-eager Republicans--that the President is a dead duck and sure to lose in …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday September 20, 2011

The Road to Treadmill Serfdom

It's a little hard to tell this story from Chicago without a lot of sarcasm, but I'll try my best. Like a lot of American cities, Chicago faces severe budget problems. One obvious place to look for savings: the health benefits of city employees. Health care for city workers costs Chicago $500 …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday September 20, 2011

Real Debates Don't Use Pre-Packaged Questions

I have no questions to ask for the GOP debates because I don't believe that questions (plural) should be asked at debates. Ever since the Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960, the USA has believed that debates are events where the rivals stand on stage next to each other and answer standard press-conf…

Written by Thomas J. Marier on Tuesday September 20, 2011

What FrumForum Would Ask at the GOP Debate

The next GOP debate is being held on Thursday, September 22nd, but it is never too early to draft the best questions to ask. Frum Forum is asking its regular contributors what questions should be asked of the candidates. We will be posting them as they come in. If you have an idea for a …

Written by FrumForum Editors on Tuesday September 20, 2011

Perry is Toxic to Jewish Voters

President Obama, the Republican Jewish Coalition, and Ed Koch are all doing their best to push Jewish voters away from the Democratic Party. These efforts are having effect. In NY-9, Jewish voters turned from the Jewish Democratic candidate to hand the victory to his Catholic Republican rival Bob …

Written by Stephen Richer on Monday September 19, 2011

Attack the Plan, Not the Man

In my column for CNN, I explain why the GOP needs to focus on attacking Obama's economic plan, or risk alienating many voters: Republican partisans loathe Barack Obama even more viscerally than core Democrats despised George W. Bush. Yet as with Democrats in 2004, it's hard for Republicans to …

Written by David Frum on Monday September 19, 2011

"Millions for Defense"

Eli Lake's first piece in em> Newsweek

Written by David Frum on Monday September 19, 2011

States Can't Go Bankrupt

The Wall Street Journal carried an op-ed last week arguing that many key provisions of President Obama’s jobs bill are intended as a bailout for “blue states” (defined as Democratic states with heavy union presences) and that other aspects of the same bill might make things worse for the same …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Monday September 19, 2011

A Budget Plan for the Political Center

The President has raised the curtain on his deficit reduction plan. Now the issue between the two parties is squarely joined. On one side, the GOP, pledged to the Ryan plan, the most radical redefinition of government from the right since 1964. On the other side, the President, offering the …

Written by David Frum on Monday September 19, 2011

Charles Percy, 1919-2011

Charles Percy-former Republican Senator from Illinois died on September 17th at the ripe old age of 91. I met him in his last year in the Senate when I was in Washington on an internship/study program run by Hamilton college. Jonathan S. Tobin lambasts him and his views on Israel here . This is …

Written by John Vecchione on Monday September 19, 2011

A Tribute to Laureen Harper

My sister, Senator Linda Frum, had the privilege of introducing Laureen Harper at the Simon Wiesenthal Foundation's "Women of Valor" event in Toronto this week. Linda's words: It is now time – and my great privilege, to present this year’s Simon Wiesenthal Award of Valour to Laureen …

Written by David Frum on Sunday September 18, 2011

The Green Jobs Money Pit

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Written by David Frum on Saturday September 17, 2011

The Culture War Gets Visceral in `Red State'

In 1970, Roger Ebert called his and Russ Meyer's quintessential sexploitation comedy Beyond the Valley of the Dolls a "horror comedy satire". Add the adjectives "political" and "religious", and the same thing can be said of Kevin Smith's latest black comedy, Red State, where the smoke of the …

Written by Telly Davidson on Friday September 16, 2011

The Short, Nasty Life of Hockey Enforcers

They go by many names, some more flattering than others: goons, enforcers, policemen. Whatever you call these National Hockey League brawlers, they’ve been in the news lately for an unsettling reason. Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, and Wade Belak all passed away in recent months. Rypien and …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday September 16, 2011

The Fat Diaries: The Cupcake Ban Hits the School Front

My kid’s back-to-school night was this week. I was in a bright room of forty adults sitting on little weenie chairs, looking like the little lost five-year olds we sent into the unknown two weeks ago. The teacher stood at the front of the class and talked to us. We went over the new-new-new …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday September 16, 2011

Pew Shows the AFQT Matters

One of the notable findings from Pew’s new survey on economic mobility was that there is one test which does a very good of job of predicting economic mobility. That test is the military’s AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Test). The AFQT is the exam the military uses to judge the mental …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday September 16, 2011

The Ugly Truth About the American Dream

The promise of upward economic mobility is central to the American Dream. Marco Rubio invoked it at CPAC in 2010 with stirring language: [America is] the only place in the world where it doesn't matter who your parents were or where you came from. You can be anything you are willing to work …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday September 16, 2011

You're Always Too Fat for the Fashion Industry

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Written by FrumForum Editors on Friday September 16, 2011