Overview for News

Do You Believe in Magic?

My new column in the Week (misattributed a few minutes ago to my estimable Week editor, Ben Frumin, no relation) praises the Boehner plan for its artful use of smoke and mirrors. Tea Party Republicans confront a party establishment unanimously representing the Boehner plan as a huge …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday July 27, 2011

Boehner is in Danger of Losing Caucus Control

Reports from the Hill indicate that House Speaker John Boehner and his staff are "re-writing" the Speaker's plan to pass an extension of the looming debt ceiling.  That announcement, coupled with the serious objections of many in the House GOP caucus when the plan was first announced, reveals …

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Written by Steve Bell on Wednesday July 27, 2011

The People Speak

A friend vacationing in North Carolina sends this. He and his family had chartered a fishing boat. He got into conversation with the captain about the confrontation in Washington. My friend says: "You have to imagine an old weathered guy who has lived in coastal Carolina all of his life.  Voted …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday July 27, 2011

Not Got the Votes?

Talking Points Memo summarizes the major internal opponents John Boehner faces as he tries and fails to whip the votes for his plan to raise the debt ceiling. It's the Chamber of Commerce v. Freedom Works. Also Sen. Lindsey Graham v. Rep. Allen West - although in the Graham-West case, each is …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday July 27, 2011

How's That Reset Working?

Eli Lake reports in the Washington Times that US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian military intelligence was responsible for a bomb blast at the US Embassy in Georgia last September. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in a classified report late last year that  Russia ’s …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday July 27, 2011

Blame for Debt Talks is Divided

There is little evidence to suggest that either President Obama or House Speaker John Boehner gained much political leverage as a result of Friday night’s dueling press conferences or Monday night’s back-to-back speeches. If anecdotal evidence and public opinion polls are to be believed, the only …

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Written by Les Francis on Wednesday July 27, 2011

Ratings Agencies Want to See Bush Tax Cuts Lapse

The suggestion that the US needs to cut $4 trillion in projected debt over the next ten years in order to avoid a downgrade in its debt rating, posed here in an S&P report , has gained significant traction among many on the right. Erick Erickson, when he's not denying "absolution" to the …

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Written by Fred Bauer on Tuesday July 26, 2011

The Obamas Should Fire the Press Aide...

who released this photo: I'm sure the Obamas are not the first First Family to go barefoot in the White House. Or to scatter plastic cups on the furniture and rugs. Or to eat junk food from the plastic platters. On the White House ottomans. But they're the first to put the evidence on …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday July 26, 2011

Oslo Killer Posted On My Site

How did this worldview of war, death and destruction arise in my peaceful, beloved country of Norway? What is the relationship between a demonizing political debate and violence? Are regulations, laws or a stricter editorial policies part of the solution? After the excruciating, but …

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Written by Nils August Andresen on Tuesday July 26, 2011

Text Messages From a Massacre

The BBC reports this haunting exchange between a mother and her 16-year-old daughter on the island of the Norway shooting massacre: Julie: Mummy, tell the police that they must be quick. People are dying here! Mum: I'm working on it, Julie. The police are on their way. Dare you …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday July 26, 2011

You Read it First at FrumForum

Bloomberg News reports today that the new home market has apparently stalled out. But you read it first at FrumForum.com From Bloomberg News : Purchases of new U.S. homes probably stagnated in June, indicating housing is still languishing two years into the economic recovery, …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday July 26, 2011

Reid's $40 Billion: Yeah, Right

On balance, Harry Reid's plan for raising the debt ceiling and cutting spending looks pretty good to me. Congress will eventually need to do more but the plan he's devised is a fair enough middle ground: real spending cuts with no broad-based tax increases. One feature of the plan, an effort to, as …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday July 26, 2011

How to Protect Your Finances in a Default

Six months ago I thought a federal default unthinkable. Default now seems all too sadly possible. How can individuals protect themselves from the economic consequences of a worst-case scenario? Some thoughts: In a default, cash will be worth less (because the dollar will plunge), and debt …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday July 26, 2011

Obama: "Make Your Voices Heard"

President Obama last night appealed to supporters to make their voices heard, to pressure Congress to raise the debt ceiling. The demand he emphasized most: that any deal extend the administration enough credit to get past the next election. Odd priority, no? You might have expected that this …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday July 26, 2011

Is Breivick an Anarchist?

Some in the media have leapt to identifying Anders Breivick's ideology as "libertarian," and as a Norwegian branch of the Tea Party. In truth, Breivick should be described as an anarchist. Anarchism is not the same thing as libertarianism. Libertarianism aims to maximize every individual's …

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Written by Waller Newell on Monday July 25, 2011

Bloggers React to Boehner's Debt Ceiling Plan

As more details began emerging today about House Speaker John Boehner’s new debt-ceiling proposal, FrumForum decided to compile some initial reactions to the plan from around the Web. The Washington Examiner ’s Philip Klein is skeptical that Boehner can deliver on his promised spending cuts: …

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Written by Ajay Ravichandran on Monday July 25, 2011

Clear it with Rush

I heard Rush Limbaugh talk in his first hour today about the details of the Boehner plan. I was in the car returning from the gym, and I just assumed I'd missed the release of the plan earlier. But no. Limbaugh indeed got the scoop . It's worth noting that for all the conservative obsession …

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Written by David Frum on Monday July 25, 2011

Norwegian Bomber Strived to be a White Supremacist Martyr

In the  National Post , Jon Kay claims that Anders Behring Breivick, the 32-year-old Norwegian bomber, copied much of his manifesto from the provocative 1978 novel, The Turner Diaries , which was written by a white supremacist promoting the extermination of Jews and non-whites. Breivik's …

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Written by Nicole Glass on Monday July 25, 2011