Overview for News

Fox's "Five" Should Take Five

While it has a lot of problems, you can commend Fox News for trying to have their replacement for Glenn Beck's show be witty and funny. After two-and-a-half years of dominating the early-evening leadoff on FoxNews, Glenn Beck bid a typically tearful farewell his audience in June, following a …

Written by Telly Davidson on Friday July 15, 2011

The Prowl: Lobbying For Sex

I have been seriously wondering how successful I would be in this city if I were less attractive. I realize I have written about this before, but once again this week I have been seriously wondering how successful I would be in this city if I were less attractive. On Monday, I had a dinner …

Written by Vivian Darkbloom on Friday July 15, 2011

Kasich Cuts Costs With Prison Reforms

Gov. Tom Kasich’s prison reforms are a good example of how to be pragmatic in governance. The world is currently gripped in a push towards austerity. From the debt-ceiling debate, to the Eurozone crisis, to state shutdowns, it seems almost every governing body is forcing itself to make cuts. …

Written by Harry Graver on Friday July 15, 2011

Newt Stays Sane on the Balanced Budget Amendment

Newt Gingrich's campaign may be struggling, but he is staking a surprisingly smart position on the Balanced Budget Amendment. As the debt ceiling talks drag on, many Republicans are suggesting a new condition for raising the amount that the federal government can borrow: the passage of a …

Written by Ajay Ravichandran on Friday July 15, 2011

Why is There Opposition to Better Lightbulbs?

The fact that congress is promoting lightbulbs that consume less electricity is a cause for cheer. You don't buy electricity for the sake of having electricity. You buy it for the services that electricity provides – hot showers, cold drinks, bright lights, and a home that shelters you from the …

Written by Jim DiPeso on Friday July 15, 2011

New Tool Makes the Cost of Tax Expenditures Clear

Information about how much revenue is lost through tax expenditures used to be hard to access, until recently. Many people believe that the deficit is large because of spending on expensive programs. This is why conservatives try to push for cuts in programs ranging from Medicare to the NPR, and …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday July 15, 2011

Debt Talks Crowd Out Libya News

Budget talks risk overshadowing this important news from Libya. Budget talks risk overshadowing this important Libyan news: The United States formally recognized the rebel leadership in Libya as the country’s legitimate government on Friday. The US is locking itself in - but where's …

Written by David Frum on Friday July 15, 2011

Steal This Defense of Marcus Bachmann

Since conservatives won't defend Marcus Bachmann's controversial clinic, here is some free advice for how to spin it. The controversy surrounding the clinic owned by Michele Bachmann’s husband, Marcus, is getting more personal, and conservatives don’t seem to be doing much about it. On his show on …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday July 15, 2011

Noonan Hopes Our System isn't Broken

Peggy Noonan makes an excellent point. If our parties can't solve the debt crisis, who needs them? Peggy Noonan on the debt crisis : Both parties in Washington have every reason to want to prove they possess the baseline political competence to meet the government's central and pending …

Written by David Frum on Friday July 15, 2011

Mitt Romney Dodges on the Debt Ceiling

Romney doesn't want to oppose the House Republicans, but he sure is not endorsing them. Mitt Romney gave an artful answer today to the debt-ceiling question “The answer for the country is for the president to agree to cut federal spending and cap federal spending and put into place a …

Written by David Frum on Thursday July 14, 2011

Will Debt Crisis Wedge GOP Away From its Business Base?

Is Obama intentionally trying to make the Republicans appear maximally reckless and irresponsible? Isn't it conceivable that Obama's real end-game in these budget talks is to destroy Republican presidential fundraising for 2012 by goading congressional Republicans in 2011 into appearing maximally …

Written by David Frum on Thursday July 14, 2011

You Read it First at FrumForum

Where should your primary source be for commentary on the War of 1812? FrumForum of course! Jonathan Rauch and Alex Massie are re-litigating the war of 1812 at Andrew Sullivan's site. As so often, it's worth remembering ... you read it first at FrumForum : When the U.S. went to war with …

Written by FrumForum Editors on Thursday July 14, 2011

GOP Stands by Brazilian Cotton Subsidies

As the Republicans in Congress continue to push President Obama to approve deep budget cuts as a condition for raising the debt ceiling, most of them refuse to repeal a program that seems like a clear case of wasteful spending. As the Republicans in Congress continue to push President Obama to …

Written by Ajay Ravichandran on Thursday July 14, 2011

Will Contractors Sue After Default Day?

If contractors don't get paid after the debt ceiling is not raised, will they sue the federal government? What happens on the day after Aug 2 if the debt ceiling is not raised? Frum Forum this week contacted a number of government vendors and contractors who unanimously stated: they had no …

Written by Fred Messner on Thursday July 14, 2011

Signs of Good News in the Recovery

The economy is currently very weak, but as I write in my column for The Week, there are some signs of good news. The economy is currently very weak, but as I write in my column for The Week , there are some signs of good news. It's been a summer of bad news: Bad job news, bad housing news, …

Written by David Frum on Thursday July 14, 2011

Downgrade of U.S. Debt Looms on the Horizon

Moody's may give U.S. debt a full-fledged downgrade as soon as next week. A well-placed source tells me that Moody's, the bond rating giant that just announced a "review" of the U.S. debt , may turn it into a full-fledged downgrade as soon as next week. True or not, the real risk of a downgrade …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Wednesday July 13, 2011

Deal Will Come, but May Disappoint

Confusion usually reigns in Washington, D.C., negotiations just before a solution emerges. Small signs can signal big things to come. Confusion usually reigns in Washington, D.C., negotiations just before a solution emerges. Thus, small signs can signal big things to come. As Federal Reserve …

Written by Steve Bell on Wednesday July 13, 2011

GOP Message of the Day: Retreat!

The McConnell plan offered Republicans an ingenious exit from the debt-ceiling confrontation, but conservatives in the media are reviling the plan. The McConnell plan offered Republicans an ingenious exit from the debt-ceiling confrontation: the debt ceiling would be raised in exchange for a …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday July 13, 2011

Republican Fundraising: It's Worse Than it Looks

The bottom line is that Republicans will need to raise more money to win in 2012. Many of those engaged in conservative happy talk about the huge fundraising gap between President Obama's haul ($86 million) and that of all Republican candidates combined (about $35 million) suggest that the …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Wednesday July 13, 2011

Social Security Checks Are Not Guaranteed

Conservatives blast Obama when he suggests that Social Security payments will not be secure in after hitting the debt ceiling, but the law will back him up. Back when conservatives were fighting the good fight for private accounts in Social Security, we often pointed to the Supreme Court ruling …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday July 12, 2011