Entries
All Good Things...
- Frum Forum Goes Live Frum Forum launched itself almost exactly three years ago, on Inauguration Day 2009. Over the subsequent interval, our hundreds of contributors have reached more than 5 million individual readers. I like to think that together we have helped to move the national …
It's Time to Debate Birthright Citizenship
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has introduced a bill to repeal “birthright citizenship.” It’s probably the most significant immigration reform bill introduced in Congress since 1965 when nation quotas on immigration were repealed. That revision in the Immigration and Nationality Act (“ INA ”) significantly …
Heed McCain's Warning on Immigration
Someone should listen to John McCain. Asked by em> First Read
The Cordray Crisis
Constitutional abuse begets constitutional abuse. President Obama has engaged in a dubious maneuver to force a recess appointment through a Senate that denies it has recessed. (Brad Plumer has a good run-down of the legal issues, here .) The president's action has ignited a fireworks show …
MSNBC Joins the Anti-Romney Bandwagon
I have always been weary of the whine regarding the purported "liberal media"; having won 60% of presidential elections over the last 40 years, near-complete dominance of the radio airwaves, and a cable news behemoth with ratings greater than the aggregate of both its nearest competitors, conservat…
Santorum's Flawed Plan for Working America
In my column for The Week I discuss the problems with Rick Santorum economic plan: Santorum's concern for the American middle class has been one of the most attractive features of his candidacy for the Republican nomination. Alone among the Republican candidates, he took note of the …
Seriously, Why Won't Perry Drop Out?
So it looks like the indications are that Rick Perry, former front-runner, last place finisher in the 2011 Republican Debate Tournament, is not hanging up his brush jacket yet. Despite his very melancholy nigh-concession last night, the Texas governor seems to be headed to South Carolina instead …
Santorum Masters Retail Politics
David Frum argues that a "A Romney-Santorum contest is not much of a contest at all." He's probably right about this. Romney beats Santorum hands down in resources, organization, discipline, and support from GOP elites. But there's one wild-card that could make things interesting: Santorum may …
Ron Paul's Bad Memory
Odd experience on CNN this morning. I was on a panel that had a chance to interview Ron Paul. I asked this question : "I attended a precinct caucus last night where the person who spoke on your behalf praised you as a strong social conservative: pro-life, anti-gay marriage. He also described …
The Road Ahead
In the wake of the Iowa caucuses, what matters now is not the exact order of Romney, Santorum, and Paul; the numbers are very close. What does matter is the range between the candidates. Iowa gives us basically a tie between Romney and Santorum, with both at around 25%. Ron Paul comes out a strong …
Confirmed: The Ames Straw Poll is Useless
We have just received yet another confirmation of the virtual uselessness of the Ames Straw Poll . The proud winner of the straw poll, Michelle Bachmann came in sixth in the Iowa caucuses (and in fact finished dead last among all serious contestants--Jon Huntsman just ignored Iowa). Furthermore,…
The Expectations Game
Byron York has a tough read on the meaning of the Iowa result for Romney. In the end, Romney escaped humiliation, and he did it at far less cost than in 2007-2008, when he gave Iowa everything he had in his first run for the GOP nomination. "If you look back four years ago, we had 52 paid …
The Secret of Ron Paul's Success
Based on the tiny unrepresentative sample at the precinct caucus I attended: his core group are true believers, who have absorbed his message on Austrian economics and foreign policy non-interventionism. But when they communicate to the broader Iowa Republican rank-and-file, they repackage …You Read it First at FrumForum
Well, however tonight turns out it appears Rick Santorum is being given his chance . I particularly liked the analogy that makes the boyish Santorum Luke Skywalker, but whether the X-Wing takes down the well-coiffed Death Star Santorum's doggedness and convictions appear to be paying off . And …
Wargaming The Caucuses
Result 1: Romney wins, Santorum second, Paul third, Gingrich fourth, Perry fifth. This is the result indicated by last day's polling. If it eventuates, this will be a very short nominating contest. Romney will proceed to win in New Hampshire. Perry and Gingrich will try to make a last stand …
Drug Cartels Get More Sophisticated
The violence in Mexico related to drug trafficking has continued over the past year, even though it hasn't been in the headlines in the US in recent months. While in some cases there has been a lull in the violence, such as in Ciudad Mier, a small border town that was largely abandoned because of …
Ron Paul's Personal Responsibility
Andrew Sullivan complained yesterday that I had engaged in a "McCarthyite" attack on Ron Paul by writing the following : A politician isn’t answerable for the antics of every one of his supporters. But there’s surely a reason, isn’t there, that racists, anti-Semites, 9/11 Truthers, and …
Waiting Time in Iowa
I attended Romney's closing rally last night in Des Moines. Very professionally done, introduction by Senator John Thune. Three themes really stood out: * Romney opened with a statement about the danger from Iran. Without mention of Ron Paul, it astutely poked at the top vulnerability of the …
Who Supports Government Space Programs?
After quoting from a speech where a Republican presidential candidate praises the space program, Mark Palko writes : I [Palko] don't know what the reaction of the crowd was (the reporting wasn't that detailed) but I'd imagine it was friendly. You can usually get a warm response from a …