The Coming Rand Paul Campaign
Andrew Sullivan predicts a future Rand Paul run. Fascinating that a movement of self-proclaimed individualists would manifest itself as a dynastic cult of personality.
Entries
Ron Paul: Codger, Crank or Bunco Artist?
In my column for CNN, I discuss what Ron Paul tried to achieve with his infamous newsletters: Texas congressman Ron Paul now leads among Iowa Republicans and has tied Newt Gingrich for second in New Hampshire. Republican conservatives have cycled through a series of "Not Mitts." Is it now …
The Real Ron Paul
Ron Paul’s former senior aid, Eric Dondero, has gone to RightWingNews.com and written a damning indictment of his former boss. The essay shows that Ron Paul is beholden to terrible conspiracy theories and has many questionable personal beliefs. While he is supposedly not homophobic, he …
Res Judicata: Where Are the Civil Libertarians?
During the 2008 campaign one of Barack Obama‘s major themes was attacking the Bush anti-terror policies: warrantless snooping by the N.S.A., renditions, targeted assassinations, Guantanamo Bay detentions, enhanced interrogation techniques, military tribunals, as unconstitutional. He promised to …
The GOP's Followership Problem
Here's a question to worry about in 2012: Does the inability of Speaker Boehner to lead his House caucus foreshadow the inability of a President Romney to lead a dual-chambered Republican Congress? One of the dominant factors motivating the decisions of rank-and-file right-wing House …
It's Still Romney's Turn
Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich's mutual failure to qualify for the Virginia ballot raises lots of questions about their long term viability, funding, and organization. But it isn't that surprising at all for one simple reason: neither has run for President before while the two candidates who …
Jesus vs. Santa
In my column for the National Post , I ask who is truly waging the War on Christmas: We hear a lot about the war on Christmas. But the true seasonal struggle is the war within Christmas, a single holiday shared by two deeply antagonistic religions. Religion 1 is the religion of Jesus …
Iraq's Legacy is Still Being Written
The controversy over Mitt Romney’s latest comments on Iraq makes one thing clear: the war may be over, but its shadow haunts our political discourse. To declare oneself an unrepentant supporter of the intervention is to risk opprobrium: in a blogpost assessing the moral feasibility of voting for …
Rick Perry's Little Trick
Mike Huckabee has not endorsed Rick Perry for president. On the contrary, there's a long, rich record of Huckabee jabs at Perry. Yet take a look at the new Rick Perry ad, "President of Honor," aimed at the Iowa caucus-voters. The ad montages endorsements and testimonials from winners of the …
Real Reaganites Don't Demonize Their Opponents
Ronald Reagan's speech at the 1980 Republican National Convention provides a welcome jolt amidst the atmosphere of the current Republican nominating contest. Instead of hypocritical invective and mindless tribalism, Reagan offers a fundamentally optimistic and cooperative narrative of America. …
Welcome to the DC Party Scene
The more I talk to my friends across the country, the more I realize that I’m in a very unique position in terms of my unemployment—namely, that being jobless in DC is very different than it is elsewhere in the country. “So wait,” my hometown friend Elizabeth coughed over a plate of hash …
Ron Paul Hates Government, Loves Pork
For many in the militant libertarian wing within the GOP (and outside of it), Ron Paul has emerged as Moses come to lead the American people out of the land of big spending liberal statists and hair-trigger Neocon Pharaohs. They see Paul as an outsider on the inside, despite having first entered …
Ron Paul's Useful Idiots
We’ve been spending a lot of time on this website critiquing conservatives and libertarians for supporting Ron Paul. However, the great thing about Ron Paul is that his appeal also extends to the most gullible members of the liberal left. Today’s piece of useful idiocy in support of Ron Paul …
Still No Justice for Lockerbie
In 1988, Libyan terrorists, sponsored by the intelligence services of the now-deceased Muammar Qaddafi, made a bomb using a plastic explosive planted within a Toshiba cassette player with the cruelly-ironic name “Bombeat.” Twenty-three years ago today, Libyan operative Abdelbaset al Megrahi …
Talking With the Left About Climate Change
Two Frum Forum posts I wrote recently about climate politics — " How the GOP Should Explain Climate Change " and " Newt, Your Ad With Pelosi Wasn't Dumb " — netted me an appearance on "The Green Front," a program of the Progressive Radio Network. This was thanks to fellow F F contributor D.R. …
Brinkmanship Works
It seems that everyone is deploring the “tactics” of the House Republicans in refusing to pass a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut and by doing so, drawing out the standoff until the last minute. Is this the way resolve a dispute? Yes, deadlines force the combatants to make concessions…
Boehner is Trapped by His Caucus
An old joke heard often in the Southwest ends this way: “It isn’t always your enemies that get you into it; it isn’t always your friends who get you out of it; but, when you are in it up to your neck, keep your damned mouth shut.” Unfortunately, Speaker John Boehner’s predicament confirms …
How Dare The WSJ Blame The House GOP?
The Wall Street Journal this morning excoriates House Republicans for mishandling the payroll tax holiday: The GOP leaders have somehow managed the remarkable feat of being blamed for opposing a one-year extension of a tax holiday that they are surely going to pass. This is no easy double …How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Hitchens
A great thinker is gone; Christopher Hitchens--quite possible the greatest thinker of our modern era--left us this past week. It saddens me that I only now learn how great a thinker he was, for I met Christopher Hitchens--twice, in fact--but I did not really know him or his writings at the time, …
Who is Killing Iran's Currency?
Something - or somebody - is destroying Iran's currency . Steady decline over the past two months has turned into a "panic" over the past 72 hours. [T]he rial fell to unprecedented lows against the dollar Tuesday, amounting to a 15 percent loss in value over the past three days, the Fars News …