Entries

Will the Left Kill Obamacare?

The American left's hatred of health insurance companies seems to be trumping its desire for healthcare reform. Sure looks that way. First Howard Dean objects, next the AFL-CIO . Now Mickey Kaus directs us to this Wall Street Journal poll showing that 45% think it "unacceptable" to drop …

Written by David Frum on Thursday December 17, 2009

Economists Agree with GOP Leaders: Spending Must Slow

When House Republicans presented President Obama a plan for creating jobs without cost to the taxpayer, Obama challenged them to produce economists who would back up their case. Frum Forum asked four economists for their views. Last Wednesday, a delegation of House Republicans presented …

Written by Tim Mak on Thursday December 17, 2009

A Do Nothing Immigration Policy

The best thing to do about the existing population of illegals in the U.S. is nothing. Let enforcement and recession shrink the population spontaneously - and then leave the rest to time. My new column for The Week argues that the best thing to do about the existing population of illegals in …

Written by David Frum on Thursday December 17, 2009

Killing the GOP One Race at a Time

On Tuesday, Redstate.com's Erik Erickson penned a piece calling on “real conservatives” to reconsider their support for Mark Kirk in the Illinois GOP Senate primary. Targeting Kirk though will only further divide the party and weaken its eventual nominee. On Tuesday, Redstate.com's Erik Erickson …

Written by Jeb Golinkin on Thursday December 17, 2009

The Case for Inaction on Immigration

Democrats are preparing yet another comprehensive immigration reform. Just say No. On Tuesday, 80 House members unveiled a new immigration amnesty proposal. The bill, written by Illinois congressman Luis Gutierrez, would put illegals on the road to citizenship. The Gutierrez bill is too …

Written by David Frum on Thursday December 17, 2009

Frum vs. Klum

Jonah Goldberg a few days ago expressed his disapproval of the frequent pairing of David Frum and Bob Shrum in newsmagazines and cable TV. Jonah Goldberg a few days ago expressed his disapproval of the frequent pairing of David Frum and Bob Shrum in newsmagazines and cable TV. Conor …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Rudy's Race to Lose

A new Siena Poll released yesterday shows that a Senate seat could still be be Rudy Giuliani's if he decides to run against sitting Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) next year. A new Siena Poll released yesterday shows that a Senate seat could still be be Rudy Giuliani's if he decides to run …

Written by Tim Mak on Wednesday December 16, 2009

The Obvious Choice

Of course Ben Bernanke is Time magazine’s Man of the Year. The financial crisis threatened the Federal Reserve, the U.S. economy, and the economies of every country on the planet. And Bernanke led a Fed response of almost unimaginable scale and scope. Of course Ben Bernanke is Time magazine’…

Written by Douglas Holtz-Eakin on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Expect Higher Deficits with Obamacare

A new study by the Peterson Foundation sends an ominous message: Under both House and Senate plans, federal healthcare costs will skyrocket. In a conference call Monday December 14th with bloggers, the Peterson Foundation unveiled a new study by the Lewin group on the costs of the House & …

Written by Chris Brown on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Obama's Mistakes, Carter's Excuses

President Obama isn't looking like Jimmy Carter yet, but many of the excuses used to explain away his mistakes have a familiar ring. Matt Yglesias had a blogpost the other day arguing that it's not Obama's fault that his healthcare agenda has stalled. The smarter elements in Washington DC …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday December 16, 2009

How Not to Conduct an Inquiry

An inquiry into allegations that prisoners captured by Canadian troops and handed over to Afghan custody were abused has generals ducking for cover and has left the government’s reputation in shreds. Is the inquiry into possible abuse and torture of prisoners turned over by Canadian soldiers to …

Written by Peter Worthington on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Waking Up to the Obama Doctrine

It seems like only last week -- after his speeches at West Point and Oslo -- that Barack Obama was a neoconservative hero. But now some neocons are beginning to see Obama and his foreign policy as they really are. It seems like only last week that Barack Obama was a neoconservative hero! Oh …

Written by John Guardiano on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Poizner Doubles Down

Yesterday, Steve Poizner's campaign announced that Poizner would be contributing $15 million to his campaign for governor, a development Frum Forum first predicted over a month ago. New developments in the Whitman-Poizner campaign for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination in California show …

Written by Tim Mak on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Tea Party Could've Used Some Crashers

A crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 Tea Partiers gathered on Capitol Hill for an afternoon rally to protest the Democrats’ health care legislation, a figure far short of the organizers’ expected turnout of 15,000. A crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 Tea Partiers gathered on Capitol Hill for an afternoon rally to …

Written by Tim Mak on Tuesday December 15, 2009

Sacrificing Human Rights for Naught

Obama’s silence on human rights and his continuing outreach to authoritarian regimes has yielded only discouraging results. One of the ugliest aspects of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy has been its indifference to human rights abuses worldwide. Despite the administration’s claim that …

Written by Eric Trager on Tuesday December 15, 2009

Enforcement Not Amnesty

Granting amnesty to illegal immigrants will only make things harder for the already large number of native-born Americans living in poverty. The Washington Post December 7 article “Struggles of the Second Generation” describes how second generation Hispanics are doing no better than their …

Written by Crystal Wright on Tuesday December 15, 2009

Tea Partiers "Storm" Congress

Some 80 Tea Party activists gathered on Capitol Hill this morning to protest the "unconstitutionality" of the healthcare reform bill currently before the Senate. The Tea Partiers threatened to "storm" Senate offices and stage a "die-in". Some 80 Tea Party activists gathered on Capitol Hill this …

Written by Tim Mak on Tuesday December 15, 2009

Joe Lieberman Saves the Country

The Democrats look set to abandon the proposed Medicare buy-in. While the rest of the Senate health bill still has problems, its not as bad as what the nation was threatened with two days ago, and for that we can thank Joe Lieberman. The Medicare buy-in would have been a disaster for reasons well …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday December 15, 2009

No Back to the Future on Supply-Side Economics

Bruce Bartlett's important new book, The New American Economy , successfully argues that while supplyside economics was the right response to the stagflation of the 1970s, new problems in the 2010s call for new solutions. Bruce Bartlett was one of the staff authors of the Kemp-Roth tax cut. Now …

Written by David Frum on Monday December 14, 2009

Pakistan's Descent into Genocide

No individual bears greater responsibility for the genocide in Pakistan in 1971 than Zulfi Bhutto, who refused all political compromises and maneuvered the government and army into civil war. This is the eighth installment in Kapil Komireddi’s series, Pakistan: Anatomy of a Failed State. …

Written by Kapil Komireddi on Monday December 14, 2009