Charles Percy, 1919-2011

Charles Percy-former Republican Senator from Illinois died on September 17th at the ripe old age of 91. I met him in his last year in the Senate when I was in Washington on an internship/study program run by Hamilton college. Jonathan S. Tobin lambasts him and his views on Israel here . This is …

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Written by John Vecchione on Monday September 19, 2011

Giving Moderation a Bad Name

The so-called moderate Baucus plan announced yesterday offers no answers to the problem of rising health costs. It imposes an individual mandate, extends federal subsidies, and imposes a tax on employers to generate some expansion of coverage. But as to cost control, it proposes virtually nothing. …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday September 17, 2009

Goodbye to the Reagan Democrats

A new Gallup poll on the ideological and partisan makeup of the American electorate shows that white conservative Republicans make up 23% of the population and white conservative Democrats another 6%. If that is correct, things do not look promising for advocates of an all-conservative electoral …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday September 2, 2009

Are the Birthers the Next Black Panthers?

Bruce Bartlett wonders if conservative elites today see the teabaggers, birthers and others as cannon fodder to promote larger conservative goals the same way liberal elites originally viewed extreme left groups in the 1960s. Bartlett's comparison is thought-provoking, but I think it fails for a …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday September 2, 2009

Don't Despair Yet, Mr. Bartlett!

In a recent post , former Reagan aide Bruce Bartlett correctly noted that the Republican party seems dominated by extremists. But, Mr. Bartlett also ignores the many grown-ups still in the GOP who are trying to steer the party towards the center. In a recent post , former Reagan aide Bruce …

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Written by Dennis Sanders on Monday August 31, 2009

Being the Angry Party Will Keep GOP Out of Power

The way many conservatives see it, the way to win is not by emulating the no-drama strategy of the Obama campaign, but rather the hard-nosed, foul-mouthed Chicago tactics of Rahm Emanuel circa 2005 and 2006 . But this strategy will not work for the GOP. Bruce Bartlett, as always, is a fascinatin…

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Written by Thomas J. Marier on Monday August 31, 2009