FrumForum | Building a Conservatism that can win again

How the Dems Will Spin a Shutdown

My father, a dyed-in-wool leftist who is visiting Washington this weekend, has a pretty good take on what the Left will say if a shutdown takes place. My father, a dyed-in-wool leftist who, is coming to visit my wife, my son Andrew, and me this weekend included a PS on the email he just sent to me …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday April 7, 2011

Didn't the GOP Learn from the Last Shutdown?

From the experience of 1995-1996, you'd think there was one thing Republicans would know: don't shut down the government. As the GOP and President Obama go eyeball to eyeball over a government shutdown, I keep thinking of a story from one of Louisa May Alcott's novels, the story of the children …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 7, 2011

Why the Tea Party's Clout Fizzled in Washington

The tea party activists who helped score the GOP's 2010 midterm win are learning the hard way that electoral success doesn't always translate to policy success. A recent headline , "Tea Party Leverage Fading in Spending Talks," reminds me of the not-always-understood difficulty of transforming …

Written by Andrew Gelman on Thursday March 31, 2011

For GOP Nominee: 2012 Win Won't be Enough

Any Republican running for president must focus not just on winning in 2012, but doing so in a manner that leaves them positioned to govern in 2013. Any Republican contemplating running for president in 2012 has two formidable obstacles: November 2012 and what happens starting January 2013. For …

Written by Fred Bauer on Friday March 25, 2011

Why the GOP Will Thank Ted Olson

While some conservatives are celebrating the New York State Senate defeat of a gay marriage bill yesterday, Ted Olson has been working to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage. If he succeeds, Republicans will owe him a debt of gratitude. Yesterday, the New York State Senate crushed a …

Written by Jeb Golinkin on Thursday December 3, 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 …

Written by Dennis Sanders on Monday August 31, 2009

Can't I Dissent On Anything?

As an intern at a conservative organization here in Washington D.C., I was taken aback when a colleague suggested that I was "working in the wrong place" because I don't consider myself pro-life. Like thousands of other undergraduates, I flocked to Washington, D.C. this summer to intern and …

Written by Sam Theodosopoulos on Friday August 28, 2009

The Shifting Balance of Power

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has just announced a new ambassador to Washington: a member of Canada's left-most party, someone who can speak the language of Pelosi and Obama. Another example of how the implosion of the GOP has implications around the world. Canadian Prime Minister …

Written by David Frum on Friday August 28, 2009

Mugwump Nation

My latest bookshelf rides a favorite hobbyhorse: a defense of the Mugwumps of the 1880s. My latest bookshelf rides a favorite hobbyhorse: a defense of the Mugwumps of the 1880s.

Written by David Frum on Tuesday August 25, 2009

The Mugwumps: Public Moralists of the Gilded Age

To the extent that anybody remembers them at all, the Mugwumps of the 1870s and 1880s get predominantly negative press. Yet while as a movement for political power the Mugwumps failed, their ideas for reform overwhelmingly prevailed. To the extent that anybody remembers them at all, the …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday August 25, 2009

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