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Title: Canadian David Frum a force for moderation in US Republican Party
Source:
Globe and Mail
URL Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv ... n22/BNStory/International/home
Published: Mar 24, 2009
Author: John Ibbitson
Post Date: 2009-03-24 14:32:34 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 259
Comments: 11
A Canadian, knowledgeable about how conservatives in Canada rebranded themselves, seeks a renaissance of the GOP. To succeed, he'll likely have to defeat party titan Rush Limbaugh in the arena of media opinion March 23, 2009 WASHINGTON — The future of the Republican Party, if it has one, is Canadian. David Frum is emerging as the reasoned alternative to the blinkered prejudices that inform much of the debate within the GOP. His close knowledge of the struggle to reinvent and reunite Canadian conservatism, and his own personal evolution, have led him to call for a renaissance of the Republican Party within the United States, one that combines fiscal probity with social moderation, targeted primarily at young, university-educated voters. It has made him deeply loathed by some. “He is not saving conservatism; he is destroying it,” commentator Jeffrey Kuhner fumed in The Washington Times last week, describing Mr. Frum and his allies as “deracinated narcissists who live in a policy bubble and are detached from the values and interests of Middle America.” David Frum speaks during a taping of Meet the Press at NBC studios in Washington. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images for Meet the Press David Frum speaks during a taping of Meet the Press at NBC studios in Washington. (Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images for Meet the Press) The Globe and Mail That's how conservatives talk about each other in America these days. Mr. Frum, 49, is best known as the author of the phrase “axis of evil” – though he claims his version, changed by George W. Bush, was “axis of hate” – which the Canadian-born political analyst and activist coined during his brief stint as a speechwriter for the former president. More recently, Mr. Frum has emerged as a leading critic of the populist conservatism espoused by radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and other champions of back-to-basics conservatism. In a recent Newsweek cover story, Mr. From described Mr. Limbaugh as an “aggressive and bombastic, cutting and sarcastic” figure, who is happy to accept the mantle of Republican leader that the Democrats seek to bestow upon him. “But do the rest of us understand what we are doing to ourselves by accepting this leadership?” Mr. Frum asked, reminding his fellow conservatives that Mr. Limbaugh is “a seriously unpopular figure among the voters that conservatives and Republicans need to reach.” A few days later, on NBC's Meet the Press, Mr. Frum defended Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, who made pro-choice comments in a magazine interview. In typical fashion, Mr. Steele quickly recanted under withering criticism. Nonetheless, “we need Michael Steele,” Mr. Frum explained, in an interview at his comfortable Washington home, where there are many dogs. “The Republican Party is a troubled franchise.” Some Republicans—including, it would appear, the party's Congressional leadership—believe that Barack Obama's ambitious plans to limit the recession and rescue the banks while making huge investments in health care, education and energy infrastructure are doomed to fail, and Republicans need only wait. It is a dangerously passive approach to take, considering the popularity and determination of the Democratic president. A larger group, the Limbaugh wing, believes that the party must return to a strict adherence to market principles coupled to a firm embrace of social conservatism. But, Mr. Frum observes, that presumes that “there's a huge conservative majority out there, and people will rally to us,” when in fact there isn't. Besides, America is a very different country from the Age of Reagan. More young people have a college degree, for one thing, and in this election, for the first time since exit polling began, more of them voted Democrat than Republican. A winning Republican coalition will remain pro-life, but accept that society is mostly pro-choice. It will oppose gay marriage, but affirm equal benefits for homosexuals. It will propose market-based reforms to fight global warming. It will recognize that the middle class has not benefited from years of unbridled deregulation and tax cuts. But this is not, Mr. Frum acknowledges, the prevailing attitude within the party. “I'm not going to make a prediction about how long it will take,” he says. “…We're talking about the first shoots of spring. It's very, very early days.” For now, he carries on as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, promotes and writes for his website, NewMajority.com, and generally seeks to generate buzz. For some, David Frum will always be the strident neoconservative who championed Unite the Right in Canada, George Bush and the Iraq War. But Mr. Frum became a critic of how the Iraq war was prosecuted, though he still believes it was worth it in the end. And in its second term, he was increasingly critical of the Bush administration. When asked if he has moved to the left over the past decade, Mr. Frum pauses for a very long time before answering. “That's not the way I would put it.” Another long pause. “On some of the issues, I have different answers than I would have had a decade ago.” A decade ago, for example, he was strongly socially conservative. But “politics can't impose solutions on society. It has to follow society,” he believes. “Society is coming to a consensus on this. The argument I upheld in the 1990s lost, or is in the process of losing. … Now, how do we make the best of things, with that behind us?” You make the best of it by moderating your views and seeking to expand the conservative coalition with your eyes fixed firmly on the young, well-educated voter. “There are voices in the Republican Party who say it's not important to win elections; it's important to stand up for principle,” he observes. “After you lose a couple of elections, you begin to understand that it is important to win elections.” The Republican Party will start to win again when it turns off the radio and starts listening to voices like David Frum's. And not before.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
YAK (yet another kike).
LOL Another fraudulent world socialist marketing campaign
This article is loaded with crap. David Frum the repugnant Son of one of Canada's media elite www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/frumbarbara/ frumbarbara.htm. I don't think the Canadian part is what's important, if you know what I mean.
Only in the wee brain of a partisan National Globalist's pin head would anyone actually BELIEVE that david frum is in ANY way, shape or form a "Conservative" ! LOL
Note: you can watch frum attack Howe on the vid posted here: http://www.infowars.com/stewart-howe-of-we-are-change-la-takes- neocon-frum-to-court/ Stewart Howe of We Are Change L.A. Takes Neocon Frum to Court Kurt Nimmo Infowars June 17, 2008 It looks like Stewart Howe will get his day in court. Earlier this year, Howe was assaulted by the neocon and war criminal David Frum, who is infamous for coining the term “axis of evil,” used to demonize Iraq prior to bombing the country and killing over a million Iraqis. Howe, a member of We Are Change L.A., attempted to ask Frum a few questions during the L.A. Times Festival of Books on April 26, 2008, and in response the neocon and former Bush administration economic speechwriter assaulted Howe. “Frum told Howe, ‘The one thing I regret from our last conversation is that I didn’t say to you what my friend Christopher Hitchens said… which is, you should fuck off.’ [expletive is reportedly a direct quote]” reports Aaron Dykes of the Jones Report. “According to Howe, David Frum then got up from behind the book signing table and swung at Stewart and his camera while he was phrasing a question about the unraveling 9/11 cover-up and potential criminal charges.” Frum insisted Howe turn off his camera and leave the event as he “smacked the camera.” Replied Howe, “I will not go away. I will not turn off the camera. We are in public. Are you worried, perhaps, about the criminal liability of being a partner to mass murder after the fact? You know that is a real concern because the truth is coming out.” Howe insists Frum attempted to break his camera. “I don’t want to be on your camera,” he said. In a recent email sent to Mr. Dykes, Howe said his attorney, a former Marine, informed him that the L.A. City Attorneys Office is “heavily laden” with “liberal left leaning” staff and are interested in proceeding with assault charges against Frum. “He has also informed me that it may become a case transcending assault/battery and enter in no small way into the area of Frum, along with event security/UCLA conspiring to deprive a citizen journalist of First Amendment Rights.” Howe indicated, however, that his attorney has “limited experience in such matters.” Obviously, the fact that the City Attorneys Office has taken up the case is a victory for the 9/11 truth movement, especially in the wake of 9/11 truth activist Mark Dice’s experience with neocon talk show host Michael Reagan, who has threatened to have Dice killed for sending truth DVDs and other materials to troops stationed in Iraq. Hopefully, Frum’s potential conviction on assault charges will send a message to the neocons: this is still America, there still is a First Amendment, no matter how enervated, and assaulting journalists will not stand, at least not for the moment.
Glory to God in the highest, and Peace to His people on Earth. I'd like to beat the shit out of hitchens also; with my bare hands.
Sometimes I wish I were of less physical stature, just so a dipshit like frum would come after me !!
I think you're a nut!
In 2007, the FBI reported on concern about white supremacists recruiting soldiers, saying "hundreds" of neo-Nazis were in the active military. But in April, a Department of Homeland Security report on extremism that reiterated much the same point was widely criticized by veterans groups and some conservative politicians as being unpatriotic, leading the Justice Department to retract the DHS report. Critics acknowledge that extremism in the Army is a touchy political subject. How did this mess resurface :)
something about Spirit Of The Wind lithographs...
In 2007, the FBI reported on concern about white supremacists recruiting soldiers, saying "hundreds" of neo-Nazis were in the active military. But in April, a Department of Homeland Security report on extremism that reiterated much the same point was widely criticized by veterans groups and some conservative politicians as being unpatriotic, leading the Justice Department to retract the DHS report. Critics acknowledge that extremism in the Army is a touchy political subject. David Frum
#2. To: Brian S, George Galloway destroys crazed neocon David Frum (#0)
#3. To: Brian S (#0)
David Frum
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams 
#4. To: Brian S (#0)
#5. To: Brian S (#0)
That's how conservatives talk about each other in America these days.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams
#6. To: Brian S, rotara (#0)
"I don't know where Bin Laden is. I truly am not that concerned about him"
George W, Bush, 3/13/02 http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html
#7. To: Artisan (#6)
“Frum told Howe, ‘The one thing I regret from our last conversation is that I didn’t say to you what my friend Christopher Hitchens said… which is, you should fuck off.’ [expletive is reportedly a direct quote]” reports Aaron Dykes of the Jones Report.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams
#8. To: Artisan (#6)
“According to Howe, David Frum then got up from behind the book signing table and swung at Stewart and his camera while he was phrasing a question about the unraveling 9/11 cover-up and potential criminal charges.”
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams
#9. To: Brian S (#0)
#10. To: Dakmar (#9)
#11. To: Jethro Tull (#10)
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