David Frum Is Wrong
The Republican Party needs to return to its constitutional principles. It should espouse views and fight for policies that are consistent with a limited federal government, personal responsibility, and free market economics. David Frum begs to differ. Frum, the squishy "conservative" commentator (note the mock air quotes), formerly of National Review and the George W. Bush White House, casts aside these principles in favor of their "modulation" in his recent cover piece in Newsweek entitled "Why Rush is Wrong." In the article, he also takes it upon himself to portray Rush Limbaugh as a crazy extremist that doesn't represent the values of conservatism. In the world of David Frum, conservatism has little to do with particular ideas, and more to do with kowtowing to the latest favored group.
Rush Limbaugh, the famed conservative radio host, gave a brilliant and impassioned speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that effectively laid out the constitutional principles that he expected the Republican Party to return to after a long hiatus under President Bush and his advisers, among them David Frum. Limbaugh made the speech in part to explain his much talked about statement that he hoped President Obama "fails." As Limbaugh explained when he made the comment, and as he explained at CPAC, he clearly did not mean that he wished any personal ill on President Obama, but rather that he hoped that the President would fail in implementing the socialist policies that should be anathema to Republicans. Unless your name is David Frum, in which case socialism is fine and dandy.
Frum delights in strong men rather than objective principles that transcend any one particular person. That is why he delights in the refined physique and solemn demeanor of President Obama, while he vilifies Rush Limbaugh as a "walking stereotype of self-indulgence." Forget Rush's call inviting anyone, regardless of their appearance, into the conservative fold if they respect limited government, personal responsibility, and hard work. In David Frum's world, this all takes a back seat to an unhealthy fixation with the President's toned body and dreamy eyes. How then, can Frum claim, as he does in the Newsweek piece, that he is a bona fide conservative? I am not one to dwell on labels, but if Frum is going to claim affinity for the Right, he should have something to back it up. The Right, properly understood, concerns itself with ideas and not men. Men are imperfect. No matter how many tingles he sends up David Frum's leg, President Obama is imperfect. President Bush is imperfect. Rush Limbaugh - surprise, surprise - is imperfect.
The Right recognizes the imperfection of men and instead looks to ideals, ideals which, admittedly, may never be fully realized because of the depravity of men. But we recognize correctly that limited government, personal responsibility, and hard work are required of us because there is no magic state intervention that can save us. Statism (or socialism, if you prefer) thinks that granting immense power to imperfect men is the solution to the problem of imperfect men. Statists revel in men that spout vacuous slogans and propose ridiculous solutions to problems. They care little about personal freedom or accomplishment, unlike most Americans.
David Frum, despite his "bona fides," is a statist. If the Republican Party is to thrive again, it doesn't need to kowtow to particular groups or start adopting statist policies, like carbon taxes, as Frum recommends. Instead, it needs to purge itself of statists like David Frum, and embrace the ideas of Rush Limbaugh and other real "bona fides." In this way, we can return to a party of principle, rather than a party of wishy-washy politicians that have no time to concern themselves with simple things like limited government. If we don't win, so be it, but I'd rather back something that I believe in and lose, than compromise myself and win.
Possibly Related Posts:
- A Letter to Senator Webb on Healthcare “Reform”
- Remember, Remember the Seventh of November
- Republicans Resurgent in Elections
- Conservative Authoritarianism
- Government: Let’s ‘Stimulate’ the Economy by Producing Less
March 16th, 2009 - 14:25
I totally agree, and so does Mark Levin. He’s been railing on Frum (and ‘moderate’ Republicans like Megan McCain) for weeks on end.
His new book is out next week:
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto
The book is a manifesto to Conservatives and it is as thick as it gets. He read the first chapter on the radio last week….it was a philosophical breakdown as to what it actually means to be conservative and the differences between neo-cons, social conservatives and conservative libertarians and how none of them can claim the ‘conservative’ mantle out and out. The rest of the book is dedicated to explaining how anything other than conservative principles ultimately leads to tyranny and oppression because only conservatism works — the result of being grounded in absolute constants and concrete truths.
Pick up a copy, the man is a con law genius, a brilliant debater and passionate motivator for all conservatives.