Frum: History Began When I Decided to Remake Conservatism in My Image
posted at 10:46 am on July 28, 2009 by Slublog
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In May, while criticizing Rush Limbaugh, David Frum wrote “nobody as central to the left as Limbaugh is central to the right – ever accused either President Bush or Vice President Cheney of wishing to do harm to America.” He was wrong. At the time, I said Frum was either unable to use Google, or “he’s immune to evidence that contradicts his hyperbole.”
Although I’m not generally a fan of David Frum’s writing, I thought his “Quit Whining” essay made some good points on the progress of liberty in the US and around the world since 1975. Although the essay contained some of the hyperbole typical of Frum’s writing, it was a good reminder that not all is lost.
But then Frum published part 2, in which he once again ignores any recent political history that threatens to undermine his ability to lecture the rest of us from his lofty post.
The extremity of conservative pessimism attacks the foundational rules of the American political game. Since 1865, the United States has enjoyed amazing political stability. Americans have achieved this stability via tried and tested rules of the road, including the unquestioning acceptance of election results, an acknowledgement of the basic good faith of the other political party, and an absolute acceptance that people of all points of view are committed to the shared constitutional system.
As is his habit, Frum places the blame for political instability on conservatives. Also, with no sense of apparent irony, Frum outlines what he thinks makes this country’s political system so stable while refusing to even acknowledge what the opposition did for eight years to undermine that stability. I’m not suggesting we copy the left’s playbook, but think it’s unfair for Frum to pretend conservative pessimism is a level of villainy never before seen on the political stage.
…the unquestioning acceptance of election results…
I don’t even know where to start with this one. This seems like a good place.
The protests by the Congressional Black Caucus in 2001 seem like less than ‘unquestioning acceptance’ of the 2000 election results to me.
A more decisive Bush victory in 2004 didn’t stop Democrats who were determined to question Bush’s legitimacy as president.
an acknowledgement of the basic good faith of the other political party, and an absolute acceptance that people of all points of view are committed to the shared constitutional system
“What we have now, however, is the result of decisions taken by a President and an administration for whom the best law is NO law, so long as law threatens to constrain their political will. And where the constraints of law cannot be prevented or eliminated, then they maneuver it to be weakened by evasion, by delay, by hair-splitting, by obstruction, and by failure to enforce on the part of those sworn to uphold the law.” – Al Gore.
Basic good faith? Sure, unless that president’s name is Bush, back in the days when the media paid attention to such things.
If Frum had stopped there, he’d only be guilty of omitting inconvenient history. But no, the promotion of a ‘conservatism that can win again’ demands nothing less than a full-throated defense of the current administration:
As wrong and harmful as the Obama administration’s plans are, the administration is playing by the rules of the game. To agitate people into thinking otherwise is to corrode the foundations of the American constitutional regime.
Is Obama really playing by the rules of the game? There are legitimate criticisms to be made of this administration’s approach to politics. At the risk of shaking the very foundations of our republic:
The Chrysler bankruptcy agreement.
The appointment of un-accountable czars.
The ongoing IG scandal.
The firing of a private company’s CEO.
The suggestion that the president can bypass the senate on treaty ratification.
Surely our democracy can survive the horror that is conservatives asking whether some of these actions are legal or the proper role of a president. After all, we survived eight years of criticism from liberals before this. Why is asking valid questions suddenly off-limits?
Really, though, all you need to know about Frum’s essay is summed up with this sentence:
We should also have more charity to our political opponents – who after all are contending with hideous problems bequeathed to them by … by … well suddenly we Republicans cannot seem to remember who preceded Barack Obama in office.
Here’s a free piece of advice for Mr. Frum: if you’re serious about remaking conservatism, it’s best not to use Obama’s talking points against conservatives. Just a thought.
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And Frum’s inevitable slide toward flipping continues.
Snowed In on July 28, 2009 at 10:49 AM
While perfectly true, hoo boy is this paragraph going to be transplanted.
MadisonConservative on July 28, 2009 at 11:07 AM
What do you mean?
Slublog on July 28, 2009 at 11:10 AM
He does seem like the natural heir to Gary Wills, Kevin Phillips and David Gergen, the best-known conservatives who moved left following wins by Democrats (LBJ, Carter, Clinton) under the idea they were going to lead millions away from the right and towards the middle, only to find the parade had, if not made a complete U-turn, at least gone around the corner in a different direction.
jon1979 on July 28, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Talk about buyer’s remorse. I can’t believe I bought his book (back in 2004 or so).
Frum should stop trying so hard to be irrelevant.
hmfearny on July 28, 2009 at 11:40 AM
This takedown drips with awesome. Great job, Slublog.
thirteen28 on July 28, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Dude obsessed with proving to liberals how very reasonable he is must often resort to hyperbole.
The irony is, as usual, lost on the left.
TheUnrepentantGeek on July 28, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Good post, Slu.
jgapinoy on July 28, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Slu ftw
Spirit of 1776 on July 28, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Frum is an irrelevant PRIG.
Worse than worthless.
Extremism in support of…nothing.
Ragspierre on July 28, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Are you seriously saying that Conservatism has a gap in it’s front teeth that Momma Cass could walk through?
HondaV65 on July 28, 2009 at 12:08 PM
I had similar thoughts when I read Pt. I and Pt. II, but you expressed them much better than I could. Thank you.
I agree with Frum that the Obama is playing by the rules. Unfortunately, the “game” they’re playing isn’t the one that has been the norm in D.C. Their “rules” came from a book by some Alinsky guy, not Madison, Jefferson et al.
cs89 on July 28, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Boy, if Obama’s poll numbers continue to slide, Frum is going to have to write even poorer articles.
Weight of Glory on July 28, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Frum was never a conservative and is not sliding/changing his position at all. The Unconservative Frum was considered a shining example of conservatism because of his support for the Iraq war. Now the Iraq war is no longer a factor and conservatives seriously oppose Obama’s spending in a way that they did not seriously oppose spending like ‘No Child Left Behind’, Frum appears to be at odds with the conservative movement. But Frum himself is no different now than he was 10 years ago.
aengus on July 28, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Wow. Just when you think he can’t get any worse, Frum steps up.
Or down, as the case may be.
In all these screeds by supposed Republicans about how bad conservatives are, there’s one thing that’s always missing: How the moderates’ ideal Republican party would be any different from the Democratic party.
If you dislike conservatives so much, just be a Democrat. Pretty simple.
tsj017 on July 28, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Instapundit has a good Frum post up today.
lorien1973 on July 28, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Frum is an arrogant gasbag. I dont mean to throw out an insult without justification. Read his works. Hes an elitist who presumes to think that he can lecture everyone on conservatism. For that I file him under irrelevant. Hes one of many who loves the attention they get for bashing conservatives. Slublog you point it out perfectly.
canditaylor68 on July 28, 2009 at 12:17 PM
The plural of Frum backwards is “Smurf”.
I don’t know what that means, but, then again, Frum doesn’t know what he means, either.
TexasJew on July 28, 2009 at 12:23 PM
I could live with Frum’s pretention and arrogance, if only he weren’t nearly completely wrong as well.
jwolf on July 28, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Bill Whittle’s Latest seems to address this quite well.
hindmost on July 28, 2009 at 12:24 PM
I was thinking the exact same thing.
(Facepalm)
Here come the birthers and the “HYPOCRISY!”
broker1 on July 28, 2009 at 12:33 PM
EXCELLENT job, Slub.
Though I’ve certainly read David Frum off and on for ages — and didn’t care for a lot of it — I’ve never seen him in action until I watched that clip with Ann Coulter yesterday.
Not only did he say things I totally disagreed with, he said them with the sort of sneering, supercilious ill-humor I normally associate with the left.
Any Republican resurgence he’s the author of, count me out.
S. Weasel on July 28, 2009 at 12:34 PM
it’s cowardice to criticize frum without addressing these inconvenient facts.
sesquipedalian on July 28, 2009 at 12:38 PM
This post has been promoted to HotAir.com.
Comments have been closed on this post but the discussion continues here.
Ed Morrissey on July 28, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Republican does NOT mean CONSERVATISM.
canditaylor68 on July 28, 2009 at 12:42 PM
The only time Frum is relevant is when he is discussed.
rollthedice on July 28, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Here is a thought. The communists changed their name (liberal, socialists, etc.)so the American people would not notice their infiltration into our centers of learning and the subsequent teaching of their philosophy. They infiltrate our governments, unions, etc. Stealth is their main tool.
Like undercover operations, infiltrate the enemy by pretending to be like them. Frum is like an undercover operative. When conservatives are in power, write conservative articles. Establish your reputation as a conservative. Then when the communist/socialist are in power, work behind the scenes to make sure their agenda is implemented by reining in opposition by one’s articles.
PrettyD_Vicious on July 28, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Those were dumb ideas. People were scared. It happens. Try and see the difference between people and their ideas, if you can manage that.
Now back to the incoherence and blatant “please like me” appeals to your side of the aisle that is David Frum.
TheUnrepentantGeek on July 28, 2009 at 12:49 PM
They may have enjoyed the backing of repubs but not by most of ha
What makes you think those facts have not been addressed about 100 times on hot air ?
Do we need to address them every single time we want to criticize David Frum on any subject?
kangjie on July 28, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Says you.
Snowed In on July 28, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Escellent post. I can’t stand Frum. He thinks his thoughts are original. The problem is his thoughts were originally the property of the left.
BrideOfRove on July 28, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Excellent – *Head.Desk* Typing over lunch.
BrideOfRove on July 28, 2009 at 1:01 PM
Frum is an idiot. Like most of his ilk, he believes the world ends at the Delaware River. A pox on their liberal cess-pool ridden world. Does anyone really takes anything he says seriously?
georgeofthedesert on July 28, 2009 at 1:13 PM
No, it’s an astute allocation of time.
Frum is a waste of time.
Ragspierre on July 28, 2009 at 1:13 PM
Uhmm, all of us fiscal conservatives did scream about all these things. But somehow the fact the Obama has decided to continue and turn up to 11 all of these horrible Bush policies gets a free pass because Booooooooooooosh did it!
gwelf on July 28, 2009 at 1:16 PM
It’s also cowardice to not mention that Bush and McCain fought to try and get congress too abandon all the policies/laws they were pushing that caused the housing bubble and collapse (while Obama was ‘busy’ voting present). Republicans AND Democrats were both involved in the current crisis but.
gwelf on July 28, 2009 at 1:22 PM
Bush did have some horrible policies but he did try to fight the irresponsible lending practices that congress was pushing. Oh, and the congress was controlled for 2 years by Democrats before Obama was elected President. So all these horrible bills that are blamed exclusively on Bush were approved by the Democrats.
Frum is an asshat.
gwelf on July 28, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Bush did have some horrible policies but he did try to fight the irresponsible lending practices that congress was pushing. Oh, and the congress was controlled for 2 years by Democrats before Obama was elected President. So all these horrible bills that are blamed exclusively on Bush were approved by the Democrats.
gwelf on July 28, 2009 at 1:29 PM
so cheney and the NR editors were so scared they became socialists. interesting point.
sesquipedalian on July 28, 2009 at 1:29 PM
It may all be crazy but the FIRST thing all presedents should do is prove they are constitutionally qualified. Like Obama, world traveler and barred lawyer doesn’t have an original copy of his birth certificate? Being HIS age he would have had to produce it to get a social security number. All the cloak and dagger just fuels the speculation. Seems to me he doth protest too much.
Redglen on July 28, 2009 at 2:51 PM
As attested to by the lack of interest in the comment section, who the f#ck is David Frum and why should anyone give a sh!t why some sonctimonoius self serving prick has to say who can only gets airtime for being willing to trash palin and rush and can barely sell 5000 copies of his mendacious crap of a book.
Even Joe the Plumber has more cultural impact.
Even the twinkie Mehgan McCain just ate has more substance.
Seriously, David Frum?
LOL.
What is he a glorified Blogger?
Andrew SUllivan’s Right of Left Twin Brother with Hair?
BillaryMcBush on July 29, 2009 at 12:59 AM