David Frum's Blog, page 107

A Confirmation Question for Hagel

Senator, what would you do to help combat the fact that a service member committed suicide every 25 hours in 2012?

Don't Let Settlements Define Israel

Truth from the venerable (can I say that now?) Koplow:

Counting the Cost of Anti-GMO Fanaticism

A good round-up, here:

A Better Way to Consider the Debt Ceiling

For a better way to think about debt-ceiling, see Keith Hennessey's post from yesterday.

2013: Not the Year for a Budget Showdown

I welcome almost any argument that urges Republicans not to force a default on the obligations of the United States. Yet this piece by Ed Morrissey seems to me very poor advice.

The Lost History of the NRA

Salon reminds us:

Crowdsourcing the Hastert Rule

I'll turn to the filibuster next week. Debt ceiling negotiations are looming. Until then, I'd like to chat about the Hastert Rule, the name given to the rather parliamentary custom in the House that votes cannot be held without support of the majority caucus. Speaker Boehner ignored that principle to hold a vote on the Fiscal Cliff. I'd like to explore whether it is an idea past its prime. If you've read interesting takes on the issue, have an arcane understanding of the b...

Chuck Hagel Isn't a Manager

Alan Goldsmith compares Chuck Hagel to recent Secretaries of Defense, finding the Senator's qualifications lacking to run the huge bureaucracy based in the Pentagon. Unlike, say, critiques from the American Enterprise Institute's Danielle Pletka, who casually suggested Hagel is anti-Semitic (or that he's believed to be so by serious people), Goldsmith keeps his charge simple and fair. I have no strong rebuttal for Hagel's lack of experience managing world-scale bureaucraci

A Way Forward for the 21st Century GOP

Bob Patterson offers some thought-provoking ways forward for Pennsylvania's governing GOP in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Who Doesn't Get Paid if We Cross the Debt Ceiling?

The federal government is the single biggest customer on planet earth, purchasing more than half a trillion of goods and services every year. If the government hits the debt ceiling and ceases to pay its obligations, a lot of vendors are in for a nasty shock.