Steyn: David Frum Far Guiltier Than Limbaugh of Putting Himself In Front of Party

Steyn: David Frum Far Guiltier Than Limbaugh of Putting Himself In Front of Party

By Tim Graham (Bio | Archive)
Tue, 03/10/2009 - 06:48 ET

David Frum is becoming famous for insisting that Rush Limbaugh knows he's keeping conservatives out of power, and revels in it for his own self-interest. On The Corner, Mark Steyn soundly announces the principle that when one accepts the proposal of a liberal "news" magazine to author a cover story that suggests Limbaugh should shut his mouth, you might be what you're calling the other guy:

David Frum has now gleefully iterated his complaint about Rush's personal failings in at least three places -- his own website, The National Post of Canada, and Newsweek. The last was certainly a mistake, because it's no friend to the conservative cause and thus makes David look far guiltier of the sin he keeps accusing Rush of -- putting his own interests ahead of the party's.

(Not true, by the way: Rush has all the money he'll ever need and in the years ahead Obama's going to be siphoning off as much as he can. If ever there were a time to retire to the Caribbean, this is it.)

...Our pal John O'Sullivan said to me a couple of months back that conservative "reformers" should be required to produce some elementary arithmetic showing that all the people turned off by the "reforms" will be replaced by at least the same number of people plus one. David Frum thinks the Republican Party needs to cut loose Rush, a man whose millions of listeners account for a significant proportion of the GOP base. It's not clear who, if anyone, David brings to the table in return. Notwithstanding his Strange New Respect from Newsweek, he should find something new to talk about.

Jay Nordlinger goes into detail, as well, even this:

Just a final word — nitpicky: Newsweek headed its article "Why Rush is Wrong." Bad editors are always doing that: forgetting to capitalize “is” in titles, which should go up like any other verb (“talks,” “eats,” “sucks,” etc.). But I don’t call them morons (at least out loud).

—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.

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The "David Gergen Conservative"

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 06:53 ET by allanf

The lure media attention, accolades, invitations to “in” parties await a “conservative” willing attack true conservatives. For years David Gergen was the go-to guy when you needed a "conservative" to bash conservatives. Now there is much competition.

The libtard's concern for

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 06:54 ET by PeskyDane

The libtard's concern for conservatives is so touching, isn't it?

Frum the useful idiot.

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 07:11 ET by AntiMedia

Frum the useful idiot.

You know, of course, that

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 07:16 ET by motherbelt

You know, of course, that those "Even Conservatives" just want to help the GOP.

And the way to help is by encouraging them to deep-six anyone liberals don't like. This will make more Democrats vote Republican.

Yeah, that'll work.

I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson

Money is not the object

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 07:20 ET by Jer

...and thus makes David [Frum] look far guiltier of the sin he keeps accusing Rush of -- putting his own interests ahead of the party's.

(Not true, by the way: Rush has all the money he'll ever need and in the years ahead Obama's going to be siphoning off as much as he can. If ever there were a time to retire to the Caribbean, this is it.)

The "interests" Frum has in mind most likely have nothing to do with money. I doubt Rush really cares about another 100mil or two. Just like any other narcissist, he craves attention and adulation. And his legions provide an endless supply. The formula is remarkably simple: Provocation +Victimization=20 million ego strokers. He's not going to find that on a Caribbean beach.

Jer

And what do you think are

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:00 ET by motherbelt

And what do you think are David Frum's "interests?"

Are they so different from what you say Rush's are?

I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson

Yeah, I think Frum could

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:04 ET by Jer

Yeah, I think Frum could use the money.

Jer

What money? More speaking

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:26 ET by motherbelt

What money?

More speaking engagements? I'm really not sure what you mean by Frum getting more money by dissing Limbaugh.

I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson

Frum is just jealous

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 07:43 ET by Franklins_Locke

Frum is NOT a conservative. This whole temper tantrum he is throwing is complete envy of other Conservatives who have larger audiences. He is writing for who he writes for because no one else wants to read it. Note, the Conservatives who have larger audiences have stood by their principles and not sold out like he has. http://franklinslocke.blogspot.com/

I prefer having the more clear-headed Rush in the lead

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 07:54 ET by ekslib

to having muddle-headed Frum in the lead.

Rush Limbaugh helps American minds the way that windshield wipers help American drivers.

He helps us see the road and the dangerous obstacles in our way.

We already tried Frum's logic...

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:05 ET by P. Aaron

...when we ran McCain. That was Frum's IDEAL candidate, yet he along with Brooks went for the big 'O' instead.

So screw them, they bring nothing but defeat, and more MSM contempt.

As did Colin Powell the

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:37 ET by motherbelt

As did Colin Powell the quasi-Republican.

Jay Nordlinger of National Review Online had this to say about McCain:

After November’s election, Colin Powell said that Republicans have to stop listening to Rush Limbaugh......[ ]...

Whom did Powell support, by the way? Barack Obama, the Democrat, and the most left-wing president we have ever elected, possibly. I’m not sure that Powell Republicanism is the Republicanism the GOP should want.

[McCain] was almost perfect for the GOP moderate types, you would have thought. He was anti-Christian Right. He was Mr. Campaign Finance Reform. He was Mr. Amnesty. He was Mr. Global Warming. He was Mr. Reach Across the Aisle.

Except for being against abortion and for free trade, he was made-to-order.

And if McCain isn’t good enough for the Powell brigades — who ever would be?

As usual, the liberal prescription for Republicans is to be more like Democrats.

Unfortunately, no one can ever out-pander a Democrat.

I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson

Goal of the RINO

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:27 ET by Agnostic

I'm starting to wonder if there is something very basic at the desire of RINOs to quiet Conservative Republicans. A party that is out of power is only goaded to actually work when there is a cause to fight. The conservative portion of the Republicans are forced to make a stand and attempt to drag the RINOs and fence sitters along with them in their efforts to oppose a socialistic agenda. Without this forced stand the rest of the Republicans could go play golf or head off to a retreat during house sessions because it doesn't matter how they vote anyway. I've read a couple of times about certain lesser known Congressmen in the mid-sixties and then again in the 70s that took the Barak Obama approach to their elected duty - 'Present' when they could be dragged off the golf course or away from their ghost writer. Perhaps this easy lifestyle is what they truly want; all the perks but no real responsibility.

A person may be won over with logic and reason but the masses must be bought with spectacle and platitudes. - 2008 Elections

David Frum will have to go long before Rush will

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:19 ET by The Smokin Frog

David Frum will have to go long before Rush will. Rush is practically the last 'man' standing. And I'm standing with him. So are millions of others. I thank God every day for men and women with back bones to speak out against the destruction to our Republic.
It's All Dirty Politics

IMO, this is the money

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:42 ET by motherbelt

IMO, this is the money quote of the piece:

..Our pal John O'Sullivan said to me a couple of months back that
conservative "reformers" should be required to produce some elementary
arithmetic showing that all the people turned off by the "reforms" will
be replaced by at least the same number of people plus one. David Frum
thinks the Republican Party needs to cut loose Rush, a man whose
millions of listeners account for a significant proportion of the GOP
base. It's not clear who, if anyone, David brings to the table in
return.

No one. But apparently Frum thinks the "respect" of liberals for doing it would make it worthwhile.

I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson

Conservativism as a product

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 09:00 ET by KC Mulville

Again, remember that conservativism is a theory of government, and the Republican Party is an organization designed to win elections. Those are different. In practical everyday terms, conservatives fill the Republican Party, and the GOP welcomes conservatives, but that doesn't mean they're identical.

You might argue that this distinction is well=known and obvious. But Frum forgot it when he wrote his piece. By confusing the roles of party against ideology, Frum becomes an Obama-Emanuel stooge. The White House is attacking Rush as an unpopular Republican, and Frum is agreeing with them. (They played Frum like a fool.)

Conservativism is a theory of government. The Founders developed this government because they believed in certain philosophical principles. These principles were the foundation for any legitimate government.

Government is nothing more than a common contract among citizens that we adopt merely for efficiency's sake. We form governments because we think they might be useful, and we discard them when they're not useful.

We adopted the contract for specific reasons; most clearly for self-defense and guarantee of justice. When it comes to those tasks, government must be as strong as it needs to be.

Government power, divorced from those necessary tasks, is inherently corrupting. That's why its use must be as limited as possible.

That's what Limbaugh is about. Limbaugh's game is to advocate for conservativism, to make sure government sticks to the conservative principles on which it was founded.

David Frum is correct that Rush Limbaugh isn't a pretty face. A Republican candidate has to be warm, attractive, and he has to appeal to as many people as possible. That's because Republicans are trying to win elections, and they have to "sell" themselves to a vast chunk of the American voting public who call themselves centrists. (Centrist means that you don't have any philosophical principles, you just wing it. Just win, baby.)

What Frum should have said is that it's true that Limbaugh isn't an attractive candidate, but he's not supposed to be.

Centrist means that you

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 09:40 ET by Jer

Centrist means that you don't have any philosophical principles, you just wing it. Just win, baby.

So...as one moves farther to the left or to the right on the political spectrum, the more principled one becomes, but less so with any corresponding move toward the center, and once reaching the precise geometric center of said spectrum becomes completely devoid of principle.

Bullshit.

Jer

Centrism

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 09:46 ET by KC Mulville

Please explain the principle of centrism.

He won't...

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 15:07 ET by Jarhead68

...'cause he can't. It's undefinable.

Jarhead,I will...

Wed, 03/11/2009 - 02:56 ET by Jer

'cause I can. At least I'll make the effort by way of contrast, context, or Socreatic process. But it will have to wait, because I'm too busy putting out fires on other threads.

Note that KC [whom I respect and admire] didn't answer my question (although I omitted the question mark), but merely posed another question in return.

Jer

Jer, that won't wash

Wed, 03/11/2009 - 09:29 ET by KC Mulville

Once you added the "bullshit," that changed the nature of your paragraph from a question to a statement. It wasn't the lack of a question mark. You were making a statement, not asking a question.

Recall what I said in my original post. There's a difference between the ideology of conservativism and the Republican political party. Conservativism is a theory of government, based on certain principles. There's no such thing as "republicanism," at least as it refers to our political party. A party isn't a theory, and it's not based on principles. Ideologies are based on principles. Political parties are based on practicalities. (Again, I know you know this, but I need to set up my point.)

If your question is that when you move to the center, you stray away from principle, the answer is obviously yes. The "center" is a metaphor that only has meaning politically. It has no meaning ideologically. That's where (I argue) you got things confused, as did David Frum: you confused the phrase "political spectrum" and used it as if there is an "ideological spectrum." Political parties offer a smorgasbord of policies, and you can pick and choose. But ideologies don't have a spectrum. They don't fall on a line.

When you sit in the middle politically, it means you support some policies from one party, and other policies from the other party.
When you sit in the middle ideologically, it means that you haven't adopted one theory or the other. By definition, that means you haven't endorsed one set of principles over the other. In turn, by definition, you aren't using principles.

Centrism is about practicalities. It isn't about principles. It isn't a theory. "Moving to the center" is just an analogy that makes sense in politics, but not in a theory of government.

I love Steyne's well-crafted writing

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 09:15 ET by mom_rox

Steyn: I'm glad David admires Obama's exquisitely "honed" physique. It'll look fabulous when they put him up on Rushmore bare-chested.

Mark Steyn obviously reads

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 09:20 ET by iBlog

iBlogs newsbuster comments. Late Sat/early Sun, I said that Frum himself was guilty of what he accused Rush of in the article. iBlog is ahead of his time!

jer

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 09:43 ET by east tennessee john

You speak of Rush being a narsissist. Compared to who? someone who creates "an office of the Predient elect"? Who now whines, with all that pre-swearing in hoopla, that his irreplaceable tax cheat of a Treasury Secretary doesn't have any help.

Narcissism

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 11:38 ET by slickwillie2001

Hmm, let's think this narcissism thing through;

Who wrote TWO autobiographies before the age of 47, a feat I have not found matched in history?

Whose campaign slogan was "we are the ones we have been waiting for"?

Who said when I'm elected "the skies will begin to clear, and the waters recede"?

Who can stick his nose higher into the air than previously though physically possible? (http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/images/2008/10/18/obama_...)

How many 47 year old supposedly heterosexual men do we know that shave their chest?

Who's the narcissist?

Funny

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 13:18 ET by nwahs

Both columns completely ignored an aspect of Rush's show - sly bigotry. They didn't show how it was "satire" and not bigotry. They didn't claim it was absurdity to illustrate absurdity. They didn't answer the question "Why must one retell ethnic jokes with comedic timing to decry bigotry?"

No, both Steyn and Nordlinger ignored that aspect of Rush's show. They had to. Its indefensible.

You're irrational if you don't want the new president to succeed - Gingrich

Sly bigotry...

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 15:04 ET by Jarhead68

I have listened to Limbaugh for over 5 years and have never detected any bigotry, sly, overt or otherwise.

I have heard many a parody based on the left's racist bigotry disguised as "compassion". For instance, "Barack the Magic Negro" which was based on a black LA Times "journalist's" article about Hussein not being black enough. Also, the parodies they have done about the race-mongering twins, Al Charlatan and Jesse Jackass. Other than that, Limbaugh's color blind, like most of us conservatives. We care about content of character, not color of skin. Kind of like Martin Luther King, Jr., envisioned. Too bad that demcoRATS have forgotten the "I have a dream" speech.

David Frum has read the tea leaves and...

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 16:58 ET by PrairieSky

apparently has decided that in order to stay on the "in-crowd's" cocktail party list, he needs to appear to be "with-it," and the way to do that is to bash those nasty, old-fashioned, closed-minded conservatives! Reminds me of Kathleen Parker...

"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." President Ronald Reagan~ January 20, 1981

Frum is a fool if he

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 17:19 ET by ckc1227

Frum is a fool if he believes what he says. Democrats aren't attacking Rush and encouraging Republicans to distance themselves from Rush because they want to help them.