At the recent Republican Jewish Coalition conference in San Francisco, I had the pleasure of meeting David Frum. He is a former speech writer for President George W. Bush. His book “The Right Man” is an in depth look at working for a man who had to confront hard times that were unimaginable a year earlier. His current book is a blueprint for governing that will hopefully bring the GOP back into the majority. The book is entitled “Comeback: Conservatism that can win again.”
Mr. Frum is not shy about taking on his own party, pointing out where republicans went astray. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a previous RJC conference in Las Vegas a month earlier, but this time he spent more time getting into the nitty gritty of what is needed to allow republicans to lead once again.
With that, I bring the words of David Frum.
“This election is one of those rare elections where losing the election would be equivalent to losing a war. The elections of 1864 and 1972 had wars on the ballot. With this election, the war is on the ballot.”
“The next President will be in office when baby boomers retire. They will also be in office when many civil servants retire, giving them a chance to streamline the bureaucracy.”
“The invisible question is how changes in Congress could affect the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
“Barack Obama loves to say nothing. He says brilliant things like…
‘Children are our future.’ ‘Tomorrow will be different from today.’ ‘The road ahead is different from the world behind.’
He is an intellect. He is also a vaporous gasbag. He says nothing, yet people hear something. His supporters could be all wrong, but most likely it is his being clever.”
“We need to take a new approach to the economy. The median wage is not you, me and Bill Gates divided by three. The median wage has been stagnant. Wages are increasing, but health costs are increasing more.”
“Democrats are the party of ‘edges.’ They are popular on the edges coastally. They appeal to the poorest and the very wealthiest, with republicans appealing to those inbetween. The democrats appeal to the least educated and those with advanced degrees. Republicans carry many people inbetween.”
“We need to appeal to the great American middle on social issues. We cannot keep offering an unsmiley face towards many. Preaching at people when you cannot make a difference is pointless. If you cannot solve a problem, don’t meddle.”
“Ronald Reagan inspired a generation of young people to become republicans, and they are still republicans today. In the last 12 years, there has been a collapse of support among young people for republicans. This is not just due to the economy and Iraq. Social issues are a big reason. We are losing the next generation.”
“Al Gore has been hungry to ban motor cars his entire adult life. He compares cars to Hiroshima. Yet the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Second Clean Air Act have all been signed into law by republican Presidents. Many people do not know this because those accomplishments are not on Facebook.”
“Since the 1950s, the GOP has been more trusted on ethics and competence. This is not the case now. What little government should so, it must do well. America is now a high quality society. Everything works except government. Government will never work as well as Walmart, but it must work better.”
“My son is a New York Yankees fan. His idea of the best game is one where they take a big early lead and then expand it. Wars are not like that.”
“The RJC has been with us through thick and thin. Today is thin, but it will not always be thin.”
“Speech writers are not very important. The longer a person’s title, the less important they are. ‘President’ is one word. I was the ‘Assistant to the President for economic speech writing.'”
“FDR ran for reelection by saying to voters, ‘Trust me, your boys won’t be in any foreign war.’ When a member of his own cabinet questioned how he could make a statement that he knew would most likely not be true, he replied, ‘Bob, when we are in, it won’t be a foreign war.'”
When asked how and why we lost the culture war, Mr. Frum disagreed with the premise of the question.
“We fought the culture war to a draw. It was not a loss. We want an economic debate. In the 1950s, a liberal magazine had a headline entitled ‘Criminals belong in jail.’ Oh really? We won the crime war argument. Gay rights is not a big deal. America has decided.”
“College degrees among women have reduced divorce by 2/3rds. Without college degrees, the divorce rates among women have remained flat.”
“Do not suffer undue pessimism. 1964 was the last time the GOP lost in a true two way fight. In 1976 there was the shadow of Watergate. In 1992 and 1996 there was Ross Perot. We are used to winning.”
“60% of voters are pro-choice and 40% are pro-life. Yet among the 9% who care about the issue most are 2-1 pro-life. Overturning Roe vs Wade will wake up the othre side. On abortion, tread carefully. Overturning abortion is not banning it. It is letting the states decide.”
“Leftist control over the media and education is not the problem. It is no worse than 10 years ago.”
The audience sharply disagreed with that assessment.
“Voting behavior in the first 5 years of life shapes voting for much of a person’s life. Democrats did well in the first 5 years after World War II, and from 1970-1975.”
“Tip O’Neill used to complain that democrats help the lower class reach the middle class, at which point they then abandon the democrats for the GOP. Yet republicans then help these people reach the upper middle class, at which point they abandon the GOP and go back to the democrats. ”
“Going after John McCain’s age is a mistake. There are more older people now in America, and they don’t like it. McCain looks old due to being tortured and having his bones broken.”
When Bill Maher told David Frum that things do not look good for the GOP, Mr. Frum wryly replied, “You don’t look so good yourself.”
“In 2000, McCain made a mistake by taking the bait in South Carolina. In 2008 he has kept his temper in check. To his credit, in 2008, Barack Obama did not take the racial bait of the Clintons.”
“The Jewish population skews older, with a demographic bias. Young Jews see police offers at Synagogues, which older Jews did not see. Younger Jews are more aware of the dangers.”
“Hillary is the weaker democratic opponent. Obama is cool and calm, sophisticated and savvy. Hillary moderates her image, yet frightens people. Obama is seen as a moderate. Obama simply agrees with everyone.”
“2006 was bad for republicans, but not a rejection of conservatism. It was a partisan shift, but not an ideological shift. People voted for democrats, but did not embrace liberalism.”
David Frum had an inside look at the White House, and his analysis is as detailed as it is useful.
I do not agree with him on every point, but he is worth hearing.
eric
“We are losing the next generation.”
I work at a University, and have also gone through graduate school late in life with a lot of younger people in my classes … no too sure about this point.
We may be losing the young C+ grades, marching in the protest, unwashed Dave Mathews band fan, incomprehensible yet vocal member of the young generation.
However, there a good deal of young folks like us out there, they are just productive members of society and want to get on with their life.
“Leftist control over the media and education is not the problem. It is no worse than 10 years ago.”
He’s HALF right. It is no worse than 10 years ago…but the leftist control over the media and education is definitely -without a doubt- THE PROBLEM. It’s been entrenched since Walter Cronkite and Kent State.
I agree with all of you…the young, college graduates I know are productive leaders, many of whom will soon be joining the civilian work force and will continue to be productive. The media and schools are atrocious. The media I understand, but I am angry at the socialistic policies the schools push. My daughter was forced to participate in group projects during off-school hours, and she got A’s on three projects she did herself…her four or five “group members” got the same grade. I refused to allow her to do the next project, so when the teacher tried to give her a failing grade or an incomplete, I gently explained that I chose my profession to fight against socialism, so it is not time for you (the teacher) and the other group members to earn their grades.
I believe Mr. Frum is saying, in laymen’s terms, that Obama is an empty suit, but since we have so many empty-headed voters, he may get elected…once. He appeals to people who don’t know anything about the government – who or what it is. The government is you…if you are not happy with the government’s actions, look in the mirror. If you are not happy with your job, look in the mirror. If you are not happy with your governmental benefits, health care, educational opportunities, the schools you attend, or anything else, I suggest you aren’t happy with yourself because it is YOU who makes the decisions that affect your future, not the US government.
Stupid me… The comment, “so it is not time for you (the teacher) and the other group members to earn their grades.” is supposed to read, “…it is now time…” If I had had a better teacher…
I linked you. Great blog site.
“The elections of 1864 and 1972 had wars on the ballot. With this election, the war is on the ballot.”
That is probably the wierdest set of two wars I ever heard compared to another war, let alone of each other.
Man. That was freaky. What the heck does the Civil War, Vietnam and Iraq have in common? I could think of a few things, but none of them would bolster Frum’s argument.
JMJ
He wasnt comparing the wars jersey, or trying to say they had anything in common
He was just stating that this election will be held during a war also.
And that the outcome of this election could determine our level of succes in Iraq.
Level of success?
Man, no matter how badly things go wrong, you guys just keep on keepin’ on, don’t you?
JMJ
Yea. thats right,” level of success.”
Unlike the liberal agenda we are not looking for a level of failure.
But if either Hillary or Obama win this election we will have little or no choice but than to witness all the levels of failure that will be accomplished.
2008 is going to be a very rough year for every Republican, perhaps except for McCain. Even Republican seats in Mississippi are being heavily contested by the Democrats. The way I try to think about it is: imagine if a Democrat was in office and had lead the US into a 5 year war/occupation in Iraq. People would be howling about nation-building and foreign adventurism and ignoring the Constitution. It’s just going to be a Democratic year as far as the Congress is concerned. The one consolation prize is that some Democrats are taking up some socially conservative issues like on immigration, abortion and guns in conservative areas.
– Ned