Read all of the articles in Frum’s Quit Whining! series here:
Quit Whining!
July 27, 2009
The United States in 2009 is living through the fiercest challenge to market institutions and limited government since the mid-1970s. Defenders of free institutions will need the utmost energy, courage and perseverance for the work ahead. And yet at just this moment, the prevailing tone among those defenders is one of the most extreme despair.
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Quit Whining 2
July 28, 2009
In the last post, I noted how unreal it was for conservatives to lament the demise of liberty in the aftermath of the most beautiful efflorescence of liberty in a century. Pessimism is misplaced as a matter of fact. It’s a betrayal of conservatism’s own achievements.
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Quit Whining 3
July 28, 2009
I’ve addressed why the liberty v. tyranny trope self-betrays conservative history and why it corrodes America’s constitutional norms. But that’s not the bottom of it. Today’s conservative despair also sabotages our effectiveness in practical politics.
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Quit Whining 4
July 29, 2009
Perhaps – as some critics of this series have argued – I am too complacent in the face of an unprecedented attack on American liberties. To quote one passionate writer, who has sold many more books than I ever have or likely ever will: Our experiment in democracy could be closed down by a process of erosion. It is a mistake to think that early in a fascist shift you see the profile of barbed wire against the sky.
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“Moron” “Idiot” “Lardass” “Fraud”: Mark Levin Replies
July 29, 2009
My series on conservative despair mentions Mark Levin among others. Here the talk-show host responds with his familiar suavity of manner and elegance of language.
3 responses so far
1 Reasonable Conservatism « Droit Blog // Aug 8, 2009 at 11:06 pm
[...] political strategy more broadly, in Quit Whining, Mr. Frum proffers reasoned arguments why conservatives should relinquish extreme or demagogic [...]
2 Lovetobeliberal // Aug 21, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I loved the interview on Bill Moyer’s Journal, and found myself agreeing with you on some of the health care ideas. I also appreciate you calling out the men who are, for whatever reason, calling on the less balanced of the right to come to town with guns. They know what they are doing, but no one else wants to admit it, nor will they take the blame when something ugly actually happens (again).
3 mara123 // Sep 20, 2009 at 10:29 pm
After reading this i am no longer a republican, i wish you luck with dealing with plain Americans you are going to need it.
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