David Frum Finally Admits He’s Not A Conservative

I haven’t been a fan of David Frum since he left National Review, started his own blog, and decided to make a name for himself by being a professional quisling. Since those on the Left control the mainstream media, they’re able to reward phony conservatives who tell them what they want to hear with plum assignments and favorable media coverage. Whether it’s guys like Frum or airheads like Meghann McCain who would be over her head writing at a college paper — as long as they’re willing to say what liberals want to hear, they’ll get tongue baths from the Left. It’s a dishonorable way to make a living, but there are plenty of people willing to do what it takes to get their names up in lights.

So, when Frum Forum applied for a spot in the Blogads Conservative Hive (which is a great place to buy conservative ads), I turned them down and Frum wasn’t happy about it.

From Frum’s representative:

John,

I shared your e-mail refusal to add FrumForum.com to the Blogads advertising hive because you don’t consider it conservative to David and he said, “.. You may tell him from me that I consider this decision a fascinating news story in its own right.”

I ask that you please reconsider the add. I have copied David on this message should you like to explain your decision directly.

From me:

I used to like and respect David Frum. Then, I guess he decided being a small fish in a big conservative pond wasn’t good enough for him. That’s when it appears to me that he made a business decision to trash conservatives for the amusement of the Left. Whatever his motives may be, that’s his decision.

But, if that’s what he wants to be known for, I’m certainly not going to do anything to help him stick a shiv deeper in the back of people who believe the things that I do. Maybe some people are willing to turn a blind eye because they know and like David personally, but I’m not his friend, I genuinely don’t consider him to be a conservative or even someone who’s friendly to the conservative movement, and I’m not willing to give him a pass for the way he behaves.

So, if you or David think it’s a “fascinating news story in its own right,” knock yourself out. Maybe David can write about it the next time he sneers at conservatives for Newsweek.

You may tell David that from me.

During part two of our little dispute, I also said this,

Actually, I, like most conservatives, do not advocate groupthink or demand people rigidly stick to the “company line.” We actually have a simpler request: We just want people who are billed as Republicans and conservatives to actually be on the same side we are. The editorial pages in the newspapers slant liberal. The columnists slant liberal. Even the news in the newspapers slants liberal. Hell, even the TV shows and movies slant liberal. So finally, after all that, you run across a “conservative” in the mainstream media giving an opinion and guess what? He’s been given a platform to speak because he agrees with the liberals. That’s what people like David Frum get paid to do, I’m sick of it, and I’m not doing anything else to reward people like him, including allowing them to get into the Blogads Conservative Hive.

All of this was going on back in June of 2010. Well now, guess what? Frum is belatedly admitting that people like me had him pegged right from the beginning. Here’s Frum yesterday,

On the other hand, sometimes the critics make a valid point. When they do, I’m not too obstinate to concede.

For years, I’ve shared the Marketplace airwaves with former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. We recorded commentaries, point counter-point, alternate weeks on business and economic issues. The intent was for Bob to represent the left, and for me to represent the right.

Over the past three years, this format has put me into some awkward positions.

So long as the topic is “green jobs” or NLRB regulations or immigration, my thinking aligns reasonably congruently with the current conservative consensus.

But on the issues that today most passionately divide Americans — healthcare reform, monetary policy, social spending to aid the unemployed, and — soon — the American response to the euro crisis, I have to recognize that my views are not very representative of the conservative mainstream.

When speaking wholly and declaredly for myself, I can shrug off (admittedly — with some regret) the distance I have drifted from old comrades. When I’m called on to do point-counterpoint, I can’t deny that there is something false about the situation. The many listeners to Marketplace who share the consensus conservative view are entitled to hear somebody articulate that view as well as it can be articulated. The listeners who do not share the consensus conservative view would benefit even more from a strong presentation of that alternative opinion.

If I can’t or won’t do that job, then I should make way for somebody who can and will.

Accordingly, I have resigned my role on the Marketplace program, nominating potential replacements from closer to the present GOP consensus. I may not agree with that consensus, but I cannot deny its existence and importance.

It’s great to see that Frum isn’t “too obstinate to concede” what people like me have been noting about him for at least a couple of years. This part seems particularly noteworthy,

The many listeners to Marketplace who share the consensus conservative view are entitled to hear somebody articulate that view as well as it can be articulated.

The reason that stands out to me is because it’s almost exactly what I was saying about Frum in June of last year,

“So finally, after all that, you run across a “conservative” in the mainstream media giving an opinion and guess what? He’s been given a platform to speak because he agrees with the liberals. That’s what people like David Frum get paid to do, I’m sick of it…”

I don’t care if any mainstream media outlet wants to showcase David Frum. My beef has always been with the idea of falsely advertising David Frum as a conservative. Conservatives do deserve to have someone who represents their views speaking on their behalf in the mainstream media. David Frum is not that guy.

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