David Frum

Last week was a first for me. I sent a letter of appreciation to a conservative.

I never thought I'd see the day...but having said that, I did vote for Conservative Joe Clark once. I thought he was the only honest leadership candidate in the race that year, a bad year for politics at best. Joe didn't win, though. Jean Chretien was returned with a majority and we all remember what happened after that to the country. Anyway, I digress.

I've never been a big fan of David Frum's ideas. The former Bush speechwriter coined the term "Axis of Evil, " an alibi for heightened tensions with Iran, Iraq and North Korea after 911.

Grudgingly, I have to admit that Frum is probably one of the saner voices on the right judging by his newspaper columns and television appearances. I hardly ever agree with his perspective but he is not a conservative in the Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck mold. He actually thinks about what he thinks!

When he was dismissed from his job at AEI, a conservative think tank, for espousing his views on the right road for a conservative recovery (no pun intended), I felt I had to write to him. I have included my letter to Mr. Frum:

Dear Mr. Frum:

This is a letter of appreciation from someone who does not share your political viewpoint. Quite frankly, many of your opinions have left me bristling over the years. What I do appreciate, however, is the integrity with which you represent a conservative perspective on current events and public policy both in Canada and the United States. While your point of view is further right than my comfort zone, you always represent your views from a rational and humanistic perspective. I believe you have been dismissed from AEI for failing to support the agenda of those on the right who believe that extremism is required for a conservative recovery. Left or right, extremism is a barrier to dialogue and solution-making. I applaud you for being willing to tell the truth as you see it. Thank you for your courage.

Sincerely...

I got a nice, if short, reply thanking me for my "tribute."

We don't have to agree with each other, but we would all benefit from meaningful dialogue across the aisle.

Visionmakers come in all shapes, sizes and political stripes. Diversity is good. So is honest debate. Dismissing David Frum because he advocates rational thought from the right and not the shrill, provocative and racist rhetoric that we see growing in leaps and bounds, does everyone a disservice.

Anyway, I thought you should know that I fraternize.