Bill Frist

William Harrison Frist (born February 22, 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee and a cardiac surgeon. Since 2003, he has served as Senate Majority Leader. He is frequently mentioned as a potential candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

National prominence

Frist first entered the national spotlight when two Washington police officers were shot outside the United States Capitol. Frist, the closest doctor, provided immediate medical attention. He also was the Congressional spokesman during the 2001 anthrax attacks.

Related Topics:
United States Capitol - Congressional - 2001 anthrax attacks

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As the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he helped Republicans win back the Senate in the 2002 midterm election. His committee collected $66.4 million in soft money for 2001-2002, 50% more than the previous year. Shortly afterwards, Senator Trent Lott made comments at a Strom Thurmond birthday celebration in which he said that if Thurmond's segregationist presidential bid of 1948 had succeeded, "we wouldn't have all these problems today". In the aftermath, Lott resigned his position as Senate Majority Leader and Frist was chosen by Senate Republicans as his replacement; the administration of George W. Bush was widely credited with helping him attain the post. In his 2005 book, "Herding Cats, A Lifetime in Politics", Lott accuses William Frist of being "one of the main manipulators" in the debate that ended Senator Lott's leadership in the Republican Senate. Lott wrote that Senator Frist's actions amounted to a "personal betrayal." Frist "...didn't even have the courtesy to call and tell me personally that he was going to run." Lott wrote.

Related Topics:
National Republican Senatorial Committee - 2002 midterm election - Soft money - Trent Lott - Strom Thurmond - 1948 - Administration of George W. Bush

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On January 2, 2003, while on vacation, Frist happened upon an SUV crash near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Frist stopped his car and helped the victims of the accident until emergency workers arrived. "It made all the difference; his help was invaluable, he really went above and beyond the call to help," emergency workers said.

Related Topics:
January 2 - 2003 - SUV - Fort Lauderdale, Florida

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In the 2003 legislative session, Frist enjoyed many successes. He was able to push many initiatives through to fruition, including the Bush administration's third major tax cut and legislation that was against partial-birth abortion (currently on appeal to the Supreme Court). However, the tactics which he used to achieve those victories alienated many Democrats. In 2004, by comparison, he saw no major legislative successes, with the explanations ranging from delay tactics by Democrats to lack of unity within the Republican Party.

Related Topics:
Tax cut - Partial-birth abortion - 2004

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In a prominent and nationally broadcast speech to the Republican National Convention in August, 2004, Frist highlighted his background as a doctor and focused on several issues related to health care.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50446-2004Aug31.html He spoke in favor of the recently passed Medicare prescription drug benefit and the passage of legislation providing for Health Savings Accounts. He described President Bush's policy regarding stem cell research, limiting embryonic stems cells to certain existing lines, as "ethical." In an impassioned argument for medical malpractice tort reform, Frist called personal injury trial lawyers "predators": "We must stop them from twisting American medicine into a litigation lottery where they hit the jackpot and every patient ends up paying."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50446-2004Aug31.html Frist has been an advocate for imposing caps on the amount of money courts can award plaintiffs for noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases.

Related Topics:
Republican National Convention - Medicare - Health Savings Accounts - Stem cell - Tort reform - Predators - Plaintiff - Noneconomic damages - Medical malpractice

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During the 2004 election season, Frist made the unprecedented political tactic of going to the home state (South Dakota) of the opposition party (Democrat)'s minority leader, Tom Daschle, a moderate Democrat, and actively campaigned against him, quite successfully since Daschle's Republican opponent, John Thune, defeated Daschle. After the 2004 elections, Frist played a role in the controversy over Arlen Specter's post-election remarks. Frist demanded a public statement from Specter in which Specter would repudiate his earlier remarks and pledge support for Bush's judiciary nominees. Frist rejected an early version of the statement as too weak, and gave his approval to the statement which Specter eventually delivered.

Related Topics:
South Dakota - Tom Daschle - John Thune - Arlen Specter

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Frist is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate for the Republican party in 2008, much in the same tradition as Bob Dole, a previous holder of the Senate Majority Leader position. However, there has been increasing dissent within the Republican caucus over his handling of the Majority Leader position, and his near invisibility as a spokesman for the Republican caucus, which has damaged his reputation. His supporters within the caucus point to his success in moving tax legislation important to the executive branch as a sign that he is simply filling his place on the team, namely to bring important bills to a vote, and then ensure that gains made on the floor are preserved in the conference committee process.

Related Topics:
2008 - Bob Dole

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Many of Frist's opponents have attacked him for what they see as pandering to future Republican primary voters. They claim that he has taken extreme positions on social issues such as the Terri Schiavo matter in order to please them. On the other hand, Frist changed his position on stem cell research, contradicting the wishes of the religious right.

Related Topics:
Primary - Terri Schiavo - Stem cell - Religious right

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There has also been controversy regarding the "nuclear option," under which the Republicans would change a rule in the Senate to prevent the filibuster of judical nominations. Although Frist claimed that "ever before has a minority blocked a judicial nominee that has majority support for an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor," critics pointed to the nearly two century history of the filibuster, including the successful four-day 1968 Republican filibuster of Lyndon Johnson's chief justice nominee, Abe Fortas. (see , ); some Republicans, however, dispute the claim that Fortas enjoyed majority support in the Senate. Other conservatives note that there is nothing unconstitutional about changing rules over the filibuster; for example, until recently, cloture required a two-thirds majority, rather than the three-fifths majority in today's Senate. In 1998 Frist did participate in the Republican filibuster to stall the nomination of openly gay James C. Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg; Hormel eventually received a recess appointment from President Bill Clinton, bypassing a Senate vote.

Related Topics:
Nuclear option - 1968 - Lyndon Johnson - Cloture - Filibuster - James C. Hormel - Luxembourg - Recess appointment - Bill Clinton

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More criticism of perceived weakness came in the midst of an extended confirmation fight over Bush's pick for US ambassador to the United Nations, John R. Bolton. Twice Frist failed to garner the 60 votes to break cloture, getting less votes the second time and even losing one conservative Republican (George Voinovich of Ohio). On June 21, 2005, Frist said the situation had been "exhausted" and there would be no more votes. Only an (see http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/21/bolton.vote.ap/index.html]) hour later, after speaking to the White House, Frist said: "The president made it very clear he wants an up-or-down vote." The sudden switch in strategy led to charges of flip-flopping in response to pressure from the Bush administration. Nevertheless, no up-and-down vote was held, and Bush made a recess appointment of Bolton.

Related Topics:
United Nations - John R. Bolton - George Voinovich - Ohio - June 21 - 2005

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Frist has pledged to leave the Senate after two terms, which would be in 2006; this would leave him ideally placed to pursue a presidential run in the 2008 presidential election.

Related Topics:
2006 - 2008

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Schiavo case

During his tenure as the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Frist watched videotapes that were made and edited by an advocacy group that felt that Florida resident Terri Schiavo should not be disconnected from equipment that sustained her bodily functions.

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From this viewing of a videotape, he contradicted the diagnosis of all the attending physicians that Terri Schiavo was brain dead, and said that Florida doctors had erred in saying Terri Schiavo is in a "persistent vegetative state."

Related Topics:
Diagnosis - Florida

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"I question it based on a review of the video footage which I spent an hour or so looking at last night in my office," he said in a lengthy speech in which he quoted medical texts and standards. "She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli." His speech on the floor of the senate: "I have looked at the video footage. Based on the footage provided to me, which was part of the facts of the case, she does respond." (see )

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A subsequent autopsy after Ms. Schiavo's death showed long-term and irreversible brain damage that laid to rest any argument that Ms. Schiavo had retained any higher brain function. The autopsy also showed Terri Schiavo to be blind. Subsequently the senator backpedaled, even going so far as to say "I never said 'She responded.'" (see )

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A complaint to the Tennessee Bureau of Health Licensure and Regulation regarding Senator Frist's intervention into another attending physician's case was filed. The complaint brought the Frist Senate Office's July 11, 2005, response that Doctor Frist "did not violate the statutes and/or rules governing the practice of medicine in the State of Tennessee". (His statements were made in Washington DC about Ms. Schaivo's Florida hospitalization.)

Related Topics:
Tennessee - July 11 - 2005 - Washington DC

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