Nickles Says He won't run for Senate Majority Leader, throws support to Frist!

Fox News

[Howlin]

It's also very OLD news.

[savedbygrace]

There's been a whole lot of counting going on. Nickles counted and knew he didn't have the votes. Frist has counted and knows he does.

Lott is outa there!

[rightwing2]

Due to this development, I am throwing my support back to Lott in despair. Frist is more moderate and would make a poor Senate Majority Leader in my opinion. I simply cannot believe that Nickles gave up the race to a moderate like Frist! President Bush is obviously far more powerful than I ever imagined. Nickles promised to "work his heart out to get Frist elected." Also, Senator Inhofe denounced Lott and said "his backtracking on civil rights issues shows he would be willing to give up the store." Senator Allen also announced he would not support Lott.

[Clara Lou]

Lott needs to read the handwriting on the wall. Move along, Trent, while you have a shred of dignity left to you.

[Magnum44]

Frist is more moderate and would make a poor Senate Majority Leader in my opinion.

Can't be worse than Lott, ya think?

[rightwing2]

Since Nickles has announced he will not run, conservatives need to draft a conservative candidate to oppose Frist preferably Kyl or Inhofe himself. This effort must start immediately to counter the Frist for Majority Leader effort. Otherwise, conservatives will have to switch their support back to Lott.

[B Knotts]

Rove at work.

[rightwing2]

Can't be worse than Lott, ya think?

Frist is more moderate and just as willing to cave to the RATS, but probably on balance no worse than a much-damaged Lott. A Frist victory would dash the hopes of conservatives of having someone willing to fight the RATS to pass the conservative agenda. Frist is a compassionate conservative, which is a nice way of saying he is a representative of the GOP's squishy center. Very inexperienced in the leadership as well.

[Petronski]

Damn but don't I love that Karl Rove. Glad he's on our side.

[rightwing2]

Rove at work.

I'm staring to think the anti-conservative in chief, Karl Rove, is more powerful than the Vice President himself. The amount of power and his ability to wipe out and/or neutralize conservative candidates is getting really scary.

[Digger]

See, again, what you get when you ONLY have two (corrupt) parties to choose from. Both have NO intentions of support for the TAXPAYERS. Frist has NOT been around to know the games played nor do we know his core beliefs but Ole GW & ole Carl can have him support prescrition drugs & ILLEGALS. See, again, it looks as if there is no choice again -keep the pom-poms in or get what we spoon feed you stupid sheeple. Nice choice, huh? A pox on both of these factions.

[crystalk]

I am by no means sure Frist has the votes, am not sure Frist would make a better ML than Lott, am not sure Lott does NOT have the votes, and DO think that Inhofe of Oklahoma would (IMHO, please!) make as good a ML as Nickles, maybe better.

If Lott would come out swinging instead of cringeing after this attack from the Dem left, whose actual agenda may anything from abortion to Israel for all I know, ...that might really be the best possible of outcomes.

For Bush to kick Lott when the latter was down, lowers W in my estimation.

[savedbygrace]

I doubt that will change anything. The vote for SML is half-promises made, half-favors owed, and half- political voodoo.

[rightwing2]

Damn but don't I love that Karl Rove. Glad he's on our side.

I don't know what exactly you mean by our side. Whatever side he's on, its not on the side of conservatives. Rove has shot down a lot of conservative candidacies for higher public office. He has blood on his hands and conservatives like me hate his guts. This is just the latest in a series of "nights of the long knives" against GOP conservatives.

[Jhoffa_]

Is Frist a gun grabber?

I seem to remember someone hanging that on him once.

[CA Conservative]

Lot had ACU ratings for 1999-2001 of 96 - 100 - 96 (avg. for last 3 years=97 Lifetime avg=93).

Bill Frist had ACU ratings during that period of 92 - 92 - 100 (avg. for last 3 years=95 Lifetime avg=88).

Nickles had ACU ratings of 96 - 100 - 92 (avg. for last 3 years=96 Lifetime avg=96).

Santorum had ratings of 88 - 100 - 100 (avg. for last 3 years=96 Lifetime avg=86).

McConnell had ratings of 84 - 100 - 96 (avg. for last 3 years=93 Lifetime avg=89).

Can I ask a question? What do you consider moderate? Of the top four possible replacements for Lott, only Nickles has a higher ACU rating over the last 3 years AND a higher lifetime ACU rating than Frist. Does that mean Santorum and McConnell are moderates also? Where do you draw that line?

[11th Earl of Mar]

Senator Bill Frist (R)
Tennessee
Republican, Years of Service: 7

ACU Ratings for Senator Frist:
Year 2001	100
Year 2000	92
Lifetime	88

2001 Congressional Vote Breakdown:

• Ashcroft Nomination (Roll Call Vote No. 8 )
  2001-02-01
  Confirmation of President Bush's nomination of John Ashcroft of Missouri to be attorney general. ACU supported this nomination, and considers it a critical test of whether conservatives could be confirmed for executive nominations by the Senate and, ther
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: supported
  The vote was: 58-45
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Individual Retirement Accounts S. 420 (Roll Call Vote No. 21 )
  2001-03-13
  Sessions (R-AL) motion to protect individual retirement accounts from limitations imposed during bankruptcy proceedings.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 61-37
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Bankruptcy Overhaul S. 420 (Roll Call Vote No. 33 )
  2001-03-15
  Wellstone (D-MN) amendment that would break private contractual arrangements by allowing the average of a debtor's last two months of income to be used to determine the ability to pay a threshold amount of debt.
  ACU opposed this bill.

  This bill was: defeated
  The vote was: 22-77
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Campaign Finance Overhaul - Union and Shareholder Consent S. 27 (Roll Call Vote No. 43 )
  2001-03-21
  McCain (R-AZ) motion to kill the Hatch (R-UT) amendment that would require unions and corporations to obtain permission from dues-paying members or shareholders before spending money on political activities. It also would require corporations or labor org
  ACU opposed this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 69-31
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Campaign Finance Overhaul - Union and Corporate Disclosure S. 27 (Roll Call Vote No. 44 )
  2001-03-21
  McCain (R-AZ) motion to kill the Hatch (R-UT) amendment that would require corporations and unions that spend money on political activities to provide detailed disclosure of funds spent on political activities to the corporation's shareholders or labor or
  ACU opposed this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 60-40
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Campaign Finance Overhaul - Non-Severability S. 27 (Roll Call Vote No. 59 )
  2001-03-29
  Dodd (D-CT) motion to kill the Frist (R-TN) amendment that would provide that if one of several specific provisions in the underlying bill, mainly the ban on soft money, disclosure requirements for issue-group advertising, and hard money limits, is found
  ACU opposed this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 57-43
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Defense Spending Increase H. Con. Res. 83 (Roll Call Vote No. 72 )
  2001-04-04
  Warner (R-VA) amendment to the Budget Act providing for an increase of $8.5 billion for national defense spending.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: passed
  The vote was: 84-16
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Bolton Nomination (Roll Call Vote No. 92 )
  2001-05-08
  Confirmation of President Bush's nomination of John Robert Bolton of Maryland to be Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: supported
  The vote was: 57-43
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Budget Resolution Cappign Spending H. Con. Res. 83 (Roll Call Vote No. 98 )
  2001-05-10
  Adoption of the final version of the Budget Resolution, calling for approximately $1.35 trillion in tax cuts through fiscal 2011, including a $100 billion stimulus package. "Discretionary" spending was capped at $661.3 billion, about equally divided betw
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: passed
  The vote was: 53-47
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Accelerated Elimination of Marriage Penalty HR 1836 (Roll Call Vote No. 113 )
  2001-05-17
  Hutchison (R-TX) amendment to the tax cut bill that would accelerate the elimination of the so-called "marriage penalty" in the standard deduction, so that it would be fully phased out in 2002.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: defeated
  The vote was: 27-73
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Capital Gains Tax Rate Reduction HR 1836 (Roll Call Vote No. 115 )
  2001-05-21
  Gregg (R-NH) motion to allow consideration of his amendment to the tax cut bill. His amendment would provide for a temporary reduction in the maximum capital gains rate from 20 percent to 15 percent, to stimulate the economy.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: defeated
  The vote was: 47-51
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Tax Cut Bill HR 1836 (Roll Call Vote No. 170 )
  2001-05-26
  Adoption of the final version of the tax cut bill, reducing taxes by $1.35 trillion through 2010 through income tax rate cuts, relief of the "marriage penalty," a phase-out of the federal estate tax, doubling the child tax credit, and providing incentives
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 58-33
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• School Vouchers S. 1 (Roll Call Vote No. 179 )
  2001-06-12
  Gregg (R-NH) amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization bill that would create a demonstration program in 10 school districts to allow public school children to use federal funds in the form of vouchers to transfer to another publ
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: defeated
  The vote was: 41-58
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Boy Scouts S. 1 (Roll Call Vote No. 189 )
  2001-06-14
  Helms (R-NC) amendment to the education bill that would allow federal education funds to be withheld from public elementary and secondary schools that bar the Boy Scouts from using school facilities.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: passed
  The vote was: 53-45
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Medical Savings Accounts S. 1052 (Roll Call Vote No. 216 )
  2001-06-29
  Baucus (D-MT) motion to kill the Craig (R-ID) amendment to the Patients' Rights Bill that would express the sense of the Senate that a patients' rights bill should remove restrictions on the private sector medical savings account demonstration program. A
  ACU opposed this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 53-45
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Waiver of the Right to Sue S. 1052 (Roll Call Vote No. 218 )
  2001-06-29
  Kyl (R-AZ) amendment to the Patients' Rights Bill hat would allow health plan issuers to provide a lower cost health plan to participants who waive their right to sue.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: defeated
  The vote was: 42-54
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Decrease Navy Appropriations S. 1077 (Roll Call Vote No. 225 )
  2001-07-10
  Inouye (D-HI) motion to kill an attempt to decrease funds appropriated for a Navy aircraft program and use the funds to increase U.S. contribution to a global trust fund to combat HIV/Aids.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 79-20
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Allow Limited Oil and Gas Development HR 2217 (Roll Call Vote No. 231 )
  2001-07-12
  Landrieu (D-LA) motion to permit oil and gas development in certain areas in the Gulf of Mexico.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 67-33
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Taxpayer Funding for Gun Turn-Ins HR 2620 (Roll Call Vote No. 267 )
  2001-08-02
  Craig (R-ID) motion to kill an amendment to the Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill creating a $15 million program for HUD to buy guns from the public.
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 65-33
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Strikes by Public Safety Employees HR 3061 (Roll Call Vote No. 323 )
  2001-11-06
  Motion to limit debate on the Daschle (D-SD) amendment to the Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill that would provide collective bargaining rights, including the right to strike, to police, firemen, and other public safety officers employed by states, counties a
  ACU opposed this bill.

  This bill was: defeated
  The vote was: 56-44
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Needle Exchange Programs HR 2994 (Roll Call Vote No. 328 )
  2001-11-07
  Landrieu (D-LA) motion to allow the use of taxpayer funds for needle exchange programs in the District of Columbia.
  ACU opposed this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 53-47
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Emergency Terrorism Spending HR 3338 (Roll Call Vote No. 328 )
  2001-12-07
  Gramm (R-TX) raised a point of order against a Byrd (D-WV) amendment that would have increased emergency terrorist response money by $15 billion more than the president wanted and the House had passed. ACU supported the Gramm position, which prevailed by
  ACU supported this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 50-50
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• International Criminal Court HR 3338 (Roll Call Vote No. 358 )
  2001-12-07
  Dodd (D-CT) amendment that would move the United States towards participation in the International Criminal Court for the prosecution of crimes against humanity.
  ACU opposed this bill.

  This bill was: defeated
  The vote was: 48-51
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

• Dairy Cartel S. 1731 (Roll Call Vote No. 362 )
  2001-12-11
  Agriculture Overhaul - Dairy Policy Harkin, D-Iowa, motion to preserve in the Agriculture Overhaul Bill a $2 billion direct taxpayer subsidy to milk producers.
  ACU opposed this bill.

  This bill was: adopted
  The vote was: 51-47
  
  This Senator voted: In Support of ACU
  
  

[rightwing2]

I am by no means sure Frist has the votes, am not sure Frist would make a better ML than Lott, am not sure Lott does NOT have the votes, and DO think that Inhofe of Oklahoma would (IMHO, please!) make as good a ML as Nickles, maybe better. If Lott would come out swinging instead of cringeing after this attack from the Dem left, whose actual agenda may anything from abortion to Israel for all I know, ...that might really be the best possible of outcomes. For Bush to kick Lott when the latter was down, lowers W in my estimation.

I agree with you completely. I would love to see Jim Inhofe as the next Senate Majority Leader. He is even more conservative than Don Nickles and has more of a fire in his belly to champion the conservative cause. Alternatively, I would support Kyl for SML. Last of all, if Lott began to show that he was a fighter and would not compromise his conservative stands, I would switch my support back to Lott. I don't trust Frist. He seems like something of a Bush/Rove mushy moderate puppet. Just as Bush can not bring himself to veto a single Democrat big government bill, Frist will not be likely to oppose RAT bills deeply offensive to social and fiscal conservatives. The key here is finding a consensus conservative candidate to oppose the mushy moderate pick of Bill Frist. However, realistically for such a conservative candidacy to win, we will probably need Nickles to switch back to the conservative side and support the conservative unity candidate either Kyl or Inhofe.

[shhrubbery!]

For Bush to kick Lott when the latter was down, lowers W in my estimation

But doesn't it also lower Lott in your estimation, that he threatened to throw the Senate back to 50-50 if he couldn't keep his leadership status?

Lott may not have made the threat in public, but you can be sure he authorized Mitch McConnell to do so as his mouthpiece.