Posted on 01/02/2003 4:14:25 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
The relief felt by Republican senators Dec. 23 at concluding the two-week-long Trent Lott nightmare immediately turned to quiet apprehension when they heard Sen. Bill Frist's impromptu acceptance speech as the new Senate Republican leader. Had they, some wondered, picked an admirable man for the wrong job?
Frist, moments after his election in an unprecedented telephone caucus, compared the prospect of becoming Senate majority leader with his past exploits as a heart transplant surgeon. ''I had to hold in my hands the human heart,'' he said, ''recognizing all its glory and all its potential, and then technically seating it into the chest of a dying woman to give her life and a future she would not otherwise have.'' Dr. Frist then suggested he was now embarking on an even ''heavier'' responsibility, implying that the Grand Old Party needs radical surgery.
Actually, Senate Republicans were basking in the glow of regaining majority status Nov. 5 until Sen. Lott's flattery of Strom Thurmond at his 100th birthday party triggered a massive political overreaction. Frist's exaggeration of Republican malaise suggests a steep learning curve for him as a new party leader. Apart from mastering the back-breaking details of running the Senate, Frist may have to be disabused of the notion that he is taking on responsibilities of moral leadership.
None of the eight previous majority leaders I observed during nearly half a century of reporting on the Senate took the job with less experience. Frist voted for the first time at age 36, entered politics at 42 to run for the Senate and now is majority leader at 50. Frist was ready to fulfill his two-term pledge and leave the Senate after four more years. Lyndon B. Johnson was only a 44-year-old first-term senator when he became Democratic leader, but he had spent his adult life in politics--much of it on Capitol Hill.
Frist was technically a member of the leadership the past two years as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but never has been involved in the grimy business of legislative management. While a brilliant heart surgeon quickly can learn how the Senate works, the question is whether he understands that this job calls for a dealmaker and tactician rather than a philosopher king.
It is a hard job, seldom blessed with success. The two most masterly majority leaders of my time--LBJ and George Mitchell--were Democrats who outwitted Republican presidents. Being the leader when the president is a member of the same party is less enjoyable and more difficult. Sen. Robert Byrd told me some 25 years ago that he was the Senate Democrats' majority leader--not the unfortunate President Jimmy Carter's.
In contrast, Frist is all too close to George W. Bush, in the opinion of some colleagues. In managing the 2002 Senate GOP campaigns, he functioned as a virtual member of the White House staff.
What really bothers senators, however, are signs that Frist does not fully realize that the Senate, for all its purported clublike camaraderie, always has been a cold and brutish place--never more than it is today.
Frist's acceptance speech dwelled on Senate unity across party lines. In fact, he will face unremitting Democratic intransigence on tort reform, judicial nominees, abortion limitations, the faith-based initiative, anti-cloning legislation and President Bush's priority of tax reduction. On Dec. 23, Frist did not mention taxes.
Instead, he delivered a pronouncement on health care that, with hardly any editing, could have been echoed by Senate Democratic Leader Thomas Daschle: ''We will improve and strengthen Medicare, address prescription drugs for our seniors and individuals with disabilities, and focus on the uninsured and the obvious health care disparities I've witnessed firsthand.'' Those are clearly Democratic issues where Republicans have to play defense.
Frist then followed with this description, which fits his medical heart-in-the-hand analogy: ''We must dedicate ourselves to healing the wounds of division that have been reopened the past weeks.'' All too soon, Dr. Bill Frist will find that the skills of a healer may be to no avail in trying to make the Senate work.
Robert Novak appears on CNN's ''Capital Gang'' at 6 p.m. Saturday.
And as far as Sen. Frist goes, Mr. Novak, sometimes nice guys do finish first.
And as far as Sen. Frist goes, Mr. Novak, sometimes nice guys do finish first.
Not one.
Not one.
All it takes is one encounter to know this about the pump jockeys...............
It's a gift from G-D to be a great surgeon. He uses his, and not just for a big fee.
You are right on. So true.
Lott was much better and despite his verbal gaffes will be sorely missed as a more principled GOP leader, less inclined towards bipartisanship and collaboration with the RATS than his more moderate successor.
It was dispicable of the demRATS to have vented their electoral frustration onto Sen Lott in that manner.
But I didnt think it was imaginable anyone more inclined to accept a bullseye on his back than Trent Lott, isnt this the one who allowed clinton to get away with chinagate by dealing away the impeachment?
I dont know alot about frist but one thing I can see is that he is smart. Hopefully smart enough not to step in it like Lott did. As majority leader he is beholden to his peers to maintain the integrity of the conservative platform regardless of his personal bias. And his peers are beholden to the voters (THATS YOU AND ME) to demonstrate progress on the conservative agenda.
Planned Parenthood, the abort as many babies as you can gives him a F
This sure doesn't sound pro-choice to me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.