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Or so the former Senate Republican Leader, a surgeon who has written a new book on health care, told me a few minutes ago in an interview. Were he still in the Senate, "I would end up voting for it," he said. "As leader, I would take heat for it. ... That's what leadership is all about." This is not to say that Frist is entirely happy with everything that is in the bill. For one thing, he doesn't think it does nearly enough to bring costs under control. In his view, it does not fundamentally change the incentives that...

Editor's note: Bill Frist, a physician, is former Republican majority leader of the U.S. Senate and a professor of medicine and business at Vanderbilt University. (CNN) -- A legacy of President George W. Bush will be that he saved 10 million lives around the world. His critics ignore it, but name another president about whom one can say that with such certainty. It is what historians will say a decade from now looking back. Not bad for a president who leaves office with the lowest approval rating in recent memory. The bottom line is: George Bush is a healer. First,...

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 7 /Standard Newswire/ -- Senator Fred Thompson announced his extensive Tennessee political leadership team today. Senator Howard Baker will serve as the honorary chairman of the Tennessee delegation, joined by 13 honorary co-chairs and 61 honorary state chairs, reflecting the depth of support for Senator Thompson in Tennessee. This leadership team includes two former United States Senate majority leaders, current and former members of Congress, former governors, and every Republican member of the Tennessee state legislature. "I am grateful for the wide support I'm receiving from my home state of Tennessee," said Senator Fred Thompson. "This group...

As you may know, I’ve spent the week traveling to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan meeting with government officials, commanders on the ground, medical doctors, and our heroic men and women in uniform. I visited a small town named Qalat south of Kabul and saw American personnel assisted by Romanian and Afghan allies working hard to build electrical and medical infrastructure in an effort to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Afghan farmers. I met with Iraqi doctors in Baghdad who’re struggling to do their jobs in an environment made extremely difficult by terrorism and crime. I witnessed...

Is it possible during the tenure of a Republican-controlled Congress and presidency that pro-life legislation with an 80 percent public approval rating won't pass? Yes. And if that happens, the responsibility will rest solely with one man. The measure in question would make it a federal crime for non-parental adults to traffic minor girls for abortions across state lines without notifying her parents. This closes a loophole currently enabling molesters and incest perpetrators not only to kill the evidence of their crime but repeat it. The bottleneck on this bill is the U. S. Senate, where Republican Bill Frist is...

One of the key issues in this fall’s Congressional election will be centered on what has been done to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the US. As things stand now, there is tremendous frustration over the lack of any meaningful progress on this issue and over the seeming lack of concern on the part of most Democrats, RINO Republican senators and President Bush. Perhaps, though, President Bush has somewhat gotten the message and responded to it (something no Democrat president would do).

THE US Senate has approved $US2 billion ($2.6 billion) in emergency spending for the construction of a fence along the US southwest border with Mexico. The funds were approved as an amendment to a $US435 billion defence spending bill being debated this week. "The Senate acted today to fund a border fence, fulfilling its commitment made in the comprehensive immigration reform bill that authorised the funding," Senate Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist said. Senator Frist described the vote as "another step forward in securing our borders". "With the current National Guard deployment dramatically driving down illegal border crossings by 45...

"We were all an embryo at one point, and we ought to as a society be very careful about being callous about the wanton destruction of embryos, of life," White House aide Karl Rove told the Denver Post this week. He was explaining why President Bush is committed to casting his first-ever veto against a bill -- which may pass the Senate as early as next week -- that would give tax dollars to researchers who deliberately kill human embryos to extract their stem cells. "The president is emphatic about this," Rove said. This veto threat is necessary because of...

Fix Healthcare? Define “Fix” A couple years ago, the WaPo OpEd page carried an odd piece of bi-partisan puffery from Sens Bill Frist (R-TN) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) – now both potential 2008 presidential candidates. As experts on healthcare – Dr. Frist’s daddy founded HCA, which made him filthy rich, while Clinton was appointed in 1993 by her hubby to put her estimable cattle futures investing skills to work revamping America’s broken, overpriced, and heartless healthcare system. The following quote isn’t news to those of us who aren’t privileged enough to have private healthcare coverage paid for by the federal...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other senators yesterday announced an agreement on legislation to open more federal waters to oil and natural-gas exploration. With lawmakers under pressure to help ease fuel prices, the agreement was presented as a breakthrough on stalled energy legislation. It would allow drilling in an area of the eastern Gulf of Mexico that is rich in natural gas, and open the way for coastal states to share in royalty revenue that otherwise would go to the federal government. Addressing Florida lawmakers' concerns, the agreement includes a ban on energy development within 125 miles...

In a letter to the president, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) urged Bush on Friday to intensify efforts to put interceptor missiles at a Europe site. ...

At a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center just a few miles from my office in the U.S. Capitol, you can glimpse a piece of American medicine's future. Sitting at an ordinary desktop computer, Dr. Ned Evans hits a few keys on the keyboard and clicks his mouse a few times. Sample patient data spill out: X-ray images, lab notes, and blood pressure numbers. "Everything I might want, everything I need, I can see right here," he says. "It's a seamless part of life. It lets me do just about everything better." And when the New England Journal of Medicine...

The immigration bill I voted for in the Senate started the United States down the road to a much better immigration system. But it's not finished. In its broad outlines, I support the comprehensive approach that the Senate bill takes. History has taught us that immigration reform measures cannot work in isolation. Simply strengthening physical border security or beginning a guest worker program will not fix the deep, underlying problems in America's immigration system. Any bill Congress sends to the president must enhance border security, create an operational temporary worker program, provide for work-site enforcement, and address the status of...

Senator Robert Byrd, 88, one of Congress's most eloquent and outspoken critics of the US military presence in Iraq, became the US Senate's longest-serving member. The frail octogenarian who hobbles through the corridors of the Senate with the aid of a cane in each hand was first elected to the legislature's upper chamber in 1958. Known for his florid oratory, in recent years he has given numerous speeches from the Senate floor against the upward spiraling cost of rebuilding Iraq and the US motives for invading that country. He has represented the eastern coal-mining state of West Virginia the Senate...

Weekend Talk Show *Preview* for 5/27 - 5/28/06 (not the live thread)The main message is the Sunday Shows.  Message 1 will be the Saturday Shows and message 2 will be the show guest links post.  Then I'll post the ping list.ABC This Week (George Stephanopoulos) Meme: The power of the MSM is unassailable!watch as they destroy the evil right wingers and crown the good progressives while blaming everything on the United States (It's what they do best) Topics: Reports of a massacre in Haditha, IraqThe immigration debate Guests Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. Duncan Hunter doesn't realize it yet, but he's...

The best-known members of Congress aren't necessarily the most powerful. The Democrats' last presidential candidate, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, for example, is ranked 61st in terms of clout among the Senate's 100 members, according to a new analysis. A much junior colleague and likely competitor for the party's White House nomination in 2008, New York Sen. and former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, ranks 41st. Both are well behind lesser-known Republican Reps. Jerry Lewis of California and Don Young of Alaska, respectively chairmen of the House Appropriations and Transportation committees and listed as the third and fourth most powerful House...

Weekend Talk Show *Preview* for 5/13 - 5/14 (not the live thread)The main message is the Sunday Shows.  Message 1 will be the Saturday Shows and message 2 will be the show guest links post.  Then I'll post the ping list.ABC This Week (George Stephanopoulos) Meme: It's Mother's Day - they want the day off to be with Mom.Put Biden and Hagel on... it's autopilot time... we can phone this one in!We say that the NSA programs are all bad, therefore they're bad.  Don't listen to anyone else.See?  We're not being mean to (Laura) Bush, which means we're fair and...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Faced with growing pressure from Southern states, the Bush administration wants the military to come up with ideas to help solve security problems along the U.S. border with Mexico. In back-to-back moves this week, the Pentagon began exploring ways to lend support at the Southern border, while the House on Thursday voted to allow the Homeland Security Department in limited cases to use soldiers in that region. At the Pentagon, Paul McHale, the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, asked officials to offer options for the use of military resources and troops -- particularly the National...

Senate leaders say they have reached a deal to revive a broad immigration bill that could provide millions of illegal immigrants a chance to become American citizens. The agreement doesn't involve provisions of the law, but it does end, for now, a lingering political standoff. The agreement brokered by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., breaks a political stalemate that has lingered for weeks. Key to the agreement is who will be negotiating a compromise with the House and its tough enforcement-only bill. The House passed much more strict immigration legislation in December. It...

by Mark Finkelstein May 2, 2006 Katie Couric put on a display of industrial-strength umbrage this morning when Bill Frist suggested the soon-to-be CBS anchor is opposed to drilling in ANWR. In the wake of yesterday's Today show segment on Frist's proposal for a $100 gas tax rebate in which Matt Lauer gave respectful treatment to Rush Limbaugh's suggestion that the rebate amounted to treating taxpayers like ladies of the night, Frist must have known that he was walking into the lion's den this morning. At one point, Katie hit Frist with excerpts from two letters to the editor of...

by Mark Finkelstein May 1, 2006 Since we had snow - Tony Snow - in April, why not another unseasonable event - Matt Lauer citing Rush Limbaugh, if not approvingly, then certainly as a respectable source for purposes of making a point? The issue was high gas prices, and the pandering band-aid some in Congress have proposed in the way of a $100 tax rebate. Today displayed this quote from El Rushbo, from his show of this past Friday: "Instead of buying us off and treating us like we're a bunch of w----s, just solve the problem." If Lauer did...

by Mark Finkelstein April 25, 2006 Have a look at the two screen captures from this morning's shows. Same issue, different takes. Good Morning America is apparently sure that gas price gouging exists, and wants to stop it. 'Today' is agnostic, simply posing the question whether gouging is going on. But when you turn to the substance of the two segments, there was one consistency: neither show adduced any evidence of gouging. Not a scintilla to show that oil companies are in fact colluding. And without collusion there can be no sustained gouging, since any company that pushed prices higher...

HARRY THE GREATWASHINGTON -- The talk of Washington during the first week of the congressional Easter recess was how Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has seized control of the Senate despite a 10-seat advantage by the Republicans.Just before the recess began, Reid blocked immigration reform legislation scheduled by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Earlier, the minority leader had torpedoed asbestos litigation reform, also put on the Senate floor by Frist. No minority leader has so dominated the Senate since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1953-54.Actually, Frist had turned over floor management on both immigration and asbestos litigation to the Judiciary Committee...

WASHINGTON -- The talk of Washington during the first week of the congressional Easter recess was how Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has seized control of the Senate despite a 10-seat advantage by the Republicans. Just before the recess began, Reid blocked immigration reform legislation scheduled by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

The following statement was issued to clarify the felony provision in H.R. 4437. America is a nation with borders and borders matter. We are a nation of citizens and citizenship matters. We are also a nation of laws and laws matter. We have an important immigrant heritage and honoring that heritage matters. In December, the House of Representatives passed a strong border security bill aimed at securing our borders and preventing illegal immigration. However, on December 16, 2005, there were 191 House Democrats who voted to oppose House Republican efforts to reduce the crime of unlawful presence in the United...

I did a search and didn't see this, if already posted, please pull. If not vote away!

Journal Editorial Report (Paul Gigot) - FNC show page Meme: The Republicans are doomed if they do and doomed if they don't on immigration Topics: The Republican brawl over immigration: An interview with pollster Matthew Dowd on the politics of reform (Opinion Journal web site)Journal editors handicap the showdown between President Bush and GOP restrictionists. (Opinion Journal web site)Immigration reform and the Hispanic vote: Are hard-line Republicans jeopardizing the GOP's future as a majority party for short-term gains this November? (FNC web site) Guests Matthew Dowd I used to work for George Bush, now I work the Ahnuld on his...

E-mail Author Send to a Friend Version March 17, 2006, 1:16 a.m. Securing America’s Borders It’s a national-security issue. By Senator Bill Frist America needs secure borders. Right now, we don't have them. Every day thousands of people violate our frontiers. We don't know their identities and, quite often, we can't stop them. As a nation of immigrants who honor the rule of law, we must secure our borders before we can reform our immigration policies. That's why I introduced the Securing America's Borders Act Thursday night. The bill will take our first step towards a safer and more...

Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist, frustrated by the sluggish debate over immigration reform at the committee level, plans to introduce a bill that deals solely with border security as early as today. Mr. Frist's bill, according to aides on both sides of the aisle, does not include a guest worker provision or a process for handling the 12 million illegal aliens already in the U.S., divisive topics that have stalled immigration legislation in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would beef up security along the U.S.-Mexico border, provide funding for thousands more border patrol agents and build small sections of...

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist tore into his Senate colleague, Russ Feingold, on Sunday, saying the Wisconsin Democrat's plan to introduce a resolution of censure against President Bush in a time of war would give aid and comfort to America's enemies. "Russ is just wrong. He is flat wrong. He is dead wrong," Frist fumed on ABC's "This Week," minutes after Feingold announced his censure plan on the same show. The top Republican complained: "As I was listening to it, I was hoping deep inside that the leadership in Iran and other people who really have the U.S. not in...

Saturday ShowsCNBC'S TIM RUSSERT SHOW Meme: George Bush never really wanted to capture Osama and was really intent on going to war with Iraq all the time Topics: Former CIA agent Gary Berntsen, author of “Jawbreaker”  tells the riveting tale of how Osama bin Laden escaped at Tora Bora. Guests Former CIA agent Gary Berntsen, author of “Jawbreaker” The program airs on CNBC Saturday nights at 7 & 10 p.m. ET Journal Editorial Report (Paul Gigot) - FNC show page Meme: Is George W. Bush in control?Why is he doing inexplicable things? Topics: "Could scores of sealed documents reveal Saddam...

If the United Nations doesn't agree to major reforms of its Human Rights Commission, the U.S. should stick to its principles and withdraw from the body. Since it began operations in 1946, this international human rights monitor can point to few successes. It failed to speak out against communism, failed to act against Rwanda's genocide and failed to condemn nations that sponsor terrorism. Instead, it has singled out Israel--the Middle East's only democracy--for continued criticism while overlooking serious human rights abuses throughout the Arab world. Today, emissaries from Cuba's communist dictatorship, Sudan's genocidal military rulers and Zimbabwe's kleptocratic regime sit...

LEXINGTON, Ky. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Saturday night that after recent briefings, he is now comfortable with an Arab-owned company running port security for six American cities and backed off a pledge to pass legislation to stop the deal. But Frist, a Tennessee Republican who was in Lexington for a state GOP dinner, told reporters that the next few days will be crucial for other members of Congress to press intelligence officials about the details of such an arrangement. "My comfort level is good, but I have 99 other United States senators who need the opportunity...

LONG BEACH - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Tuesday he opposes a general amnesty program for illegal aliens, but declined to discuss whether he would support a guest worker program that would allow millions of immigrants to temporarily work in the United States. "I oppose amnesty. Immigrants are important to our history, our economy, and are greatly valued by our country, but at the same time, our focus will be on the rule of law," the Tennessee Republican said during a visit to the immigration detention center at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Frist also said...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would repeal a law that gives vaccine, drug and medical device makers broad protection against lawsuits in a public health or bioterror emergency. Democrats generally agree there should be some legal protections for certain vaccines but say the Republican version defined health emergency too broadly and did not compensate people who were injured. The liability provision, strongly favored by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, was added to a defense bill enacted in December. Democrats would have an uphill struggle trying to repeal it.

Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist told CBS "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer on Sunday that Democrats were playing "partisan politics" with Dick Cheney's hunting accident last weekend - a charge that left Mr. Schieffer fuming. "What America does not want to see is what happened right afterwards, and that is that the Democratic leadership tried to inject partisan politics into what is a very, very tragic accident," First told Schieffer, who bristled at the remarks. "But Senator," the veteran newsman protested, "ah - I mean - didn't - didn't - shouldn't [the hunting accident] have been made public but...

Fox News Sunday (Chris Wallace) Memes: As usual it looks like Fox is reversing the main meme of the other shows: the usual suspects (Dems/MSM) are trying to blame the grown ups for a natural disasterThe MSM are out of their tiny minds, particularly CNN for lashing out at Brit Hume and Fox for the Cheney interviewThey are giving Evan Bayh a platform for trying to run right of George Bush on IRANThey are giving Lindsey Graham a platform to auditioning as John McCain's VP candidate, therefore he will take the Democrat talking points on NSA and repeat them, ad...

The president went to Nashville, Tennessee, today, to give a speech on his 2006 agenda. He signed a proclamation in honor of American Heart Month. There are pick up photos from last night of Associate Justice Alito's ceremonial swearing in, and from the president's State of the Union speech. Welcome to Sanity Island!!!!!

Replacing Bill Frist By Dustin HawkinsJan 27, 2006 With Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist not seeking re-election in 2006 due to a term-limit promise and a possible White House run, the Democratic Party is placing all hopes of snagging Tennessee’s open seat on the shoulders of U.S. Representative Harold Ford Jr. But Republicans, who have held both U.S. Senate seats since 1994, have other plans for this red-leaning state that has voted for George W. Bush twice. Ford hopes to be the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since Al Gore, a drought that has lasted 16...

INVASION USA Tancredo wins round 1 to build Mexico fence House passes new border controls, with eye on deportations next year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: December 17, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Rep. Tom Tancredo WASHINGTON – It was a victory the once-obscure Colorado congressman savored yesterday. When the House of Representatives passed a tough new border control bill last night, Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo was all smiles. He led an often-lonely and sometimes seemingly hopeless fight not only against Democratic opponents but against his own party and his own president. "Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill which...

1. Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the job George W. Bush is doing as President? (IF APPROVE/DISAPPROVE, ASK:) Is that strongly (APPROVE/DISAPPROVE), or only somewhat? (IF NOT SURE/REFUSED/MIXED, ASK:) Well, do you lean more toward approve or disapprove when it comes to his performance as President? ADULTS Total Approve........................................... 42 Total Disapprove ...................................... 55 <SNIP> 3. Now, thinking about the election for U.S Congress in November 2006, regardless of how you might plan to vote in your own district, which party would you like to see in control of Congress after the congressional elections a year from...

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) threatened yesterday to strip Democrats of the power to filibuster if they block the vote on Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. "It would be against the intent of the Founding Fathers and our Constitution to deny Sam Alito an up-or-down vote on the floor of the United States Senate," he said on "Fox News Sunday." His willingness to consider a procedural maneuver called the "nuclear option" seemed somewhat premature. Last week, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said that although he anticipates intense questioning of Alito during next month's hearings, he...

Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON — A severe bird-flu outbreak would cost the U.S. economy $625 billion — about 5 percent of the gross domestic product — as employers struggled with absenteeism, lost production and a sharp decline in consumer spending, a new government report has found. The economic impact, driven in part by fear and confusion, would be equivalent to a recession, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. The estimates are based on a pandemic that would sicken 90 million people in the United States and kill about 2 million. The findings are the government's first attempt at...

South Dakota Senator John Thune hints that there might be a tinge of regret among the Senate GOP over yesterday's Warner-Frist vote. HH: I am now joined by Senator John Thune of South Dakota...We've got to throw hammers at your colleagues today, John Thune. What happened yesterday? You were on the right side of that vote, as were a lot of the freshmen. Richard Burr joined us yesterday, Tom Coburn joined us yesterday. You guys got it right. What happened to your colleagues? JT: You know, I really think, Hugh, there is so much concern about public opinion polls, and...

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Showing mounting discontent among Republicans over the Iraq war, the U.S. Senate resolved on Tuesday that Iraqis should start taking the lead in their own security next year to allow a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops. But the Republican-led Senate rejected Democrats' demand for Republican President George W. Bush to submit a plan and an estimated timetable to withdraw U.S. forces, a step Bush has vehemently opposed. The Senate's 79 to 19 vote came days after Bush, facing waning support for the war and the lowest job approval ratings of his presidency, launched an aggressive...

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) (L) smiles with Louisiana Lt. Governor Mitchell J. Landrieu on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. November 1, 2005. Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) [Left] and Lt.Gov. Mitch Landrieu (D-LA) [Right]

Accusing Republicans of ignoring questions about pre-war intelligence, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session today, igniting anger from GOP leaders. Before calling for the rare motion, which was seconded by his assistant minority leader, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Reid said his colleagues across the aisle "have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why." Speaking to reporters in the hall outside the Senate chamber, Majority Leader Bill Frist shot back, charging the Senate "has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership." "They have...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amid record-high earnings from oil companies, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Thursday ordered a Senate hearing with testimony from major oil company executives on why energy prices are high. The unexpected announcement by the chamber's top Republican showed the growing political pressure as American consumers brace for higher winter heating costs at the same time energy companies are reporting fat profits. "If there are those who abuse the free enterprise system to advantage themselves and their businesses at the expense of all Americans, they ought to be exposed, and they ought to be ashamed," Frist said...

www.gunowners.orgOct 2005 While gun control passes in the House, GOA expresses a big THANK YOU to all of its members and activists who waged a lone battle of opposition -- And you can be encouraged that your calls made a HUGE difference in one area Gun Owners of America 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102 Springfield, VA 22151 (703)321-8585 Thursday, October 20, 2005 "The anti-gun provisions in S. 397 would probably be stripped out in the House if all the gun groups were working together with GOA." -- Rep. Ron Paul, Sept. 15, 2005 It's a shame really. Rep. Ron Paul is totally...

Next couple of days there will be a lot of gleeful liberals and Republicans claiming that this really does make it possible for Dems to take over the House and Senate in 2006. Here's how it will work. Comparisons, immediately, to the indictment of powerful Democrat Dan Rostenkowski in 1994 adding to the sense that Democrats were out of touch with ordinary Americans and helping bring about the GOP landslide in November 1994. Corrupt Dems in 1994 = corrupt Repubs in 2005. Add to the DeLay indictiment the talk about Bill Frist's stock sale and you have major-league talking points...