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Saturday, July 30, 2005On the Frist thing:On the stem-cell question, I oppose creating embryos for the sake of destroying them for parts. I also oppose a puritanical objection to stem-cell research that limits our lines of inquiry for the sake of making sure that stem-cell research never goes anywhere lest an incentive arise to create an embryo for the sake of destroying it. Like my abortion position, it's a complete muddle designed to convince partisans on both sides that I'm on the other side but not completely horrible. Shameful, I know. And I'm not even running for office... The Frist question is another matter. Bill Frist has been Senate Majority Leader for a while now. He ought to have some idea of how Washington works and how his actions impact his party and his standing in Washington. But who cares? My real problem isn't what he does or doesn't know. It's how little I know about him. I didn't like Dole or Lott. I really didn't like Mitchell or Daschle. But I knew why. All I know about Frist is he's a doctor who sometimes saves lives while he's out on the road. Every time he does this, I wonder why he doesn't quit the Senate and go do something useful with his life. The stem-cell gambit hurts not because conservatives will be mad or liberals will be happy. It hurts because other than the "doctor moments," most of Frist's time on the national stage has served to muddle his positions and those of his party. We have nuclear options that don't explode, and now we have stem-cell flip-flops that don't quite make sense politically or ethically. What we don't have is a clear picture of who Frist is other than a nice guy doctor who can't quite figure out what or who he wants to be in a body created not for the personal evolution of its members but as a means to formulating and refining the prospective laws of our country. At this point, it is highly unlikely Frist would get my vote, at least, in any primary. Not because of any position he took or didn't take, but because I'm not that confident about the candidacy or presidency of a guy who after years in Washington still gets mentioned more for his old job than for his work on the Hill. 
posted by gbarto at 6:40 PM |
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