Posted at Forward with Ford :: A Student Blog Supporting Harold Ford, Jr. for U.S. Senate:


Senator Frist said this weekend at a fundraiser in Nashville, that his legacy relies "100 percent" on electing another Republican to his Senate seat. I'm not surprised he would say his legacy relies on this considering that his tenure as Majority Leader has been a disaster. He has no major policy victory or reform to point to; in fact, he has hardly been able to get anything passed despite his party's majority. He has been one of the most ineffective Majority Leaders in history.
But more important than the fact that he has no policy victories to point to, Frist has a number of abysmal failures marring his career. As Majority Leader he allowed spending to spiral out of control helped in no small part by his leadership style of bribing each Senator he needed to pass a bill with millions in earmarks until he had a majority. He will be remembered not for bringing the two sides of the aisle together in America's time of need, but for the "nuclear option," an incredible statement of how partisan and ideological Washington and his party have become even in the country's most trying times. As a doctor he has violated codes of conduct in medicine to achieve his political goals, diagnosing Terry Shiavo from a severely edited videotape and lying about HIV saying it could be transmitted through saliva, tears, and sweat. As the nation grappled with terrorism, he allowed our borders to go unsecured and passed an amnesty for illegal immigrants. He presided over the most unethical Congress in American history and is himself under investigation for insider trading. The failure of his leadership is definitely an important reason why Congress' approval rating is at an all time low and Democrats look poised to retake both houses this fall.
It's no surprise that Frist's legacy rests on electing someone else to his Senate seat, because Frist did nothing positive for this country while he occupied the seat. But I think Frist is in for a surprise this fall. His legacy will be torn to shreds and exposed for what it is by a young man named Harold Ford, Jr. who is committed to leading this state and this country back to the right path.


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