NathanNewman.org: Frist's Rightwing Voting Record

<< DeLong on Coded Appeals to Bigotry | Main | Wal-Mart: Corporate Criminal II >>

December 20, 2002

Frist's Rightwing Voting Record

With the announcement that Bill Frist's challenge to Lott is gaining momentum, it's worth looking at Frist's record. And it's not pretty. Across the board, Frist is a hard-line rightwinger, voting against labor rights, civil rights, women's rights and the environment at almost every opportunity.

Here is a sample of his voting record:

Environment

League of Conservation Voters 107th - 0% 106th - 0% 105th - 27%

Voted for drilling in ANWR, against renewable energy, against increased fuel standards for cars (2002)

Voted for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, for oil and gas drilling in national monuments and to give the President unilateral power to block agriculture-related environmental regulation (2001)

Voted to subsidize corporate timber cutting in Tongass forests, to allow unlimited mine waste by corporations on public leases, supported cut-rate pricing for oil leases on public land, and voting to exempt all coal mining operations from the Clean Water Act. (1999-2000)

Labor

AFL-CIO Rating Lifetime rating- 3% (2 pro-labor votes out of 64 votes measured since first election in 1995)

Voted against workplace ergonomic standards, for school vouchers, against a real patient bill of rights, against prescription drug benefits for all seniors, to restrict the free speech of unions versus other groups on firm premises, against giving collective bargaining rights to police and firemen nationally, for Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. (2001)

Voted against refugee status for Central America refugees, for permanent normalized trade status for China without human rights review, for massive cuts in National Labor relations Board funding, to weaken wage standards for federal construction projects, and against minimum wage legislation. (1999-2000)

Civil Rights

NAACP Rating 15% (2002)

Voted against sanctions for predatory lending abuses, against a series of NAACP-supported education amendments, against technology centers for poor and minority communities, against expanding higher education grants, to override Home Rule decisions by the District of Columbia, against restoring the right to vote to ex-felons, to decrease voting registration through purging voter rolls, and against increased global AIDS funding. (107th Congress)

National Hispanic Leadership Conference
18% (2001) 25% (2000) 0% (1999)

Voted against bilingual education and a series of supported education funding amendments, against minimum wage increases, against confirming a latino Court of Appeals judge, against federal hate crimes legislation, against legalization of various groups of latino immigrants, and against strong community reinvestment requirements for banks.

Leadership Conference for Civil Rights
0% (2001) 43% (2000) 11% (1999)

Voted against predatory lending protections, against community technology centers, to block alternative voting verification methods, against hate crimes legislation, against confirming a Missouri black judge for the Court of Appeals, and for harsh criminal measures against juveniles.

Abortion

National Abortion Rights Action League 0% (2001) 20% (2000) 0% (1999) National Right to Life Committee 100% (2001) 100% (2000) 100% (1999)

See a range of other ratings for Frist at Project Vote Smart

Following the Money: As for where Frist's money comes from-- having heavily self-financed his own election back in 1994, his reelection in 2000 was heavily indebted to the corporate medical industry. See Open Secrets for his industry support.

In fact, Frist in 2000 was a top recipient (#1 to #4 among Senators) from
$260,373 Pharmaceutical/Health Products (#2)
$75,707 Pharmaceutical manufacturing (#3)
$825,504 Health Professionals (#3)
$267,075 Hospitals/Nursing Homes (#4)
$32,250 Medical supplies manufacturing & sales (#1)

See the post on Frist and the endemic medical fraud in his family's medical mega-corporation.

Posted by Nathan at December 20, 2002 02:36 AM

Related posts:

Why Polls May Skew Conservative - Oct 23, 2002

Krugman on Instapundit's Sweden Silliness - Oct 21, 2002

A New Enemies List - Oct 16, 2002

Let's Talk About US Terrorism - Oct 16, 2002

About Time! Dem Leaders Want SEC Head's Head - Oct 09, 2002

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.nathannewman.org/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/428

Comments

The HCA shenanigans continue. Look in the Atlanta Journal Constitution web site and examine the Newnan, Georgia, hospital buy-out controversy that is going on right now. Do not forget Senator Bill's brother is the chief of HCA that is currently doing the Newnan outrage.

Posted by: Jim at December 20, 2002 09:37 AM

"At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume I, "Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum,of Springfield, Illinois (January 27, 1838), p. 109.

Posted by: Nora at December 21, 2002 05:17 AM

sounds like a good man, he's got my vote..you freaking commies

Posted by: mook E at December 22, 2002 02:51 PM

Im sure that walt disney is spinning in his grave at what eisner has done to his dream with adult and R rated fare comming from MIRIMAX & TOUCH STONE and the outragous plans to carry out the filming of FERIHEIGHTH 911 despite what it realy is in other words profit and political dirty work takes preidents over tradition

Posted by: night heron at May 23, 2004 02:03 PM

We do ned a person in office who will do what the nation wants and not what the party wants we need a person who will get us out of the UN and bring out troops home and tell those twits at the EU to consiter protecting their own boarders how about RON PAUL?

Posted by: night heron at June 20, 2004 03:10 PM

Posted by: roma at August 24, 2004 05:28 AM