In a private letter to Frist, NEWSWEEK has learned, 31 of the 165 members of his medical-school class accused him of using his medical degree improperly. Frist's office declined to comment; according to public records, at least 13 of the 31 had donated money to Democrats in the last five years. Still, Dr. Lewis Rose, an oncologist who said he voted for Bush last year, insisted Frist had overstepped. "He had no right to use the cloak of the Hippocratic oath, no matter who was right," Rose told NEWSWEEK. "He's got medical training and a medical perspective, but he is not a practicing physician and has no business using that in politics. Period. If he does, he won't get any of his classmates' votes who signed this."
If you jump around the blogsphere, the amount of gotcha moments against the leadership of the Senate and House are great indeed. Tom DeLay, never a guy with a great reputation, has at least a twofer: disreputable lobbyist friend and hyperbolic comments against judicial review (that damn radical Alexander Hamilton and his Federalist No. 78!). I find the latter more distasteful personally, since it has a more destructive effect on the public at large, though the former does lead to some nasty legislative moves.
And, the blatant hypocrisy and pathetic defenses really rankle. Rep. DeLay, for instance, is criticized for some lobbyist paid trips to his family, and a major defense is that "they do it too." Mom didn't buy this excuse when we are kids, and I don't know why we now should either. Anyway, first, people paid him more money (obviously, giving his pull). And, two, as the leader of the party, he should be put to a higher standard. Sen. Frist deserves to be put to the same test ... and his use of Terri Schiavo and certain religious groups (as well as the usual anti-Democratic hysterics respecting judges) is rather distasteful as well. Yes, certain religious groups. Though some might think so, they do not have the monopoly on determining what God wants.
I know it's tiring after awhile ... I personally am tired of hearing about DeLay on Air America* ... but the core truth holds: two thirds of our federal government is headed by people that make me sick just too often for comfort. We can ignore for just so long that the institution that is supposed to represent the interests of the people at large is headed by a creepy crooked crud (though when challenged on an ethics panel issue, he looked rather weak on C-SPAN defending the official line). And, the institution representing the states is led by a doctor who puts forth misleading medical statements as well as using divisive religious statements for political ends (but, hey, I'm not a Republican ... can't trust me). The guy who represents the nation as a whole?
Well, though he serves as a cheap laugh line for David Letterman, not much of an improvement, let's say. If this is the best we can do, we are in deep trouble.
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* I'll repeat myself: why in the hell did they bring Jerry Springer in? I know Unfiltered was only a pretty good show with nice chemistry and some sense of proportion that is not quite shown on the evening shows with their tendency toward demagoguery. But still ... don't they know the guy is just a prime target for jokes and taints the network as a whole? Do liberals really need to put such an easy target on their backs?