Republicans have been known, from time to time, to use the politics of fear to get ahead. That, of course, includes scaring the bejeezus out of their own rank-and-file supporters, in order to get them to open their checkbooks.

But former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) seems to have laid it on pretty thick in his latest email missive on behalf of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, sent this week. The subject line read, “Democrats Win Landslide Victory.”

I have a real fear of waking up to this headline after the elections this fall. Make no mistake about it: If our grassroots teams fail to come together and work as hard as they did in 2000, 2002 and 2004, that headline could very likely be the result!

In key states, news accounts indicate Democrats are outpacing Republicans registering voters. We also know Barack Obama’s campaign is utilizing the Internet to raise record amounts of money to support his campaign and Democrats nationally ... all in the hope that new voters and record resources will produce a Democrat landslide victory this fall.

There’s so much at risk, and conservatives I talk with from all across the country are feeling the rumblings of “what could be.”

Now, I’m obviously not the target audience of Frist’s message, but if I were a DSCC donor, and Chuck Schumer sent me an email about John McCain doing a great job registering voters, raising money, and rallying legions of supporters, all of which points to a Republican “landslide,” I might feel a little discouraged.

The New Yorker’s Hendrick Hertzberg offered some psychoanalytic observations about the email’s author.

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It's no secret that Chris Matthews has a mancrush on Senator John McCain, but I think he needs to take a step back and look at reality -- stat. During his Power Rankings on Monday's Hardball, Matthews contends that because John McCain is expected to do well on Super Tuesday and is likely to be considered his party's nominee for President, and has Rudy Giuliani stumping for him, he will LOOK presidential, therefore, he has the best shot to win the White House in '08.

So because McCain LOOKS presidential, tens of millions of Democrats will suddenly go brain dead and vote for a man who is running on a platform that runs counter to what they believe in and put another warmongering, anti-choice Republican who is despised by the base of his own party in the White House for another four years.

I put together a little mashup of the segment because by and large, there was little to be found outside the ordinary -- what is outside the ordinary (and logical thought) is Tweety and Howard Fineman somehow trying to make people believe that McCain already looks like the presumptive Commander In Chief and that both Obama and Clinton will have a hard time competing against him. Fineman actually brings up the Bay of Pigs...

  Scripps (h/t NonnyMouse):

Former Senate Republican leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, is keeping low key about his vindication in two federal probes over the timing of his 2005 sales of all his family's stock in HCA Inc.

When the 19-month-long probes ended with no charges, Frist simply issued a brief written statement to the news media Friday saying he was "pleased" that the findings echoed what "I've said throughout this matter ... (that) I acted properly."

Frist disclosed that he had been notified by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York that they concluded their inquiries and are taking no action. Neither office disputed his report.

With what we're now learning about US Attorney directives coming from the executive offices, can anyone truly believe with 100% certainty that there was no partisanship involved?

MarketWatch:

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist took himself out of the running Wednesday for the nation's top political prize, announcing that he won't seek the Republican nomination for president in 2008.

"In the Bible, God tells us for everything there is a season, and for me, for now, this season of being an elected official has come to a close. I do not intend to run for president in 2008," Frist said in a written statement.

[..]Frist said that after 12 years in the Senate, he and his wife, Karyn, were prepared to take a "sabbatical from public life."

"At this point a return to private life will allow me to return to my professional roots as a healer and to refocus my creative energies on innovative solutions to seemingly insurmountable challenges Americans face," Frist said.  Read on...  

There are some very disappointed comedians and scared transplant patients at this news. 

Yesterday on Face the Nation, Bill Frist outlined his fears of a Democratic take over in Senate. Besides the fear that he might have to pay more taxes on his fortune, he also said he was scared of no more "common-sense judges" being confirmed by Senate.

Video - WMV  Video - QT

It has been awhile since we have heard the old "common-sense judges" rhetoric thrown around. Perhaps in part because of this:

"We need common sense judges who understand that our rights are derived from God. Those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench."

That is a line used by President Bush himself last year, a line which quickly drew some criticism (and rightfully so).

This is part of the larger agenda by the radical-right to remove the judicial restraint that has protected our country for years. When you consider how much more religion is thrown into the political arena, our last hope is the judicial branch to decipher the differences between religion and law. This is also something that Sandra Day O'Connor addressed this past weekend:

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Like habeas corpus last week, Keith eulogized the death of "stay the course" last night by taking a look back at all the good times we've had together. From Reagan, Bush 41 and Dana Carvey to Bill Frist, Joe Lieberman and Bush 43, Keith takes us on a stroll down memory lane to pay tribute to the passing of one of our (least) favorite mainstay rhetorical strategies.

Video WMP  |  Video MOV 

You knew Holy Joe had to be in there somewhere amongst the sea of Republicans...

You couldn't make this stuff up.

Dkos:

Bill Frist has just put the final stake in the heart of the myth of Republican toughness on national security.

U.S. Senate majority leader calls for efforts to bring Taliban into Afghan government

Huh? No, really. Huh?

QALAT, Afghanistan U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Monday that the Afghan guerrilla war can never be won militarily and called for efforts to bring the Taliban and their supporters into the Afghan government.

The Tennessee Republican said he had learned from briefings that Taliban fighters were too numerous and had too much popular support to be defeated by military means.

"You need to bring them into a more transparent type of government," Frist said during a brief visit to a U.S. and Romanian military base in the southern Taliban stronghold of Qalat. "And if that's accomplished we'll be successful."Talk about the soft bigotry of low expectations.

What about Mel Martinez, who was also on the trip?

Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican from Florida accompanying Frist, said negotiating with the Taliban was not "out of the question" but that fighters who refused to join the political process would have to be defeated.

"A political solution is how it's all going to be solved," he said.

Sadly, it bears repeating: Taliban = Al Qaeda. They are joined economically, ideologically, and operationally at the hip.

Republicans everywhere are having their heads explode. Read on...

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 Bill Frist is now using the Republican trick of saying that he can't tell you what's in or not regarding torture because the enemy will then train for it. If it has already been reported that we've used waterboarding before then aren't the terrorists already engaged in waterboarding school? He also didn't make much sense  through the rest of the interview. Why does he bother going on with GS?

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George hit him with a little history about waterboarding. Frist probably never knew that we prosecuted the Japanese for waterboarding American soldiers and his answer reflects that simple mindedness, 

Mike L: He's the Senate leader and he hasn't read the status report on Iraq? This really is hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. He refuses to give his opinion on whether or not waterboarding is torture because it might help the enemy. Like Jon Stewart says, we don't want them growing gills, right? This Republican Congress is really a disgrace. He even blames the Democrats for obstructing all critical legislation. These people really have no souls.

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Lucie picked this up from Frist's blog:

With all the information available about all the hateful efforts of the terrorists to strike America since the late 1980s -- easily available by one click on the Internet -- let's simmer down on the censorship calls and honor the memory of 9/11 by letting people see ABC's The Path to 9/11 and draw their own conclusions about the Islamofascist war against America.

There goes First again mouthing off about how we view things. I mean he is the only doctor that can diagnose people off of video tapes so maybe he has a point.

The Times UK Online:

Washington hit by curse of the kid bloggers

As the leader of the Republican party in the US Senate and a possible presidential candidate, Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee has a reputation for sober rectitude. The same cannot be said of his son Jonathan, a Vanderbilt University student who recently appeared on the internet wearing six cans of beer strapped to his belt .

Nor has Jonathan's brother Bryan done much to help his father's attempts to strike a reasonable note about US involvement in Iraq. "I was born an American by God's amazing grace," wrote Bryan Frist in an online profile. "Let's bomb some people."  

But it gets better...

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Bill Frist was on Hannity and Colmes last night to give his insight into the mid-term elections.

"We're for tax cuts. They're for tax hikes. We're for staying the course in Iraq and the War on Terror. They're for cutting and running"

So Frist reaffirms the Republicans'  position of "staying the course in Iraq", while flat out lying by saying the Democrats want to "cut and run" from the War on Terror.

Video - WMV  Video - QT

The best part comes at the end of the interview when Hannity gives his little commentary on the Lieberman/Lamont race:

"Republicans don't go try and torture someone who has different points of view like Senator Lieberman".

Of course, we all know who Hannity stands behind in the Connecticut primary.

Liberal Catnip tipped me off to Howard's latest obvious blunder over the NY Times attacks by the right wing and the liberal blogoshere's reaction to the story :

Most Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, lay low. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid sidestepped a question yesterday about whether the Times should be prosecuted. Similarly, while the conservative blogosphere was on fire over the Times, many liberal Web sites ignored the controversy.

Howard posted his article today. I've posted eleven pieces relating to the NY Times/right wing attack story which I've supplied the content for or other bloggers have so I guess some of us are talking about it. There are some other issues going on in the world that don't include attacking the media I might add.

The Wall Street Journal had been working on the banking story for a long period of time but did not reach the point of having enough information to publish until Thursday afternoon, according to a staffer who declined to be identified because the newspaper is making no public comment. The Journal does not know why Treasury officials made no appeal against publication in that paper, but editors assume that by then the officials were resigned to the fact that the details were coming out, the staffer said.

Why did the WSJ get a pass by the administration? Was it because they were fed details by the White House? I have a couple of questions for you. How many liberal websites did you look at when you made your assertion and why didn't you name any? Will Hugh Hewitt or Hinderaker be a guest this week on your show to give their unbiased opinion? It's remarks like this one that makes you lose credibility when you talk about the liberal blogosphere.

Here's one that he missed by Larisa.

accord sent me this little compilation.

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Matthews: That's after the Zarqawi killing, the bombing, after the president‘s trip to Iraq.  After all the fireworks and good news of the last week or two, they still believe that they would rather see a candidate for Congress or Senate who wants to get us out in a year. Why are they still saying that? 

Frist flip flops again

Frist just flopped recently on the immigration debate. He said that deporting 11 million people was "workable," then flipped to a new position. Now it's something new.

Frist: Gay Marriage and Flag Burning are Highest Priorities

We now know what Bill Frist's priorities are in the Senate and why he's such a horrific leader.

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HOST: You talk about a lot of issues that affect people's lives. And yet you're going to bring two constitutional amendments to the Senate floor in the next few weeks, one to ban same-sex marriage, another to ban flag-burning, both reportedly in the papers to mobilize your conservative base. I have to tell you, I talked to a Republican senator this week who said he may vote for both of them but said they're both pandering. Are gay marriage and flag burning the most important issues the Senate can be addressing in June of 2006?

FRIST: Let me tell you what the agenda is real quick. Secure America's safety here at home. I mentioned supporting our troops overseas, making sure we pass that supplemental bill, making sure we tighten down our borders. securing America, a healthier America, so we’ll continiue to –

HOST: All right. But ...

FRIST: Let me tell you, right now there's no prioritization there. Securing America’' values. I hope tomorrow and today as people see that American flag, and I’m going to Arlington cemetery tomorrow and I'm going to see that flag waving on every grave over there. When you look at that flag and you tell me that right now people in this country are saying it’' okay to desecrate that flag and to burn it and to not pay respect to it, is that important to our values as a people when we’ve got 130,000 people fighting for our freedom and liberty today? That is important. It may not be important here in Washington where people say, well, it’s political posturing and all, but it’s important to the heart and soul of the American people.

Marriage — marriage, you asked about. Right now. Why marriage today? Marriage is for our society that union between a man and a woman, is the cornerstone of our society. It is under attack today. Right now there are 13 states who passed constitutional amendments in the last year and a half to protect marriage. Why? Because in nine states today, activist judges, unelected activist judges are tearing down state laws in nine states today. That’s why I will take it to the floor of the Senate, simply define marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

(h/t David Edwards)