Frist: Could have been "more precise"

Posted by R. Neal

Didn't they teach Sen. Dr. Bill Frist in right-wing boot camp that you never admit you were wrong?

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist acknowledged yesterday that he could have been "more precise" two years ago when he told the public in a televised interview that he wasn't sure if he still owned any HCA stock because his holdings had been placed in a blind trust.

Frist claimed in 2002 and on television in 2003 that he didn't know how much HCA stock he owned, and might not have owned any. But in fact, since 2001, Frist received notification 15 times of sales or deposits into his trust accounts of various stocks, including HCA shares.

I guess "could have been more precise" is GOP-speak for "I could have told the truth, but chose not to." It's like 1972 all over again, except "could have been more precise" sounds a little better than "those statements are no longer operative."

In Sen. Dr. Bill Frist's defense, however, he hasn't really done much to help the family business. The GOP's Medicaid cuts certainly aren't good for business in states where HCA has big provider contracts. On the other hand, he hasn't done much to threaten the family business, either, such as open up the floor for debate on a single-payer national health insurance program.

Meanwhile, in his (and HCA's) home state of Tennessee more than 120,000 people just lost their health insurance when Tennessee's TennCare/Medicaid program was gutted. Haven't heard a peep from Sen. Dr. Frist on how he proposes to help these people.