what the Frist?

Today Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced that he supports the expansion of federal financing for human embryonic stem cell research, simultaneously winning stunned praise from Democrats and instant political and spiritual damnation from Republicans.

Yes, you read correctly—Bill friggin’ FRIST. The same man who voted
- NO to fund family planning services
- NO to improve the energy security of the US and reduce dependence on foreign oil
- NO to keep the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge closed to oil drilling
- NO to prohibit Federal employees who leak classified information from holding a security clearance
- YES to define marriage as a union consisting between only a man and woman and prohibiting individual states from recognizing marital status and or legal benefits from any other unions other than that of a man and woman
- and, YES to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts

What has happened to the man I used to love to hate? Everything that came out of his mouth was Christian-conservative jargon. He was a loyal Republican automanatomanaton, perfectly cast as the liberals’ whipping boy. And now this—a flicker of reason, a hint of backbone, an unprecedented glimmer of hope that he isn’t a complete moron.

I can’t fathom what he must be thinking. Bush has already said that he would veto any bill endorsing embryonic stem cell research. So Frist is throwing away all hope of any conservative support for his alleged 2008 presidential campaign on this one vote that doesn’t even have a chance of making a big-picture difference. I just don’t understand. Perhaps he’s finally succumbed to the evil-doers war campaign and begun smoking marijuana. And as we know, thanks to the ads on TV, reefer causes all sorts of terrible consequences for the abuser including hit-and-runs, teenage pregnancy, firearm accidents and terrorism. Poor bastard. It’s all downhill from here. He’ll never recover.

I think I love him.