Of the top four contenders for Republican Senate Majority Leader, which have
the worst voting record on civil rights? (With specific examples.)

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Request for Question Clarification by mvguy-ga on 21 Dec 2002 22:49 PST

At this point, it doesn't appear there are four top contenders;
according to news reports, Sen. Bill Frist has support from a majority
of the GOP senators for the position, a majority that includes at
least two others who had been considered contenders.  Perhaps you
could name the four senators whose voting records you'd like to know
more about, or perhaps you would like to know more about Frist's
record.  Thanks.

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Clarification of Question by xmlrein-ga on 21 Dec 2002 23:51 PST

I undertand that Frist is in the lead -- but I was not aware that he
is considered to have no competition at this point.

I was thinking of going down the ladder in popularity (From Frist, to
Nickles, to #3? and #4?) -- that's where I got my "top four
contenders."

If you're saying there's no contest, then, sure, let's concentrate on
Frist.

Thanks!

Hi! Thanks for the question.

It is true that at this point (Dec. 22) and as of the writing of this
answer, there are indeed two contenders for the Republican Senate
Majority Leader Sen. Frist as the frontrunner with Nickles coming in
second.  Due to the withdrawal by Sen. Lott both are now considered
likely prospects. But like Lott both have been criticized and have
been said to be his mirror images when it comes to civil rights voting
records.

In this National Organization for Women article it provides examples
of the civil rights issues voted upon by Sen. Frist. He voted against
the following issues:

1. Sex education
2. International family planning
3. Emergency contraception
4. Affirmative action
5. Hate crimes legislation
6. Employment Non-Discrimination Act

“’Few senators have a worse voting record on civil rights than Trent
Lott—but Bill Frist is one of them,’ Gandy noted. ‘Frist has voted
against sex education, international family planning, emergency
contraception (the morning-after pill), affirmative action, hate
crimes legislation and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. This is
the man who is supposed to save face for the GOP in the Senate? Think
again.’"

“NOW President Says Potential Lott Replacement No Improvement”
http://www.now.org/press/12-02/12-20.html 

The next article is a profile of Sen. Frist.

“Frist Has Quick Rise in Senate”
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:D2piSfXoOJkJ:news.findlaw.com/politics/s/20021220/politicslottfristdc.html+Sen.+Bill+Frist+%22civil+rights%22+%22voting+record%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Sen. Don Nickles is portrayed as well in the media as not so much a
champion in this arena.

1. Opposed a federal holiday for the commemoration Martin Luther
King’s birthday.

2. Voted for the preservation of the tax-exempt status of private
schools like Bob Jones University which is opposed to interracial
dating.

3. “…uphold the first President Bush's veto of legislation to amend
the 1964 Civil Rights Act to ban workplace discrimination.”

4. “In 1993, both voted to extend the Confederate flag design patent”

5. “In 1994, both sided with a Helms amendment to strip federal
funding from the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission.”

6. Nickles also voted for the elimination of a disadvantaged business
enterprise program. This program insures that a certain percentage of
federal government contracts go to businesses led by minorities and
women.

“Nickles' voting record on civil rights mirrors Lott's”
http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_1613863,00.html

In my own opinion, even though there were more samples for Nickles,
Frist’s voting records on the more basic and important civil rights
issues makes him less of a supporter when it comes to these types of
legislation.

Search terms used: 
Sen. Bill Frist "civil rights" "voting record"

I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.

Thanks for visiting us.

Regards,
Easterangel-ga
Google Answers Researcher

You may also find this comparison of votes for Lott, Nickles,
McConnell, Frist, and Santorum interesting.  Obviously, some of these
votes occurred prior to Frist and Santorum joining the Senate, though
that is the exception.

http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/qtr1_2003/1217-127.html

I would note that the National Organization of Women's agenda on:
1. Sex education 
2. International family planning 
3. Emergency contraception 

is not universally considered civil rights legislation, so it is not
suprising to not find them listed in the vote comparison linked to
above.

Also, the following article from the USA Today points to some
differences between Frist and Lott beyond voting record.  "Frist has
donated his services as a physician at medical missions in Africa and
has worked to address the problem of AIDS there."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2002-12-18-lott-votes_x.htm