A Different Take on the Job in 1994

Sen. Bill Frist has not always believed that being Senate majority leader is a good idea.

In 1994, when he made his first run for the Senate, the Tennessee Republican attacked his opponent, Democratic Sen. James R. Sasser, for seeking the leadership post.

“Mr. Sasser’s becoming majority leader means ... [he] has to put the majority’s interests before that of Tennesseans,” Frist said during a campaign debate.

On Friday, Frist spokesman Nick Smith said Frist believes he can serve his state if he becomes majority leader.

“Sen. Frist has been one of Tennessee’s biggest advocates here in Washington and will continue to do so throughout his career,” Smith said.

During the same 1994 campaign, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Frist touched off a controversy by charging that Sasser had voted to send Tennesseans’ tax dollars “to Washington, D.C., home of Marion Barry.” Barry is black, and a former Washington mayor who had been convicted of cocaine possession.

Sasser supporters accused Frist of race-baiting, but Frist’s campaign denied the charge.

“I don’t think anybody takes that as a racial comment,” Smith said.

“The legacy of Marion Barry was tarnished of his own doing.”