Bill "I'm a Choad" Frist Chooses NRA over Troops

[iconoclastic cat]

Please, please run for president, Bill. Please.

Frist Chooses NRA over Troops

(snip)
Here are the basics:

1. The Senate started debating the Defense Authorization Bill last Wednseday.

2. In order to get a vote on the NRA's gun liability bill before the August recess, Frist filed a cloture motion on Friday to prematurely end debate on the Defense Authorization Bill and close the window for amendments (last year the Authorization Bill received 5 weeks of debate, and it usually gets between one and two weeks of debate).

3. Just a few minutes ago, the Senate voted not to involve cloture and end debate on the Defense Authorization Bill.

4. Rather than continue the debate on the Defense Authorization bill, Frist is pressing a motion to immediately proceed to the Gun Liability Bill. And he won't even agree to Reid's proposal that they immediately proceed to DoD Authorization after the Gun Liability bill is completed.

5. In the debate just prior to the current vote, Boxer nailed Frist by asking the obvious question (I'm paraphrasing; will edit with exact quote if someone can provide it in the comments):

Does the Republican leader think the gun liability bill is more important than the Defense Authorization Bill in a time of war?

The answer, of course, is "yes."
(more)

You know, I really want Herbert West--I mean, Bill Frist to run for president. Truly. I might vote in the Republican primary just to help that along.

[SlipperySlope]

1. This bill has been waiting for over a year...

Passage of "The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" was blocked last year. The gun industry is under immediate threat from lawsuits, and passing this bill is an important step in protecting them, and it is expected to be voted on before the August recess.

On an absolute scale, I would put the defense bill first. However, I don't know if there is any particular reason that bill needs to be passed before the recess. My understanding is that is a $491B act with no chance of being completely hashed out before August 1st.