Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist didn’t hesitate to offer his “professional” medical opinion about Terri Schiavo — despite the fact that she has never been his patient and he’s never even been in the same room as her. But as long as Dr. Frist is diagnosing people without having seen them, some shrewd critics have decided to take advantage of this valuable public service.
In response to Frist’s floor speech on Terri Schiavo after he reviewed video footage of the brain-damaged woman, Drive Democracy posted a smart-alecky letter on its Web site saying, “Are you sick? Injured? Worried about a medical problem, but can’t afford a physician? Well, worry no longer! Because Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD, doesn’t even need to see you to make a diagnosis and prescribe care.”
The liberal activist group encouraged folks to “take a digital picture or video of your medical problem — tennis elbow, acne, runny nose, hemorrhoids, or whatever ails you” and e-mail it to Frist. Drive Democracy’s founder, Texas liberal Glenn Smith, was kind enough to provide e-mail addresses for several of Frist’s staffers.
What a clever, albeit obnoxious, idea. Indeed, Drive Democracy’s members seemed to embrace the opportunity to ask Frist for free medical advice, bombarding the Majority Leader’s office with pictures of bunions, infected extremities, etc.
Alas, Frist’s free clinic appears to be closed and Drive Democracy’s supporters were ignored. I’d recommend these folks visit their local pharmacies for assistance, but they’ll have to hope the pharmacist doesn’t have any philosophical problems with their ailments.