A huge loss to progressive causes in Congress. Apparently he didn’t fare too well in his state’s redistricting and would have to introduce himself to 300,000 new constituents. He’s also been blamed for the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac melt-down, unfairly in my opinion, and his opponents in both parties sensed blood.
I guess then his bill which would ban federal prosecution of marijuana growers/distributors/users who follow state laws will probably die on the vine in committee.
He was also known for his quick wit which terrified conservative interviewers. And he was never the meal-mouth pol who would take too much care to avoid offending even one of his constituents. If you called him a Nazi for instance, his response would not be soft.
And he has pledged that he will not become a lobbyist nor an historian, taking a swipe at Gingrich on his way out.
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November 28, 2011 at 11:31 am
Anonymous
Like maybe he was scared of not being elected with the new re-districting?! Maybe his ego is a bit fragile?
“Quick wit” ? Holy cow, is that what you call an explosive temper and a mean streak ?!
Good to see him go. Even a new “progressive” can’t be that bad.
November 28, 2011 at 11:38 am
Anonymous
Oh yes Eric, you would think he was blamed “UNFAIRLY” for the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac meltdown. As long as he’s a far leftie you could/would make excuses for him doing ANYTHING.
That’s similar to the way people overlook the conduct of certain college football coach’s conduct. (not insinuating in any way that you, Eric, feel the same about the coach’s conduct). But it is amazing what some people will overlolook or accept in a politician, movie star, or sports figures conduct if they like him/her.
November 28, 2011 at 11:56 am
Julie Timmons
Bad news. Bad, bad news.
November 28, 2011 at 1:39 pm
alley
I am sorry to hear the Mr. Frank will not run for re-election to Congress. Maybe he will run for president
… if only
November 28, 2011 at 2:44 pm
tra
Franks has never been one to mince words, but I’m looking forward to him being even more uninhibited when he’s no longer an elected official. I hope he gets plenty of exposure as a political commentator / pundit in the coming years.
One of my favorite Barney Franks moments came when the right-wingers were trying one last hail-mary play against the repeal of DADT, trying to scaremonger based on the imagery of straight soldiers being terrorized by the prospect having to shower with gay colleagues. Questioned about this by a reporter, the openly gay Franks quickly pointed out the fact that high school and college students, athletes, and anyone with a gym club membership, already shower with gay people all the time (and with no apparent ill-efffects), noting that gays in those settings shower like everyone else, saying someting along the lines of “despite what you might think, we don’t get ourselves dry-cleaned.”
November 28, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Eric Kirk
That clip is through one of the links TRA.
Like maybe he was scared of not being elected with the new re-districting?!
Yes, he was very much scared of that. The stakes are too high to hand another district over to the Republicans.
Oh yes Eric, you would think he was blamed “UNFAIRLY” for the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac meltdown. As long as he’s a far leftie you could/would make excuses for him doing ANYTHING.
So you really believe that the provision prohibiting discrimination according to race in loan approvals was what brought the financial system down? Because that’s the charge.
November 28, 2011 at 3:55 pm
tra
Thanks Eric,
Yeah, it was this one:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/12/23/931170/-Late-afternoon-early-evening-open-thread
Just watched it again. I cracked up at the way Franks breaks in at 0:32 with his perfectly timed theatrical gasp of horror right after the reporter first raises the specter of “showering with homosexuals.” You could tell from that first moment, that not only was Franks going to demolish the bogus scaremongering that was being offered up, he was determined to have a bit of fun doing it!
Franks says he plans to spend his time with some combination of writing, teaching, and giving lectures. I hope he also makes some time for on-air commentary of some kind or the other, and that he gets lots of invites, because he’s got that combination of quickwittedness, surefootedness, confidence and humor that really shines in a question and answer or debate or dueling pundits type situation.
I’d love to see a debate between Barney Franks and Bernie Sanders on one side, and Newt Gingrich and Pat Buchanan on the other. Throw in Ralph Nader and Ron Paul, and I’d pay good money to watch the results!
November 28, 2011 at 4:59 pm
tra
On June 23, 2011, a handful of visionary and courageous Members of Congress, led by Rep. Barney Frank, introduced the “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011,” a bill that would treat marijuana the way alcohol is treated under federal law. It would give each state complete freedom to regulate marijuana in the manner it believes is in the best interests of its citizens. If a state wants to make marijuana available to patients, it can. And if it prefers to make marijuana legal for all adults, it can do that, too.
Hundreds of billions of dollars have been wasted on marijuana prohibition over the past forty years. And for what? …It is time to tell your representative in Congress to put an end to this massive waste of government resources. States must be set free to experiment with marijuana policy.
https://secure2.convio.net/mpp/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=985
November 28, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Plain Jane
I am constantly reminded of the news report the other day that people who watch Fox are less informed than those who watch no news at all. The Barney Frank attackers are obviously in that group, mindlessly repeating the spin that Frank (as a minority member of congress) somehow forced banks to make risky mortgages and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy those risky loans. If they wanted to know the truth, that the banks used their massive political power to force congress to deregulate them for more profit while shifting the risks to the taxpayers, there is a wealth of material available. Willful ignorance is why they know less than everyone else.
November 30, 2011 at 10:38 am
Eric Kirk
Jon Stewart: Barney Frank is the “everything bagel of things conservatives hate.”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/jon-stewart-barney-frank-is-the-everything-bagel-of-things-conservatives-hate.php?ref=fpnewsfeed