Barney Frank

Barney Frank

The dysfunctional US political system will soon eject another good Congressman from its ranks, as Barney Frank announced his retirement the other day. He decided he could get more done outside of Congress than within the gridlocked chaos of partisan acrimony.

I like Barney Frank because he has character and principle. That does not mean he is always nice. He can be snide, and he is staunchly liberal. But he has courage and intelligence, the former displayed when he openly admitted to being gay, and the second displayed with a wit both biting and profound.

The only congressmen soon to be left are the angry oppositionists, the cement-brained deconstructionists who will not give an inch in any debate, even for the good of the American people. They are a disgusting bunch, these “leaders”. They confuse intellect with obstinate, and principle with unbending devotion to simplistic notions. Most aren’t qualified to shine Barney Frank’s shoes, much less pretend to walk in them.

The Wisdom of Barney Frank

“I’m used to being in the minority. I’m a left-handed gay Jew. I’ve never felt, automatically, a member of any majority.”

“The left and the right live in parallel universes. The right listens to talk radio, the left’s on the Internet and they just reinforce one another. They have no sense of reality. I have now one ambition: to retire before it becomes essential to tweet.”

“They appear to have become so attached to their outrage that they are even more outraged that they won’t be able to be outraged anymore.”

“Befor this learning experience, I had assumed that with regard to programs that sought to help people out of poverty, the political world was essentially divided into two camps: conservatives who opposed these for a variety of reasons, and liberals who supported them.”

“But it is also clear that left entirely untouched by public policy, the capitalist system will produce more inequality than is socially healthy or than is necessary for maximum efficiency.”