Barney Frank On Bailouts, Welfare

[NOBama]

(CBS) Barney Frank has been called the "smartest guy in Congress," which is lucky for us since he works on some of the thorniest issues around.

The 14-term, 68-year-old Harvard-educated Democratic congressman from Massachusetts is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which means his portfolio includes banks, housing and now the auto industry.

He has been at the center of both the $700-billion dollar rescue for financial institutions, and the bailout attempt for the car companies that failed in the Senate.

He worked on both this past week: pressuring Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to deal with home foreclosures, and negotiating with the White House on the loan for GM and Chrysler. True to textbook liberalism, Barney Frank worked hard to keep the carmakers out of Chapter 11.

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Another shocking interview with Barney Frank.

I hope O'Reilly gets right on this one.

 

[WillowTree]

If I only had a link!

 

[NOBama]

If I only had a link!

Oops... Link added

 

[Lycurgus]

The 14-term, 68-year-old Harvard-educated Democratic congressman

Those words, right there, sadly demonstrate how much trouble this nation really may be in.

 

[xsited1]

The people who live in Massachusetts's 4th Congressional District and continue to vote for Bawney Fwank have got to be the dumbest people in the United States. There should be a reality show that focuses on the lives and times of these severely brain-dead individuals. It would be a real hit IMO.

 

[NOBama]

The people who live in Massachusetts's 4th Congressional District and continue to vote for Bawney Fwank have got to be the dumbest people in the United States. There should be a reality show that focuses on the lives and times of these severely brain-dead individuals. It would be a real hit IMO.

Most of Frank's district (I'd say, from Taunton - New Bedford) is probably the poorest area in the state. That area is loaded with Portuguese immigrants and I understand that the Hispanic population is exploding there as well.

 

[Lycurgus]

The people who live in Massachusetts's 4th Congressional District and continue to vote for Bawney Fwank have got to be the dumbest people in the United States. There should be a reality show that focuses on the lives and times of these severely brain-dead individuals. It would be a real hit IMO.

 

[editec]

"But then you're talking about welfare," Stahl says.

"Yeah, I'm for welfare," Frank replies. "You're not? Are you for letting people starve?"

Good for him!

"You know, there's a theory out there that you, the congressman, had this public spanking of these [car-company CEOs] in order to cover yourselves,” Stahl asks but then Frank interrupts:

"That's the kind of argument that people who do not have any idea what they're talking about like to make.”

"Are you telling me I don't know what I'm talking about?" Stahl asks.

"By making that argument, yes," the congressman says.

Better still. Barney's taking no shit here.

"Television is apparently the enemy of nuance. But nuance is essential for a thoughtful discussion," Frank told her.

Which is why few people think very clearly anymore. We see this lack of nuanced thinking on this board every damend day, do we not?

I am a liberal. What I'm rejecting is this liberal here, pragmatist there. That's like comparing Tuesday to ice cream. As a liberal, I am morally obligated to be pragmatic. What good do I do poor people, elderly people, people who are being discriminated against because of their sexual orientation if I’m not realistic about accomplishing something," Frank says.

Go Barney GO.

In fact liberalism MUST be pragmatic. Why?

Because what is REAL liberalism? It is the belief that things change and therefore society must change to accomodate that changing reality.

Frank has been a target of criticism for years, and not just because he's a liberal.

"I’m gay, I’m left handed, I’m Jewish," he says. "There’s a lot of things that I’m supposed to do that I don’t do."

Yeah, that's the Barney Frank I know. I'm here, I'm queer, I have NO FEAR, get the fuck over it.

He said he's pretty confident the crisis will end in about a year. Part of the problem right now, he says, is that Secretary Paulson gave the bailout money to banks, but he’s not leaning on them to lend it.

"So, in other words, the Treasury Department is not going to hold their feet to the fire to lend this money," Stahl asks.

"Absolutely," Frank says. "They're not only not going to hold their feet to the fire; they’re telling them that the fire’s out."

Asked what he is really saying about Secretary Paulson, Frank says, "I am very disappointed in this. At first I thought he was focused too much on the financial community’s tender feelings. Now I think he’s focusing almost exclusively on them."

And he's surprised by this? I find that rather hard to understand.

"The problem in politics is this: you don't get any credit for disaster averted. Going to the voters and saying, 'Boy, things really suck. But you know what? If it wasn't for me, they would suck worse.' That is not a platform on which anybody has ever gotten elected in the history of the world."

{sources for quotes}

This SO reminds me of a joke involving a Frenchman who was about to jump off a bridge...the punchine being.


"Do you see that Bridge over zere? I Pierre I built zat grand bridge. When I walk down ze street do people say "Zere goes Pierre ze great bridge builder?

NO!

But let Pierre suck just one dick..."

FWIW, I think Barney Frank is one of the brightest, most politically astute players in Washinton.

Based on who he is, and what he is, and the scandals he's avoided or survived, the fact that he's a powerful as he is, pretty much makes me think I'm right about that.

 

[xsited1]

Most of Frank's district (I'd say, from Taunton - New Bedford) is probably the poorest area in the state. That area is loaded with Portuguese immigrants and I understand that the Hispanic population is exploding there as well.

Even better. Immigrants and illegals living in trailers talking about how great Bawney Fwank is. Maybe a tornado will rip through their trailer park during one of the episodes. Priceless.

 

[NOBama]

Based on who he is, and what he is, and the scandals he's avoided or survived, the fact that he's a powerful as he is, pretty much makes me think I'm right about that.

Yeah man, I bet Barney just loves your ass. No pun intended.

 

[del]

Most of Frank's district (I'd say, from Taunton - New Bedford) is probably the poorest area in the state. That area is loaded with Portuguese immigrants and I understand that the Hispanic population is exploding there as well.

his district also includes the poverty stricken towns of brookline, newton, wellesley, sherborn and dover.

i like barney; i don't agree with him, but i respect his intelligence.

 

[editec]

Yeah man, I bet Barney just loves your ass. No pun intended.

What I am devastatingly handsome gay-bait, I am, I suspect, too mature for Barney's tastes.

 

[editec]

his district also includes the poverty stricken towns of brookline, newton, wellesley, sherborn and dover.

i like barney; i don't agree with him, but i respect his intelligence.

Amusing retort, del.

The rampant ignorance and homophobic anger that Barney evokes is one of the things I like about the guy.

He doesn't give a rat's ass if you don't like him because he's queer. Most of those people wouldn't like him if he was straight, either.

Why should he care?

 

[rayboyusmc]

The middle income people who continue to vote republican, amaze me more than those who vote for Barney.

 

[Orange_Juice]

More

Another shocking interview with Barney Frank.

I hope O'Reilly gets right on this one.

Why? So he can tell you what to think?

Idiot!

 

[Southpaw]

How Frank has any credibility left after he opposed regulation of FNM and FRE in 2003 and said they were fine is just beyond me.

 

[xsited1]

How Frank has any credibility left after he opposed regulation of FNM and FRE in 2003 and said they were fine is just beyond me.

And yet some people think he's intelligent.

 

[Andrew2382]

Wasn't he blowing male hookers a few years back

 

[oreo]

Those words, right there, sadly demonstrate how much trouble this nation really may be in.

I don't know many that can actually understand Barney Frank. At times I have to listen very carefully, "twice" to get an English word understood.

But, let's face it--this guy is a total QUACK. I don't think many know that Barney Frank is gay & actually had a little prostitution ring going on in his basement.

But hey, what can we expect from Mass? If you're elected in Mass. you can expect to be a life-long member of the U.S. senate for the rest of your life, no matter what you do, or should I say don't do.

This guy is on a role--to dole out billions of American tax dollars to whom-ever--when-ever. He & Criss Dodd still take "credit" for the 700 billion dollar bail-out--when they were directly at the roots for ignoring several warnings that disaster was on the horizon. They could have stopped it, & they didn't. Their belief that "everyone" deserves home-ownership, regardless of their ability to re-pay the mortgage loan is ground zero of all the economic ills we see today, including now the auto industry.