Kerry: 'This Tunnel Will Be a Bargain'

If you're wondering why John Kerry has a long face today, look no further.

It’s reassuring to know that Congress’ so-called Super Committee will have at least one solon on it who has a track record of being able to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse wherever it rears its bloated head.

How odd that John Kerry should be appointed to his august new position the very same week the Big Dig bargain tunnel of which he spoke so proudly has now sprung another “sinkhole.” We are informed that the sinkhole “poses no risk” to motorists, even though the Dig has already spent $3.5 million addressing the problem, with another $11.5 million budgeted to correct this latest fiasco.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “Consultants evaluating the problem are at a loss to explain why the area has settled so much.”

But don’t forget, this tunnel will be a bargain. Of course, the occasional setback could still occur. In which case you might want to paraphrase another of Liveshot’s famous questions: “Can I get me a submarine here?”

Ouch. Of course, you shouldn't expect Kerry or any other Massachusetts luminaries to admit they were wrong. Besides, suckers, it was your money they wasted on this fiasco. And if you dare voice dissent, you're just a bunch of inbred teabagging terrorists.

Without getting bogged down in the details, which in the spirit of transparency finally have been revealed four years after they were first noticed, the geniuses who built the bargain Big Dig tried to freeze some of the land under the tunnel. Imagine their shock when they discovered that what is frozen also can thaw.

Among other things, the melting water ruined a huge drainage pipe, a high-voltage electrical duct and even buckled pavement in the (above-ground) Postal Service parking lot.

At least that’s what you’ve read in the papers, anyway. But at that same ribbon-cutting where Liveshot told us the tunnel would be a bargain, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank told us that much of the Big Dig’s bad press “has been manufactured by the media.”

You know, like the made-up headlines about the Jamaica Plain woman being crushed by a 3-ton slab of concrete falling from the tunnel ceiling.

That’s why Kerry lectured the media this week about how they should stop covering the Tea Party.

Yes, perhaps the media should ignore the Tea Party for awhile and instead focus on these corrupt Democrats.

Barney Frank Blames Military Spending for Credit Downgrade

The man almost single-handedly responsible for the collapse of the housing market that led the the recession in 2008 now has the temerity to come out and blames military spending for the S&P credit downgrade. And here I though the Tea Party was to blame?

The senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee says the biggest reason the United States is seeing its credit downgraded is that it spends too much money being "the military policemen of the world."

Rep. Barney Frank tells CBS's "The Early Show" that reining in defense spending is "going to be my mantra" for the next few months.

The liberal Massachusetts Democrat says $200 billion could be saved "without in any way endangering our security" by dialing back U.S. military involvement in the world, including operations in Western Europe.

Sure, Barney. Of course he neglects to mention the fact that our debt went up $239 billion in one day last week. Compared to what we waste on entitlements and "affordable housing," our military commitments are a bargain.

Barney Frank Passes on Weiner

The jokes just write themselves.

Citing his own brush with sexual scandal, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Tuesday that he's in no position to judge the lurid actions of colleague Anthony Weiner.

"Given these circumstances, where I was myself engaged in activity I shouldn't have been … I just don't think it's appropriate for me to set myself up as the judge of others," Frank told reporters in the Capitol Tuesday.

Frank said he wouldn't dodge the issue if it comes up for a vote in the House, "but to step up and appoint myself a judge of other people based on my own past, I just don't think it's appropriate," he said.

Another mixed blessing from the Weiner scandal. It's also resulted in a glorious silence unheard of from Chuckie Schumer since he first graced us with his presence in Congress back in 1983.

Barney Frank: Senate Republicans Have 'Acted Like Thugs'

Just keep talking, Bawney. We can't get enough of this civility.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Senate Republicans have “acted like thugs” in threatening to prevent a prominent consumer advocate – or anyone else – from heading a new consumer-protection agency.

Frank, the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, criticized Republicans’ vows to hold up the confirmation process until their concerns with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are addressed.

President Obama is eyeing Elizabeth Warren – a Harvard academic who has long championed the creation of a stand-alone consumer-protection bureau – to head the agency when its work begins on July 21. But Republicans have threatened to gum up the confirmation proceedings until the bureau's powers are curtailed.

A letter from 44 Senate Republicans to Obama earlier this month outlined their demands, including the creation of a board to replace the single director in overseeing the bureau.

The New York Times recently reported recently that, facing a stalemate, Warren was being urged to consider a Senate run in Massachusetts instead – which Warren's camp has downplayed.

Frank on Thursday said Warren would be a formidable force in the Senate, but he'd prefer to have her as head of the consumer-protection bureau.

"She'd be a good Senate candidate, but she would be a uniquely valuable director of the [consumer] bureau," Frank told The Hill, noting that Warren has been fighting for years "to get this bureau up and running."

"If the Senate Republicans had not acted like thugs and announced they would [block] the confirmation process, I would have wanted the president still to appoint her," Frank said.

Poor Bawney is obviously testy these days.

More on Warren here.

Stunner: Fannie Mae Exec Who Hired Barney Frank's Boyfriend Used to Work for Frank

Nothing improper here, folks. Just move along. You're a homophobe if you think there was anything unseemly going on.

The Fannie Mae executive who hired U.S. Rep. Barney Frank’s former lover was a campaign donor and once worked for the congressman — but denies the Newton Democrat’s recommendation played a role in the controversial 1991 hiring.

Gerald McMurray, a retired Fannie Mae senior vice president, told the Herald yesterday that Frank “didn’t have any influence” in the hiring of the congressman’s former companion, Herb Moses, to a position with the mortgage giant.

“I put out a notice that I needed a person with a rural economic development background and I got a number of resumes. Herb’s resume came in and . . . he came in for an interview,” said McMurray, who now lives in Vermont. “I didn’t know there was any relationship between he and Barney until (Moses) told me.”

Uh, when did he tell you that? When you two were doing the horizontal mambo?

In a front-page story in yesterday’s Herald, Frank admitted he helped Moses land the plum post but called questions about a potential conflict “nonsense.”

At the time of the meeting, Frank was a junior member of the Financial Services Committee, which regulates Fannie Mae and other lending institutions.

“It’s a common thing in Washington for members of Congress to have spouses work for the federal government,” Frank said.

Um, not to quibble, but Moses wasn't Frank's spouse. Just saying.

Barney Frank Freaks Out Over Eric Cantor Singing the Praises of Bush

The ugly, angry left has spent the better part of the past 24 hours doing a victory lap over the killing of Osama bin Laden, as summarized nicely here. We've come to expect this. These are the same people who derided George W. Bush for reading to kids during the attacks on 9/11. So they tried to score cheap political points on 9/11 and then again they day bin Laden died. None of this comes as any surprise. These are vicious, ugly people, so expect nothing less.

So we have to wonder what planet Barney Frank is living on when he freaks out over Eric Cantor paying proper homage to George W. Bush on the day when it's revealed the interrogation tactics he put in place helped eventually lead to bin Laden's whereabouts.

I guess Frank instead expected Cantor to get on his knees and bow before Obama?

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) accused House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) of injecting partisanship Monday into his reaction to news of Osama bin Laden's death.

Frank, a senior Democrat with a signature blunt style, said that Cantor had adopted a partisan tone when, in a statement congratulating President Obama on the death of bin Laden, the second-ranking House Republican said Obama had "followed the vigilance of President Bush in bringing Bin Laden to justice."

"Let’s give discredit where it is due," Frank told the liberal blog ThinkProgress. "For Eric Cantor to phrase it that way, to say [Obama] followed the vigilance of President Bush is a degree of key partisanship that exceeded what I even expected from Cantor. That’s just sad."

Cantor's statement wasn't much different from those made by other Republicans on Monday. Many GOP lawmakers took care to both congratulate and praise Obama and former President George W. Bush for the successful assassination of bin Laden.

The Virginia Republican echoed that sentiment Monday afternoon on Capitol Hill.

"Nearly 10 years ago, President Bush stood before the nation after 9/11 and pledged to the American people that we will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail in our quest to defeat those who intend to do us harm through acts of terror," he said alongside other GOP leaders. "Last night, we heard President Obama tell a very changed nation that we did not fail."

Republicans say they're not the only one injecting politics into the situation; they say Frank's statement itself politicizes the debate, and that he and Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), who each issued politically-tinged statements claiming credit for Obama, should recognize Bush's role in bin Laden's capture, as Republicans have.

Barney Frank: Republicans 'Hate' Signs of Economic Recovery

If this were the case, why is the GOP trying to stave off an economic calamity by trying to control spending?

Rep. Barney Frank says GOP is hoping bad economy will weigh down President Obama in 2012.

Republicans "hate" signs of any economic recovery because they're hoping a weak economy weighs down President Obama politically in 2012, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Wednesday night.

Frank, the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, said that the GOP was "frantic" about signs of an economic recovery, because they could strengthen Obama's political standing going into his 2012 reelection.

"You know, for the last year, every month, we've seen more private sector jobs," Frank said Wednesday evening on MSNBC. "And, by the way, that`s one of the things the Republicans are frantic about."

If we've seen more private sector jobs, why are jobless claims rising?

"This economy is starting to recover and they hate that because they want to be able to defeat the president based on a bad economy," the veteran Democratic lawmaker added. "I hate to have to say that, but I think that`s true."

It's also true that during economic booms of the 1980s and during the George W. Bush administration that huge job increases were derisively called "burger-flipping" jobs by Frank and the Democrats.

To paraphrase Frank, I hate to have to say this, but he's full of excrement. Better not show these statistics to Frank.

Only 45.4% of Americans had jobs in 2010, the lowest rate since 1983 and down from a peak of 49.3% in 2000. Last year, just 66.8% of men had jobs, the lowest on record.

The bad economy, an aging population and a plateau in women working are contributing to changes that pose serious challenges for financing the nation's social programs.

Blubbering Barney Frank to Run Again in 2012

Last month he said he was tired and wanted some free time. Well, I guess he gave some thought to actually having to live a life off the government dole, so he's running again in 2012.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Thursday he'll seek reelection in 2012, meaning he'll pass on a run to challenge Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.).

Frank, the 15-term Democratic stalwart, said he'd seek another term, fresh off of one of the stiffest reelection challenges of his career in 2010.

"I will be running for re-election to the House of Representatives in 2012," Frank said in a statement.

The congressman had been eyed by party leaders as a possible candidate to challenge Brown in 2012 in one of the top-tier Senate races in the U.S. Frank had considered, but passed on, running in the special election last year, in which Brown emerged victorious.

"While I would have preferred to put off a discussion about the next election until a later date, I have been asked on a number of occasions about my plans," he said. "In addition, I have become convinced that making my decision to run for re-election known is important for maximizing the impact I can have on the range of issues to which I am committed."

Maybe he can be redistricted somewhere where a challenger might have a better chance.

No word if Sean Bielat plans to challenge him again.

Barney Frank: 'I’m Tired, and I Think . . . It’d Be Nice to Have Free Time, Not Have to Read a Lot of Stuff I Don’t Care About'

Well, Bawney, I have the cure for you. How about retiring? Then you'd have plenty of time to hang out on Fire Island and blow doobies with your boyfriend.

He’s old, he’s tired and thinks it would be nice to have some free time and not have to read a lot of very boring and very complicated stuff that he doesn’t care about.

That’s what U.S. Rep. Barney Frank told three college-age “Roadtrip Nation” interviewers during a July 2009 sit-down in his Washington, D.C., office for the public television program that aired Wednesday on ’GBH Kids.

“I’m tired, and I think . . . it’d be nice to have some free time, not have to read a lot of stuff I don’t care about,” Frank said. “But I have this chairmanship. It’s an important time for the country.”

Sean Bielat - Frank’s Republican challenger last November - said he wished he’d seen the Frank interview during the campaign.

“This was part of the case that I was trying to make - that it’s kind of rote for him at this point, that he’s kind of going through the motions, but he feels like he’s so important that he can’t not be there,” said Bielat, who’s undecided about his own future political plans.

As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank spearheaded the financial reform law enacted in July. The Roadtrippers’ 2009 interview with him came on the day of a key House vote on the sweeping health-care reform legislation.

“I’m in the middle of stuff, and I just . . . can’t walk away from it,” Frank told the youths. “I’m getting old and tired, and I’m working too hard, and this would have been a great job 20 years ago when I was 50 years old. It’s a lot of work now.”

“In one of our debates at WBUR, at the end, he made some sort of wistful comment about writing books,” Bielat said. “I think he’s been thinking this way for a while, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him wrapping up his career here shortly.”

Hopefully he can take a couple of hundred Congressional and Senate Democrats with him into retirement. Then we can begin undoing the damage he's caused.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Death Bed Nightmare: Barney Frank Ransacking Your Estate

T-minus 17 days until this corrupt nitwit is in the minority party.

Staring at the calendar doesn't make the time go by any faster, but I find it to be quite therapeutic nonetheless.

Click here to watch video

Via Breitbart. Cross-posted.

Barney Frank Celebrates Election Victory Under Some Guy's Bed

OK, get your minds out of the gutter. It's all above board. Or below the bed. Whatever.

That Barney Frank may not be able to fix the economy, but he knows how to fix furniture! Word from Ogunquit is that the congressional curmudgeon and his BF Jim Ready helped Club Cafe comic Khris Francis install coasters under the legs of his bed this past weekend. Francis, (who has a show this weekend at the South End boite) tells our snitch that Barney was actually under the bed helping to install the coasters. Now that’s some constituent service!

Way too much information. The mental images are truly disturbing.

H/T: A horrified Spitfire Murphy.

Speaking of elections in Massachusetts, here's some interesting news.

'Shhhh! Can You Hear the Tidal Wave Coming to Massachusetts?'

Need any idea how the political tide is shifting? As the writer here says, even in the capitol of Moonbatistan brave souls are showing their support for Republican Sen Bielat as he hope to remove Babbling Barney Frank from office. Outside of seeing Dingy Harry go down tonight, there would be no more sweeter victory than seeing the architect of the Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac debacle sent off into retirement.

Oh my God, could bluer than blue Brookline — the capital of Moonbatistan — be breaking for Republican Sean Bielat?

For 25 years I’ve lived in Brookline, where Republicans admit they’re Republicans at their own risk. Yet I haven’t seen so many lawn signs for a Republican since a few courageous matrons put a “Weld for Governor” placard on their lawn in 1990 and paid the price: social suicide. They were promptly shunned at Whole Foods. Their poor children sat alone in the cafeteria.

It says something huge about Barney Frank’s fall from grace that a few brave Brookline-ites are ready, again, to risk their neighbors’ wrath.

Here’s what I’m seeing: a few dozen small and discreet Bielat signs, mostly in South Brookline on the West Roxbury line, where there’s more diversity. That is, you can actually question Al Gore’s prediction that the Cape will be underwater by 2025 and not be jettisoned from The Great Books Club.

I also see Bielat signage on homes worth $2 million and up. What do rich people care? If no other kids will share a cafeteria seat with their little third-grader, they can ship Muffy and Junior off to private school.

There are almost no Bielat signs around Coolidge Corner, where Bielat lives and apartments and condos dominate. Lots of Brookline condo associations won’t allow political signs. Some wouldn’t even allow American flags to fly on the day after 9/11. I do recall some “Darfur! Not on My Watch” signs outside condos a few years back though, which gives you an idea of what we’re dealing with.

Bielat spokeswoman Lisa Barstow confirmed yesterday why Bielat himself can’t put a sign outside his own condo: his association’s rule. “But they did give him a special dispensation on primary day and for the general election,” she said. Wow. How ecumenical of them.

Mitt Romney stumped for Bielat Monday night.

Shauna O’Connell, a Republican first-time candidate running against state Rep. Jim Fagan (D-Taunton), added: “Shhhh! Can you hear the tidal wave coming to Massachusetts?”

“Sean Bielat is going to go down in history as the man who finally retires Barney Frank,” she said.

A Frank spokesman did not return messages for comment.

Funny how a man who's spent decades talking trash has been awfully quiet of late. A real challenge to your job can do that to a guy.

Massachusetts expect a record turnout today. Let's make it happen, folks. Send a message to Obama by booting his buddy Deval Patrick. The state is one of the few remaining Democrats firewalls. Make it crumble.

Nervous Barney Frank Schedules 'Election Night Event'

How much it must gall the arrogant Barney Frank that he has to lower himself to the point where he's begging seniors for votes a day out of the election.

With hours to go before Election Day, the two candidates running for Congress in Massachusetts' 4th district were out in force Monday drumming up some last minute support.

In a final campaign push - Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank rallied voters in New Bedford Monday morning. In what some call his toughest re-election fight ever, Frank asked a group of seniors to support his 16th run for the 4th District seat.

"I do fight for funding for st. Luke's hospital, St. Anne's hospital. For Route 24, for Route 18. Said Frank. "Historically this state and federal government hasn't treated Southeastern Massachusetts very fairly."

Well, whose fault is that? You've been their representative for three decades. Sound like he's admitting he can't get the job done.

Meanwhile, Frank seems nervous enough that he's scheduling an "election night event" tomorrow instead of a victory rally.

Mr. Frank will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Newton on Tuesday night, but he is not going so far as to call it a victory party. The schedule released by his campaign Monday refers to it as an “election night event.”

I imagine his heckler boyfriend is bringing the doobies.

Majority of Barney Frank Donations from Outside Massachusetts

You would think that's relevant to this story about the Sean Bielat-Barney Frank race in Massachusetts. But of course the Boston Globe buries that news in the story and instead leads with the fact Bielat is also getting a large chunk of his money from outside Massachusetts, as if there's something nefarious about that. If Bielat had to rely strictly on donations from in-state Republicans he'd be on a shoestring budget.

A late surge in out-of-state donations is fueling Republican Sean Bielat’s stiff challenge of 15-term US Representative Barney Frank.

Seventy-six percent of Bielat donors who gave $200 or more within the last four weeks live outside Massachusetts. That’s up from about 41 percent for the prior five-week period that ended Sept. 30, a Globe review of Federal Election Commission reports shows.

The figures suggest that Bielat, who has made regular appearances on Fox News and conservative media outlets, has succeeded in his attempts to nationalize the race for the Fourth Congressional District seat.

The Brookline resident’s recent donors include country music star Hank Williams Jr. ($1,000), New York financier Carl Icahn ($2,400, the maximum for an individual), and a number of hedge fund and investment firm executives. US Representative Michele Bachmann, Republican of Minnesota and a favorite of the Tea Party movement, has donated $1,000 from both her congressional candidate committee and leadership PAC to Bielat.

In addition, Arizona Senator John McCain’s 2008 political committee donated $2,000, and McCain’s Country First leadership PAC gave Bielat the $5,000 maximum last week. Bielat has also attracted money from the conservative Citizens United and Freedom Project PACs, both of which contributed $5,000.

“He’s going on right-wing news shows and talk radio and raising a lot of money,’’ said Harry Gural, Frank’s spokesman. “It’s a huge resource when you have an audience of millions of people across the country, and parts of the Fox News audience and parts of the talk radio world, who have listened to Barney being vilified for years.’’

Funny, but last I checked those who listen to the radio and watch the evil Fox News are also Americans and are free to donate to whomever they please. But they way the sniveling Frank people talk it's as if these people don't have rights, they're non-citizens or something.

Apparently only when Republicans get money from outside the state it's relevant. Back in 2008 when Obama was getting millions in unidentified donations from the Middle East the media ignored the story. When Obama's thugs make unsubstantiated claims the Chamber of Commerce is using foreign money to contribute to the GOP, then it's news for three weeks (funny how that lame attack disappeared the past week, isn't it?).

Buried deep down they admit Frank also takes in the majority of his money from out of state. I'll assume that comes from people who get their news from left-wing news shows and NPR listeners.

Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has long relied heavily on out-of-state money, much of it from executives in the financial sector his committee oversees. He has consistently taken in nearly 60 percent of his money from non-Bay Staters during the campaign, records indicate.

Gee, isn't it a conflict of interest to take money from the financial sector? Is Frank being repaid for favors he's given? It's worth noting Frank has received over $40,000 from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives over the years. Isn't that a conflict of interest consider he was the staunchest defender all these years?

'He Cares More About Saving His Career As a Politician Than With Keeping His Word'

I'm shocked--shocked I tell you--that Blubbering Barney Frank would be a two-faced lying hypocrite.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, in an intensifying clash with GOP upstart Sean Bielat, has pledged not to take campaign cash from lenders that got federal bailouts — yet has raked in more than $40,000 from bank execs and special interests connected to the staggering government loans, a Herald review found.

Frank vowed in February 2009 that he wouldn’t accept campaign donations from banks that received money under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or political action committees tied to such institutions.

But Frank has hauled in thousands from top execs at Bank of America, Citizens Bank, Wainwright Bank, JP Morgan Chase and other institutions that received billions in TARP money.

Just yesterday, Frank made new campaign finance disclosures showing he received $17,000 from top executives of Bank of America — including $2,000 from CEO Brian Moynihan. B of A received $45 billion in bailout money. In all, Frank has hauled in at least $27,000 since 2009 from bank execs — and $13,000 from PACs — connected to banks that received TARP funding, including:

• $5,000 earlier this month from the Bank of America Corp. Federal PAC;

• $10,000 in August and September from the Bipartisan PAC/ Bank of New York Mellon Corp.; Mellon received $3 billion from TARP;

• $2,000 in June 2009 from the Financial Services Roundtable PAC, which counts TARP recipients B of A, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo among its members; and

• $1,000 in March from U.S. Bancorp PAC; the Minnesota-based bank received more than $6 billion in TARP funds.

“Now that he’s in the political fight of his life, Barney Frank tossed aside his phony pledge and lined his pockets with cash from his closest allies — Wall Street executives,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Tory Mazzola. “He made a promise to voters, but obviously he cares more about saving his career as a politician than with keeping his word.”

In a statement last night, a Frank spokesman said the congressman has declined to take contributions only from the top 10 TARP recipients, but he noted he would accept donations from those institutions once they repaid their debts.

Homina homina homina...

H/T Dan.

Meanwhile, here's The Barney Shuffle:

Stunner: Globe Columnist Dares to Question Barney Frank's Credibility

Consider this a bit of CYA from the Boston Globe after 30 years of carrying water for him. And no, it's not Jeff Jacoby.

When I asked if Frank planned to apologize for Ready’s behavior, Frank said: “Jim should have broken it off and not responded. But Bielat shouldn’t have initiated the conversation. I don’t see what was inappropriate about taking his picture.’’

I’ll mark that down as a no.

Nice, Barney. Blame Bielat for the obnoxious behavior of your pothead boyfriend. Very classy.

A few moments later, my phone rang again. It was Frank, adding, “Jim’s new to political campaigning. He takes it more personally than someone who’s used to it.’’

After we hung up, Frank called again, saying, “You know, he calls me dude. I didn’t realize that was troubling people. He calls all sorts of people dude.’’

There’s a larger point to all of this. For the last three decades, the political establishments in Boston and Washington have excused Frank’s consistently obnoxious behavior as Barney being Barney. Maybe they’ve done it because he was unique as an openly gay congressman. Maybe it was out of deference for the way he unapologetically and effectively carried the flag for the most liberal of causes. Maybe it was out of fear that he’d train his quick wit and substantial intellect against anyone who happened in his path.

But now voters are looking to D.C. and wondering what has gone wrong in a city and a system that is having such a hard time getting things right. The same character flaws that were forgiven in good times might wear thin when times are tough.

Likely they did it out of fear.

Congressman Frank has never hesitated to use his power ruthlessly. On one occasion, he threatened bankers with summoning them before his committee and forcing them to reveal their home addresses — which would of course put their spouses and children at the mercy of any kooks that might come along.

Meanwhile, Congressman Frank could piously invoke "social justice" in defense of similarly ruthless community activist groups like Acorn or National People's Action, which had in fact besieged the homes not only of bankers but also of public officials who dared to oppose their agendas.

In Frank's words, these groups were simply people who "cared about equity" and who were just "trying very hard to preserve some equity and some social justice."

Let's hope Frank gets some justice on November 2 and gets to spend more quality time with his dude.

How unpopular is Frank looking these days? Bielat has outraised him in his hometown. Ouch. No wonder Bawney had to lend his campaign $200,000. Ready might have to grow a lot of weed to help offset that.

Update: Jacoby also weighs in on Frank today. It's not a pretty picture.

Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the link.

Update: Another good read on Barney Frank's nonsense.

'The Photo He Took of Sean Bielat is Actually Quite Flattering'

This could be the weakest spin in the history of politics. If I'm Sean Bielat, I don't think I want Barney Frank and his boyfriend ogling my photo, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank’s longtime partner Jim Ready meant “no harm whatsoever” to Sean Bielat when he taunted him after a recent debate and will continue to attend campaign events, a spokesman for the congressman said.

Ready, an “amateur photographer,” got into a heated tete-a-tete with Bielat during which Ready called him “dude,” mocked the Republican candidate’s jokes and told him to “get used to” having his picture taken. The flap, which occurred last week after a debate at WGBH-TV studios in Brighton, was caught on tape in an exclusive Herald video.

“I don’t think he meant any harm whatsoever,” Frank spokesman Harry Gural said of Ready. “I’m not sure where it kind of went off track.”

Ready did not return calls seeking comment. Gural said Ready, who is not paid by the campaign for his photos, will continue to hit the stump with Frank and may be at other events with Bielat.

“Jimmy takes photos of campaign events and all kinds of things. He’s an amateur photographer,” Gural said.

Gural provided the Herald with a photo of Bielat taken by Ready moments before the two bickered.

“The photo he took of Sean Bielat is actually quite flattering,” Gural said.

Bielat, a Marine and business consultant, is seeking to unseat Frank, a Newton Democrat who has been in office for 30 years. A Bielat spokeswoman declined to comment on the caught-on-tape taunting, except to say: “The video speaks for itself.”

Dr. George Serra, a political professor at Bridgewater State College, called Ready’s behavior “highly inappropriate.”

“It certainly does not speak well about Barney Frank’s significant other,” Serra said. “The congressman has been in politics for many years and (Ready) has been a longtime partner, so certainly he should know better.”

It speaks to a level of immaturity by both Frank and this punk Ready, who's obviously been sucking on the bong for way too long.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Great News: Democrat Who Helped Cause Financial Collapse to Hold Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Hearings

Really gives you a secure feeling knowing the man who helped push the economy over the edge is going to be doing his best to help conceal his role.

Rep. Barney Frank & Co. are getting set for yet another hearing this week on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage lenders. Once again, they're not after the truth -- they're looking to conceal it.

The House Financial Services Committee chairman and his brethren on the left want you to believe they're making a good-faith effort to figure out what went wrong with Fannie and Freddie -- what mistakes led to their failure and takeover by the government during the 2008 financial collapse, and how to fix both institutions for the future.

In fact, what they'll deliver is more hot air from so-called "housing advocates" obscuring just how much Fannie and Freddie contributed to the housing bubble, the 2008 financial collapse and the Great Recession.

It's all meant to give lawmakers an excuse not to do what's necessary and prudent -- namely, kill Fannie and Freddie before they come back to do it all again.

The notion of "housing" as a God-given right had been promoted by people like Barney Frank for nearly two decades. Their vehicles to expand homeownership for all were "government-sponsored enterprises" Fannie and Freddie -- which, starting in the mid 90s, began buying up and placing guarantees on mortgages taken out by people with lower incomes and lousy credit histories.

Giving low-income people access to the housing market sounds nice enough -- but the reality was far different. Housing prices were bid up to levels that made repaying mortgages nearly impossible. When the bubble burst, the government "sponsored" agencies were in hock for billions -- and so was their "sponsor," the US taxpayer.

Of course if you listen to Obama, Frank and the rest of the Democrats all of this was Bush's fault or something.

Now facing a legitimate challenger in Sean Bielat, suddenly Frank isn't quite as belligerent as usual. Of course he still accepts no responsibility for his role in the housing meltdown.

What’s up? My guess: Barney’s on good behavior because the country’s angry. Lots of voters in his typically adoring 4th District are angry too.

So he’s taking no chances with Marine Reservist challenger Sean Bielat of Brookline who sounds reasonable and earnest, who looks all spit and polish on TV and who hopes to tie the financial collapse around the neck of Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

“I don’t think there’s been a single event I’ve gone to where that hasn’t come up,” said Bielat yesterday about Frank’s role in the meltdown. He also said Frank’s campaigning hard now - Bill Clinton came to town for him Sunday - because Frank “has seen the same thing in his internal polling that we’ve seen in ours.”

That is, said Bielat, a momentum shift - toward him.

So was the Clinton invite “desperate,” I asked Frank. No, he replied, talking a mile a minute. He said he thought of inviting Clinton at least six weeks ago.

How much of the Fannie and Freddie mess was his fault?

Almost diplomatically, Frank explained that he’s been the target of “mostly inaccurate” attacks by the likes of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

Poor baby.

Is Barney Frank in Trouble?

Let's face it. If a 15-term incumbent in the bluest of blue states is bringing in Bill Clinton to campaign for him it can only mean one thing--he's worried about his re-election. How sweet would it be to have Barney Frank get the boot from Congress?

The last U.S. president or presidential candidate to visit the Silver City, Crowley said, was Jimmy Carter in 1976, who was then running against incumbent Gerald Ford.

Other past presidents to have visited and spoken in Taunton include Abraham Lincoln, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Crowley said his assistant Todd Castro, who was once a U.S. Capitol Police officer, has been working with the Secret Service and local officials to coordinate a plan to stage the event.

Crowley said Frank deserved the rally for all he’s done to help provide funding through the years for various projects in Taunton.

Examples cited by the mayor were programs for seniors, funds for the city-owned Taunton Nursing Home and federal money for the Route 138 road improvement project.

“It’s a testament to his nature and the energy he’s expended on our behalf,” Crowley said.

But some local Republican candidates said the upcoming rally is a sign that Democratic incumbents, including Frank, are feeling the heat this election cycle.

“They’ll need all the help they can get this year,” said Shaunna

O’Connell, the Republican candidate from Taunton, who is running against state Rep. James Fagan, D-Taunton.

O’Connell said voters will “not be fooled by election year antics.”

As for the former president’s prestige and influence, she said the bottom line is that the electorate “are not voting for Clinton.”

Taunton City Councilman David Pottier, the Republican candidate challenging long-term state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, said the Frank rally is indicative of Democratic trepidation heading into November.

“I find it interesting that they’re calling out the big guns,” Pottier said. “Obviously they’re afraid [because] they can’t run on the record of the last several years.”

If Frank is worried about true blue Massachusetts, then the time’s certainly are a changin’,” he said, paraphrasing the famous Bob Dylan song.

“I appreciate the historical significance of Clinton coming to town, but this smacks of desperation,” Pottier added.

Sean Bielat, the Republican vying for Frank’s job, said it’s notable that Frank and Clinton will appear together in Taunton, where U.S. Sen. Scott Brown beat Martha Coakley by a 15-point spread.

“I think Barney is concerned about the middle of his district and is trying to shore up support,” Bielat said. “I’m extremely flattered that Bill Clinton is coming.”

Frank dismissed such thinking as “nonsense.”

“I asked Bill Clinton for his help a couple of months ago. It’s no different than a TV ad — it’s all part of a campaign,” said Frank, who is also Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Frank is taking on a Marine with a platform of slashing military spending.

Despite what he described as Frank's financial advantage, "There's a lot of concern with the direction of the country. There's a lot of concern with Barney Frank's involvement with Fannie and Freddie and the real estate collapse. There's a lot of concern with just, 'Hey, we need some turnover,'" Bielat said.

"I actually think there's a lot more support for our campaign than people might, at first, expect," he said.

Asked for his own level of confidence about a race against Bielat, Frank said he wanted to focus on the issues.

Among them, he said, is the need to raise taxes on the very wealthy and to "reduce America's worldwide military footprint as a way to reduce the deficit."

Here's Bielat's campaign site. This Marine would be an American hero if he could knock off the odious Frank.

Update: Via Sissy Willis on Twitter, there's also this site from Bielat. Watch Bawney gag on his own words.

Maxine Waters and Barney Frank Keeping Good Company

These House Democrats sure do manage to find the sleaziest people to hang around and do favors for, don't they?

Call it business as usual.

The married bank honcho at the center of the Maxine Waters ethics firestorm was arrested for allegedly sodomizing a woman and possessing cocaine at a company-owned manse just months before U.S. Rep. Barney Frank arranged a controversial taxpayer bailout for the Hub-based lender.

The charges against OneUnited Chairman and CEO Kevin L. Cohee, 52, who splits his time between Chestnut Hill and Santa Monica, were dismissed - including allegations of possessing cocaine, illegal narcotics and opiates in his company’s $6.4 million beachfront villa. Cohee agreed to participate in a “drug diversion program” in exchange for the drug charges being dismissed, according to Santa Monica Police Sgt. Jay Trisler.

Accusations of sodomy were dropped shortly after his arrest in April 2007. During that investigation, the police searched his company-owned home and arrested him on the drug charges.

Frank, of course, pretended he knew nothing of the legal trouble facing this good pal of Waters.

In testimony to a House ethics panel, Waters called Cohee a “friend” and said she had been to one of his homes for a Christmas party and a fund-raiser.

Cohee’s legal plight played out until the drug charges against him were dropped in July 2008 - the month before he began working to secure a federal bailout for his bank, raising serious questions about the degree of vetting by federal regulators and members of Congress.

Frank, who chairs the powerful House Financial Services Committee, said through a spokesman that he was unaware of Cohee’s past legal troubles when he helped ensure that OneUnited - the Bay State’s only African-American-owned bank - would be eligible for a federal bailout.

“He didn’t know that,” Frank spokesman Harry Gural told the Herald, referring to Cohee’s arrest and the dropped charges. “He would have looked into it if someone had told him this. If there appeared to be merit to it (the charges), he would have called it to the attention of federal regulators.”

Sure he would have. Sure.Looks like Bawney is also caught in a lie.

Frank has previously denied Waters had any sway over his efforts to help OneUnited, but admitted he was working on behalf of Cohee and disgraced state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson.

Hmmm.