Rep. Barney Frank won't seek re-election

[villager]

Source: CNN


Rep. Barney Frank won't seek re-election

(CNN) - Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, a 16-term Democrat, will announce Monday he does not intend to seek re-election in 2012, according to a statement from Frank's office.



Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/28/rep-barney-frank-wont-seek-re-election/

[lbrtbell]

1. Good Lord

One less much-needed Dem in Congress. :(

[trof]

4. Probably not?

I'd guess his district will elect another Democrat.

[Fearless]

28. It's my district... I'd say 70% chance of a Dem.

[freshwest]

40. No Scott Browns in your future? I've watched my solidly Dem district flipping the last few years...

[Fearless]

53. Doubtful.

[No Elephants]

60. Frank thought he might have a problem, given the re-districting.

[Fearless]

62. He said that he would have to raise more money to win votes in areas he never campaigned before...

Roughly 2 mil in his estimation. Personally I think he wanted to retire... he is 71... not everyone in Congress wants to die there. Lol.

[No Elephants]

14. Why assume a Republican will replace him?

[lbrtbell]

32. Why assume I meant a Republican? :)

I don't want him replaced by a Blue Dog Democrat, either. :)

He's done a lot of good, and he'll be missed.

[No Elephants]

61. Because you said "one less much needed Dem," not "one less liberal"

and not "one less liberal Dem."

[trof]

2. You are FAST. Just saw it myself. n/m

[johnfunk]

3. He'd make a very good replacement for Geithner -- if just to see Freeper heads explode

[gateley]

He would - but not sure Obama would consider him. nt

[Mass]

10. I doubt he is retiring for that.

[Enrique]

5. Dodd, Frank, Lieberman, all leaving

all of them big recipients of financial industry money. I hope Schumer is next.

I hope the Democratic Party will wean itself off Wall Street money.

[stillwaiting]

9. It won't until we change the system.

It's the only thing that matters at this point.

[gateley]

11. This is the first I've heard of Frank being a recipient of the Street's largesse -

but even if true, he's certainly done a lot for We The People.

I've always thought I'd happily take as much money as the bankers would send my way, then go ahead and do the RIGHT thing anyway.

[bossy22]

15. Rep Frank did the right thing in 2008

He was no big fan of the bailouts but realized that the price of doing nothing was astronomically higher than the proposed finanicial rescue. Sec. Paulson actually speaks very highly of him in this regard

I found during that time that many peope on du were "willing to let the house burn to teach a kid not to play with matches"

[EFerrari]

39. No, he didn't do the rght thing. He enabled the sacking of the treasury.

And as Paulson is a criminal, his praise says nothing good about Barney Frank.

[bossy22]

41. So what do u think should have been done?

Last time I checked the treasury department is still standing

Do you think that we shouldn't have bailed out the auto industry?

[No Elephants]

58. A deal that was a lot more thoughtfully structured, for one thing.

By the way, challenging a message board poster to come up with something better than all the brain power available to the President and Congress, who get paid very well for their day jobs, came up with is kind of a silly message board ploy, IMO.

And they were the ones who let things get to where they were in the first place.

Do I think I could have done better if it were my day job? Yes, I do.

Do I think anyone would do better on a message board--even assuming they cared to spend that kind of time and effort to reply to a post for no money? Probably not, but that proves nothing, other than posting on a message board is a pastime, not a career.

[No Elephants]

55. Goldman Sachs's Paulsen's speaking highly of Frank is your best argument?

[center rising]

31. Never had much use for Barney

Good Democrat, but not really caring one way or the other.

[No Elephants]

56. Never? Not even when he started in Congress?

[w4rma]

63. Completely agree. Frank was a huge recipient. Hopefully his replacement won't be. (nt)

[meegbear]

6. DAMMIT!!!

:-(

[gateley]

7. I'm selfishly sorry to hear this -- we need his voice and his

presence, but God knows he's given his all for so many years.

I wonder what the reason will be.

[2pooped2pop]

8. Ouch!

I hope he has something else planned. Hope it's not a complete retirement.

[Irishonly]

12. I am sorry

I liked him a lot. I hope he continues to serve Americans like he has had always done. I don't know about the WS and I have always thought he was a voice for the real America.

[No Elephants]

13. CNN is a hoot. He beat his opponent by 11 points, yet CNN calls it an unusually strong challenge.

Wonder what CNN would consider a sound defeat of a challenger?


Anyway, thank you, Mr. Frank. You did many good things during your 16 terms.

[BlueIris]

16. Housecleaning in the Democratic Party.

I'm just sorry to see some of my favorite Democrats get swept out with the rest.

[avaistheone1]

17. We are losing a very smart Dem.

[DainBramaged]

18. Congress gets old, America gets old, these folks deserve free time in the fourth quarter of life

Thanks Mr. Frank, you done us proud.


:patriot:

[harmonicon]

19. Sad. He's been one of the best. nt.

[dmosh42]

20. His account is loaded, I'm sure!

[Plucketeer]

21. Whenever I hear Barney's unmistakeable voice

I stop and listen. I'm ready for an uncharacteristic bit of DC truth-telling. I'm really gonna miss those moments of unvarnished candor.

[Sal Minella]

22. This is painful, causes me to cringe, but I think he has done far, far

more than his fair share, trying to maintain some shreds of sanity in the present government.

I feel like Congress would not be convulsing so uselessly if we hadn't lost Ted Kennedy's stabilizing influence and leadership experience. I think we're still reeling from losing him, and losing Barney Frank is another blow, but I don't want him to drop dead on his desk, either.

[onehandle]

23. Godspeed to a good man. He will be missed. nt

[jwirr]

24. This lose alone is big. Are we going to be able to hold his seat?

[MannyGoldstein]

26. We'll easily, easily hold that seat

And likely elect someone more liberal.

(It's my district.)

[jwirr]

30. Then it was time for this to happen. I am thinking that some of these

politicians are stepping down because they think it is a good year to hand their seats over to other younger democrats.

[No Elephants]

57. I'd loove it if you were correct, but I doubt that someone more liberal will be elected.

That is not how the Democrat Party works anymore.

If I were a betting person, I'd put 1000 emoticons on it.

Then again, the Frank who retires today is not as liberal as the Frank who first went to Congress.

[MannyGoldstein]

25. Speaking as a Frank constituent...

He's a god guy and very colorful, but his record has actually been a mixed bag. He got along pretty well with the bankers.

At a party a few years ago, he loudly and publicly ridiculed a friend of mine for asking about impeaching Bush. I did a little research after the incident, and found that a year before Frank himself had actually called for impeachment proceedings to begin.

[Politicub]

27. :( He's one of the fiercest advocates for the 99%

It's a shame he's throwing in the towel.

But maybe people in Mass will have a chance to vote for Frank one day for Governor.

[TygrBright]

29. Wait, what?!? When did Bernie become a Dem again? n/t

[Township75]

33. Fannie and Freddie lost a big one today :*(

:*(

[Douglas Carpenter]

34. Rep. Barney Frank retiring

Source: Washington Post

After 16 terms in office, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) plans to retire, according to a statement from his office. Frank, 71, will announce his retirement at the Newton City Hall this afternoon.

The press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m

In 2010, Frank faced his first serious challenge in decades from a little-known Marine Corps reservist named Sean Bielat. The congressman campaigned (and spent) heavily to defend his seat and ultimately won with 54 percent of the vote.

Democratic sources say that Frank’s decision was not a surprise and that they are not worried about holding the 4th district seat, although redistricting will make it slightly less Democratic. President Obama won the new district with 61 percent of the vote; Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) won it in 2004 with 62 percent.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/rep-barney-frank-retiring/2011/11/28/gIQAVMov4N_blog.html

[Inuca]

35. :-(. Realted Ezra Klein tweet

Barney Frank will not seek reelection. Congress just got a little bit dumber, and a lot duller.

I 100% agree.

[nolabear]

36. Wow. He deserves to rest on his laurels, but what a loss.

I fear he might go into punditry, and though I enjoy his fire and intelligence, just talking without the power to effect change is a big step down (though maybe more lucrative).

Here's to ya, Barney.

[RKP5637]

37. Damn! Barney is one of my favorites, not afraid to try to do what's right and not

afraid to tell the loony members of the R party to F off.

[peace13]

38. 16 terms?

Just because he is a good guy doesn't mean that the system isn't horribly bad.

[Jennicut]

42. I had no idea he was 71.

I think he simply feels it is time to retire. I still think this seat will go Dem.

[Rebubula]

43. He has done a good job...

...but it is time for him to go. Let someone new come in with new ideas.

I may be one of a dozen people here that WANT term limits. 16 terms is way to much....though I think Reps should have 4 year terms instead of 2 as they seem to be endlessly campaigning.

[banned from Kos]

44. Maxine Waters is next in line at financial services.

She is totally not qualified plus she is subject to ethics complaints for trying to steer TARP money to her husband's bank.

[Odin2005]

45. Good riddance, he is a Bankster tool.

[MarkCharles]

49. Care to provide any factual evidence to go along with that opinion?

I thought not.

[totodeinhere]

46. I like him, but he has been there for 30 years. It's time for new blood.

He can retire, get a good paying gig as a lobbyist, and draw a lucrative congressional pension.

[Karenina]

47. He's TIRED. I can relate.

It's ENOUGH NOW. That's what I see in his face and hear in his voice.

[Prophet 451]

48. Godsdamnit!

I mean, I understand if the poor guy is tired after thirty years of the bullshit he's put up with but damn, he was one of the few with both a brain and a backbone.

[shanti]

50. changing of the guard

and although sad, inevitable. it will be interesting to see who comes in.

[alp227]

51. Just for kicks here's a video of someone who dared to ask Frank to his face about prostitution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVZjNfCSTSc

Yep, that's Jason Mattera, author of that book Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation. Use the red thumbs down button please if you have a youtube account.

[revolution breeze]

52. We are losing all our leadership! nt

[wordpix]

54. uh oh, why?

[red dog 1]

59. A good man is retiring from politics after 16 terms in the House of Representatives.

and I, for one, am going to miss him!