Barney Frank: Ditch Bernie Sanders

"Decades ago, Sanders made a principled choice to play a valuable part in our politics — the outsider within the system. He defied the uniquely American aversion to the word 'socialism.' We are, after all, the only Western democracy in which no self-identified socialist party has ever played a significant governmental role. While voting with the Democrats to organize first the House and then the Senate, he made clear he did so as a regrettable necessity, not a preference, and cited his nonmembership in the party as an indication of his political integrity. Substantively, he has consistently, forcefully and cogently made the case for a larger federal government role in improving both the fairness and the quality of life in our country, refusing to soft-pedal in the face of declining support for this view in public opinion. His very unwillingness to be confined by existing voter attitudes, as part of a long-term strategy to change them, is both a very valuable contribution to the democratic dialogue and an obvious bar to winning support from the majority of these very voters in the near term." - Barney Frank, in a lengthy Politico piece titled Why Progressives Shouldn't Support Bernie Sanders.

Barney Frank On SCOTUS Ruling: I Can't Wait To See The Look On Scalia's Face

The Week reports:

Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is pretty bullish on the Supreme Court recognizing a national right to same-sex marriage, he told Seth Meyers on Tuesday's Late Night, though he said he hadn't read much about the oral arguments that took place earlier in the day. He's excited, Frank added, because he has a husband, and because "I cannot wait to see Justice Scalia's reaction. I'm speculating that like Rumpelstiltskin he will stamp his foot and go up in a puff of smoke." Meyers laughed, "That would be something to see."

Barney Frank To Atheist Politicians: Stay In The Closet About Your Atheism

Barney Frank: If Aaron Schock Is Gay, He Has Forfeited His Right To The Closet

"I don't know if he's gay or not. But if he is, he's forfeited any right to privacy because he votes anti-gay. My view is that people who are gay who vote to support the right of other people to do it have a right to privacy, but the right to privacy does not include hypocrisy. The one thing that puzzled me, The New York Times had a story about how he redecorated his office to look like Downton Abbey, but all I saw were pictures of like Ulysses S. Grant. It's obviously sort of disjunctive in my mind. There were all these pictures of Republican presidents. I don't know what they were doing in Downton Abbey. I suppose you could say, from a certain angle, Herbert Hoover does look a little bit like Maggie Smith depending on the light, but nobody could have been Ulysses S. Grant. I have to say, if they're not true [the rumors], he spent entirely too much time in the gym for a straight man." - Barney Frank, speaking to Business Insider.

Barney Frank: LGBT Folks Are Beating Prejudice Because They Stopped Hiding

Former Rep. Barney Frank was on Meet The Press yesterday where he said this:

“Well, I tell you, our reality as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people beat the prejudice. I mean, the central mechanism is that we stopped hiding. And it turns out we weren't what the stereotype was. But clearly, there was a point when the notion that I could get married to Jim while I was still in Congress would've been the most bizarre possibility. I remember the time I got married, someone said, 'Well, would it be controversial if you got married while you were still in Congress?' And the answer was, yes it was. A lot of my colleagues were mad that they didn't get invited. So our reality is that. On the other side, I think the fundamental issue, and it does go back to a Clinton campaign statement, "It's the economy, stupid."”

Barney Frank: Pot Will Be Legalized

"Former US House Representative Barney Frank argues that the ignorance underlying resistance to same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization is similar. In both cases, he says, reality will overcome prejudice and ultimately be adopted as the law of the land."

Barney Frank: Don't Vote For Gay GOP House Candidate Richard Tisei

Former Rep. Barney Frank is urging the LGBT community not to vote for gay GOP House candidate Richard Tisei, who has the backing of the Victory Fund.

The campaign for Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District has received a significant amount of national attention this cycle, in large part because Richard Tisei, the challenger in the race, could become the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress. Tisei received a nice boost in February, when the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund endorsed him despite the fact that incumbent Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) has an exceptionally strong record on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. The race has presented LGBT advocates with a dilemma that a few years ago might have seemed too good to be true: Support an openly gay Republican candidate who could perhaps help convince his colleagues to evolve on equality, or stay with a Democratic congressman who is straight but has been a stalwart on these issues? "I do believe it is very important to support gay and lesbian candidates. But the notion that we will tell an incumbent who has been absolutely perfect on gay, lesbian, bisexual [and] transgender issues -- absolutely perfect -- that perfection will do no good because he has sex with the wrong person, is the antithesis of what we should be fighting for," said Frank, referring to the fact that the Victory Fund is dedicated to electing LGBT candidates.

Frank also opposed Tisei's failed 2012 bid for the House.

COMPILATION: Gay News In The 1980s

JMG reader Dave Evans has compiled an hour of gay-related news reports that aired in the 1980s. Among the topics: hate crimes, housing rights, HIV/AIDS, immigration rights, pride parades, Barney Frank, Ronald Reagan, the 20th anniversary of Stonewall, the NAMES Project,  and rather interestingly, Houston's 1985 battle for LGBT rights.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Compilations of gay news in the 1970s and the first ten years of HIV/AIDS.

TRAILER: Compared To What: The Improbable Journey Of Barney Frank

Open this weekend at the Tribeca Film Festival. Executive producer: Alec Baldwin. Variety has the story:

When husband-and-wife directing team Sheila Canavan and Michael Chandler approached Barney Frank about making a documentary, their pitch sounded lighthearted. In late 2011, Frank was preparing to retire from his Massachusetts seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, after a 40-year career in public office. “It was going to be a nostalgic look and what it’s like making the transition,” says Frank, 74, on a recent phone call from Maine where he spends a fair portion of his time now. But after collecting more than 100 hours of interviews, Frank recalls, “they decided they wanted to do more of my career.” The movie follows Frank’s journey as the first congressman to voluntarily come out of the closet in 1987 and it bookends that history with the summer 2012 wedding to Jim Ready (when the cameras trailed along at the tearful reception). “I regretted not coming out earlier,” Frank says. “My life was considerably improved when I wasn’t hiding things. Plus, I think it had a good political effect on prejudice.”

Barney Frank Slams Anti-Gay Americans For Exporting Their Hate To Uganda

Barney Frank Joins CNBC

This should prove entertaining.

Tweet Of The Day - George Takei

Barney Frank Comes Out As Atheist

Barney Frank outed himself as a "pot-smoking atheist" on Bill Maher's show Friday night. Hemant Mehta writes at Friendly Atheist:

"It’s one of those things you wish he could’ve said more openly during the 32 years he sat in Congress. Somehow, it was okay to be a gay liberal, but saying he was an atheist would’ve been taking things too far. In any case, former Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) still remains the only openly atheist member of Congress in our history."

(Tipped by JMG reader Neil)

Barney Frank Joins Twitter

One tweet so far, but 1200+ followers in the first hour.

Barney Frank: I'm Disappointed

"There was one thing that sort of troubled me in the discussion about it — nobody was particularly quoted; they attributed something to governor’s office and others — was that the governor would want to appoint someone who’s either a minority or a woman. And what troubled me is the question of LGBT people was just kind of swept out. I’ve never asked for any appointment based on me being gay, but when they begin talk about the importance of diversity and leave us out, that troubles me. It’s almost as if some people didn’t listen to the president when he said, ‘Seneca, Stonewall and Selma,’ and didn’t hear the Stonewall part. Just as it was in the House, I think being a same-sex married couple in the Senate could have took an important lesson home to some of them." - Former Rep. Barney Frank, speaking to the Washington Blade about being passed over for the interim Senate post.

Former Rep. Barney Frank Endorses Rep. Ed Markey For Special Senate Election

Former Rep. Barney Frank, who still wants to be appointed interim Senator, has endorsed Rep. Ed Markey for the special election that will be held in several months assuming that John Kerry is confirmed for Secretary of State.

Markey was the first candidate to announce that he is running in the special election. Frank’s endorsement comes days after Kerry, Victoria Kennedy, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and other Democratic groups announced that they are backing Markey, in an apparent attempt to coalesce around one Democratic nominee and avoid a contentious primary. However, not all Democrats are ready to unite around Markey. U.S. Reps. Michael Capuano of Somerville and Stephen Lynch of South Boston and state Sen. Benjamin Downing of Pittsfield are all still considering running.

Markey has been a member of the House for 36 years. He has a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign.

Barney Frank: I Want To Be Senator

This morning former Rep. Barney Frank told MSNBC that he has asked Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint him interim Senator to replace John Kerry. Two weeks ago Frank said he "wouldn't say no" if Patrick appointed him.  Via Politico:

“A month ago, or a few weeks ago, I said I wasn’t interested,” Frank said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “It was kind of like you’re about to graduate, and they said: ‘You gotta go to summer school.’ But [the fiscal cliff deal] now means that February, March and April are going to be among the most important months in American financial history.” He added, “I’ve told the governor I would now like, frankly, to do that [serve as interim senator].” Frank said he wouldn’t run for Kerry’s seat in a special election, which would likely take place this summer.

Frank spent 32 years as a member of the House.

Barney Frank: How Smart Is Congress?

Barney Frank Slams Chuck Hagel

"Then-Senator Hagel's aggressively bigoted opposition to President Clinton's naming the first openly gay Ambassador in U.S. history was not, as Sen. Hagel now claims, an aberration. He voted consistently against fairness for LGBT people and there does not seem to be any evidence prior to his effort to become Secretary of Defense of any apology or retraction of his attack on James Hormel. And to those of us who admire and respect Mr. Hormel, Sen. Hagel's description of him as aggressive can only mean that the Senator strongly objected to Hormel's reasoned, civil advocacy for LGBT people. I cannot think of any other minority group in the U.S. today where such a negative statement and action made in 1998 would not be an obstacle to a major Presidential appointment." - Retiring Rep. Barney Frank, via press release.

RELATED: Last week the Log Cabin Republicans published a full-page ad in the New York Times that also denounced Hagel's candidacy for Secretary of Defense.

Rep. Barney Frank: I Won't Say "No" To Taking Interim Senate Appointment

Soon-to-be former Rep. Barney Frank says he wouldn't turn down an appointment to be the interim replacement for Sen. John Kerry, who was formally nominated for Secretary of State on Friday.

“The governor ought to be free to make whatever choices he makes. In Massachusetts, you’re talking about an interim, not a permanent appointment. I certainly would not take on any long-term appointment,” Frank said. “As for an interim thing, I think accepting offers that haven’t been made is kind of presumptuous.” Pressed to clarify, Frank said his answer was “not a ‘no’ or a ‘yes.’ Rejecting an offer that hasn’t been made is also presumptuous.” Speculation about the Senate appointment has focused so far on Vickie Kennedy, the widow of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. If Frank were to end up getting the nod, he’d be the second openly gay senator, after Wisconsin Sen.-elect Tammy Baldwin.

Barney Frank's long-simmering enemies at the Boston Herald do not like the idea of a Senator Frank.

This is a potential nightmare scenario for Republicans who thought they’d soon be rid of the acid-tongued Bayonne, N.J., native who badgered and bullied his opponents, and the media, for years.  In a bitter re-election victory speech two years ago, Frank launched a tirade against the Herald, calling the paper “irrelevant.” Can you imagine if Frank now ends up with an interim appointment in the Senate, where he’s not held accountable by voters? The surly sourpuss might even try to pass legislation abolishing all Boston newspapers with “Herald” in the name. He once told college interviewers that he was “tired” of his job in Congress, saying, “it’d be nice to have some free time, not have to read a lot of stuff I don’t care about.” And he said one of his reasons for retiring was that it would be too strenuous to campaign in a new district where many voters didn’t know him. “I don’t have to pretend to be nice to people I don’t like,” he added.