***BREAKING*** Barney Frank: I Want The Massachusetts Senate Appointment

Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who just left the House of Representatives Thursday after 32 years, said Friday that he has told Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) that he would like an interim appointment to fill the Senate seat that would open if Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is confirmed as secretary of state. "A few weeks ago said, I said I wasn't interested. It was kind of like, you're about to graduate and they said, you've got to go to summer school. But that [fiscal cliff] deal now means that February, March, and April are going to be among the most important months in American financial history," he said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "Yes, in fact, I'm not going to be coy, it's not anything I've ever been good at. I've told the governor that i would now like, frankly, to be a part of that. It's only a three-month period, I wouldn't want to do anything more, but to be honest, it's a little arrogant." Said Frank, "Coach, put me in." The placeholder seat would open in the Senate between Kerry's exit and a special election for the remainder of his term, expected in early summer. Patrick has said that he is strongly leaning toward appointing a caretaker for the Senate seat, as happened after the death of former Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) Frank, 72, has said that he has no interest in running for the Senate seat in a special election, but that he wouldn't refuse an appointment. Frank, former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, played a pivotal role in both the negotiations over the Troubled Asset Relief Program and financial reform, where he passed legislation known as Dodd-Frank. Other names mentioned for the interim appointment have included Kennedy's widow, Victoria Kennedy, and former Gov. Michael Dukakis (D), who said he wasn't interested.

http%3A//www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/04/barney-frank-senate_n_2408519.html%3Fir%3DGay+Voices



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• I don't think so. Would sound too confusing.

  Sen.%20Al%20Franken%20%28D-MN%29

• We've had two Senators Kerry before; we could survive Franks and Franken.

• What a sugar homo.

• The lure of power is difficult to give up. I like Barney Frank a lot, but just two months ago he did say he wanted to retire. Although, Barney did say he would accept the seat just temporarily. Well, whatever takes the focus off Scott Brown and ultimately helps to elect Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) to the Senate.

• What he wants and what he's going to get are two entirely different things.

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• Hope he gets it and finds some way to keep it.

• I think this is right, brilliant and honest. Good for him.

• She needs to go away already.

• Hope he stays retired, R7. It's time to move on.

• ..because the Senate has the BEST male pages. ..And some under 17 too! *SWOON*

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• Deval Patrick will probably appoint Ed Markey to give him a head start on Brown and the value of incumbency, R8

• He'd be ideal in that interim seat. I hope it works out.

  Torta

• He must have it. As gay liberals we should demand it.

• Cool idea!

  anon

• Never. The Dems want to win the seat. He is too much of a loose cannon and he is rude.

• I know we're supposed to love him because he's gay, but I find his garrulous self-love obnoxious. Yes, he's one of the 'good guys', but he - like his protege Jared Polis - just grates. Give someone else a turn at the wheel, Barney.

• To the detractors: It's an interim seat. A few months. Not a six-year gig. And it'll be happening at a time when we need progressive Democrats to think on their feet and ask the tough questions, make the quick and effective arguments. Frank has those abilities and has decades of context to draw upon. I repeat, he'd be ideal for this. Beyond that, for the actual seat, Markey will be very good if he's the front runner. Capuano would be good too.

  Torta

• Enough with the "**Breaking**" on the headlines. They're appearing on every other thread lately.

• Can't Gov. Deval Patrick just appoint Rep. Ed Markey, who wants the Senate job anyway--and it would give Markey a head start in the race? Markey is well-known and stands the best chance of defeating Scott Brown.

• Yes, R20. Some are speculating Patrick will give Markey a head start by giving him the power of incumbency.

• [quote]It's an interim seat. A few months. Not a six-year gig. Torta, you are missing the fact that it could be a waste of those 'few months' to give the seat to Frank. It could harm the person who runs for the full Seat.

• Barney was the Chairman of the House Finance Committee for the past 5 years. He made if clear that he wants to go back because of his knowledge of dealing with the budget issues (particularly with the House). He could be really valuable getting us over the next few financial cliffs.

• Frank chose to retire. It's time for him to move on. He wasn't even that popular in his own district. Joe Kennedy got elected by a higher margin in his district in November than Frank did.

• Love the idea of Kamikaze Barney in an interim seat: he knows he doesn't have to be re-elected, so he can really stir some shit up. (The guy who was the seat-warmer after Biden became VP introduced some really good bank-regulation legislation, which ultimately came close to passing).

• Lotsa scared freepers on this thread I see, full of bigotry and trying to link gayness and pedophilia.

• R26 = Barney Frank, trying to justify his ludicrous play for the Senate seat

• r24, Loads of democrats had piss poor margins in 2010, so i don't think it's fair to use that as the only barometer of a politicians popularity.

• Barney Frank just isn't very likable, R26. I would take Tammy Baldwin and other likable LGBT person over him any day.

• I once lived in his Congressional district. I saw the interview on 'Morning Joe.' I am surprised Frank has nothing set beyond small projects for money. Guess the short-term Senate appointment would give him something to do. I agree that Gov. Patrick should appoint Ed Markey, not Frank. Barney has always had a huge ego; he would draw too much attention away from Markey to himself in the Senate.

• I want Barney as interim.

• Will he put his dentures in if he campaigns?

• Who cares what you want, R31?

• Frank is exactly what's needed in the interim, and will support Marks when he's ready. We need strength and knowledge in the next few months. Barney has that in spades. Like or dislike, he commands respect.

• The idea of Barney Frank being "coy" about anything is laughable.

  Hiding behind my fluttering fan

• Shoot, appoint Barney and he should run for the seat.

• [quote]Frank is exactly what's needed in the interim, and will support Marks when he's ready. It's Markey dear, not Marks. Perhaps you should know a little bit more about the players before you weigh in.

• For those who have said that Patrick should appoint Ed Markey, or that Frank should run if he gets the appointment, Governor Patrick made it clear last time (when he appointed Paul Kirk to Ted Kennedy's seat after Kennedy died) that he would prefer to appoint someone on an interim basis who would promise not to run themselves. Of the other possibilities mentioned, Dukakis has said he's not interested and Victoria Kennedy, while a sentimental favorite, would not be nearly as effective as Barney Frank. Frank wouldn't need to be brought up to speed or learn his way around. Campaigning in public probably won't help his chances, but he would be a good pick for a lot of reasons.

• [quote]Dukakis has said he's not interested What makes the old fool think anyone would want him in the first place?

• Thanks for that trenchant reply, R37. God forbid I misremember a name. My point holds. Care to debate the claim, instead of being a disingenuous schoolmarm?

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• For R39:

  http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/273151-dukakis-seen-as-possible-senate-replacement-if-kerry-tapped-for-state

• Dukakis would never cut funding for the military. He's one with the military-industrial complex.

  http://2guystalkingmetsbaseball.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/dukakis.jpg

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• Barney had on his 7 inch lucite stripper heels as he bent over to present his hole

• Don't people understand that Gov. Patrick is only appointing a three-month placeholder, so an election for the seat can be held without favoring any possible candidate!? Barney Frank is a fantastic choice, as he knows the process, and would be a major asset until an election can be held.

• Barney Frank would be a freshman senator for 3-4 months, with no seniority on any important, or unimportant, senate committees. If he wants to be a senator so badly, Frank could run in the Democratic primary.

• Deval Patrick has acknowledged Frank would be great. He will not appoint Markey or anyone else who might run. "Responding to a reporter's question, Patrick said it would be logical to appoint Frank, partly because he knows the issues in Washington and could hit the ground running."

  http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/gov_deval_patrick_rep_barney_frank_would_make_great_interim_senator.html

• [quote]We've had two Senators Kerry before; we could survive Franks and Franken. We currently have a Reid and a Reed, two Johnsons, and the Udall cousins. Not to mention Nelson of Nebraska who served at the same time as Nelson of Florida. And Bob Bennett of Utah and Michael Bennet of Colorado.

  The Voice of the Night