Barney Frank is the man

david   |   Wed, Aug 19, 2009 7:55 AM EST

One thing I love about Barney Frank: he gives as good as (actually, in most cases much better than) he gets.  This is the proper means of dealing with the teabaggers.  (We’ve already discussed this here, but the video merits a separate post.)

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  1. Why not just add this video
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    to Charley's slightly earlier post?

    stomv   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

    • Because I didn't feel like it. ;-)
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      david   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

      • Ahem..Speaking of Video...
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        This from your very own sidebar on Hub Blog.

        For those who like Frank, he proves his chops; for those who do not, opinion may be justified.

        What IS there is Frank in his own words, and some of the SUBSTANTIVE discussion ignored by the press.  I especilly recommend 'States Rights (#1 adn #2)' esp. in view of statehood resolutions being passed, and 'Judgement', the most thoughtful exchange of the evening.

        peter-porcupine   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

    • b/c it deserves its own post, espl'y with the title David gave it. Mr. Frank, you da' man!!
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      Now with all the crazy-making stuff going on with health reform arena these days, on top of all the unethical, illegal and infuriating stuff that's been going on with health reform for years, aren't we glad there's coverage like this:

      WASHINGTON-After months of committee meetings and hundreds of hours of heated debate, the United States Congress remained deadlocked this week over the best possible way to deny Americans health care.

      "Both parties understand that the current system is broken," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Monday. "But what we can't seem to agree upon is how to best keep it broken, while still ensuring that no elected official takes any political risk whatsoever. It's a very complicated issue."...

      "We have over 40 million people without insurance in this country today, and that is unacceptable," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said. "If we would just quit squabbling so much, we could get that number up to 50 or even 100 million. Why, there's no reason we can't work together to deny health care to everyone but the richest 1 percent of the population."

      "That's what America is all about," he added.

      House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said on Meet The Press that Republicans would never agree to a plan that doesn't allow citizens the choice to be denied medical care in the private sector.

      "Americans don't need some government official telling them they don't have the proper coverage to receive treatment," Boehner said. "What they need is massive insurance companies to become even more rich and powerful by withholding from average citizens the care they so desperately require. We're talking about people's health and the obscene profits associated with that, after all." ... read full piece at http://www.theonion.com/conten...

      annem   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

  2. Getting nationwide coverage
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    Salon also has its own post and the consensus of the comments is - finally!

    christopher   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

  3. The problem with dining room tables..
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    .. is that they lie like a rug.

    john-from-lowell   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

  4. Yglasias...
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    ... comment:

    Voters don't have a great deal of knowledge about the issues, or a great deal of interest in acquiring knowledge about the issues. But they are human beings, equipped with our species' excellent ability to read the emotional states of other human beings. If they see a politician acting defensive about his "side" in an argument, they conclude that this critics are probably on to something. If they see a politicians acting outraged and hitting back fearlessly, they're likely to conclude that he has nothing to apologize for.
    mr-lynne   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

  5. From Frank's office
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    A recent statement:

    I would like to clarify what I am doing regarding meetings with constituents this summer.  I have not traditionally organized town hall meetings myself, but I thought it better to respond to invitations from citizens who were organizing such events.  Because of the unusual nature of the healthcare debate, I decided last week to hold such a forum later this summer before the House votes on the issue.

    Prior to my making that decision and fixing a date and place for such a meeting, I accepted an invitation from the Democratic Town Committee of Dartmouth, Massachusetts to address one of their monthly meetings.  When word that I would be appearing at this meeting was released by the town committee, a number of people in the area expressed interest in attending to discuss healthcare.

    The Democratic Town Committee, which is sponsoring the meeting and is in charge of the arrangements, then informed me that they were moving the meeting to a larger facility to accommodate that interest.

    I look forward to attending this meeting held by the town committee to discuss the full range of issues before Congress, including healthcare, and the major effort to curb abuses in the financial industry that led to our current economic problems.  As chairman of the Financial Services Committee in the House, this latter issue has been the one on which I have focused the most this year.

    In addition, I will be sponsoring a Congressional town hall meeting primarily on healthcare in a few weeks.  Time and place will be announced.

    When that time and place are set, I think his saner constituents need to come in great numbers.

    sabutai   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

  6. The NECN clip,
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     also on youtube and cited by Charley, was more complete and worth watching. Barney Frank is impressive.  

    jane   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

    • Braney is awesome...
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      ...as this video shows - shortly after the Democrats took back the house in 2006, he was wielding the gavel, and he gave a serious smack down to Patrick McHenry:

      johnt001   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

      • That was brilliant
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        It's amazing to me that two congressman would not know the basic rules. Or that someone else on their side could not help them out.

        Frank's statement that the "other" way the gentleman could find an answer to his question would be to read the bill was classic.

        I'd give this post an 8 if i could. Well done, JohnT001.

        noternie   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

        • My favorite part...
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          ...was when he said that comments on the past behavior of the speaker might be interesting, but they are not points of order.  Barney Frank has a particularly appropriate last name!

          johnt001   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

  7. FWIW...
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    I don't think that woman was a teabagger. I'm guessing that she's a Lyndon Larouche supporter. I've seen them at other events pushing the Obama=Hitler materials. I've also seen the same glassy-eyed stare that makes me wonder what sort of chemicals they're on.  

    eury13   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

    • Is it a movement or a cult?
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      And considering that their titular leader is 87 now, who's calling the shots for that group?  LaRouche wasn't too lucid in his best days (before the conviction), and by now I imagine there's someone else telling these crazies what they think.

      sabutai   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

  8. Barney Frank is a national treasure...
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    He has set an example for responding to the radical right that other members of Congress should adopt.

    We are fortunate in Massachusetts to have a Congressional Delegation that is so strong on this issue. And the list on ActBlue of Congressmen who support the public option is a valuable resource.  But,everyone on Blue Mass Group should use the fine talking points that have been published on these pages to contact friends and family in other states where support for the public option may not be so strong.

    gonzod   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

  9. GO get them Barney!
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    Finally an elected official who is not afraid to confront the bizarre whacko's of this universe.

    Keep up the good work Congressman!!!!!!

    As Usual just my Opinion  

    woburndem   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

  10. Colbert confronts the dining room table
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    If anyone is still reading this thread, check out Stephen Colbert doing what Barney Frank refused to do: Debate the dining room table.

    jasiu   @   Tue 4 Dec 7:00 PM

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