The good news: Barney Frank is going

By Rod Dreher • November 28, 2011, 1:15 PM

A Congressional bete noire of the Right is retiring because of redistricting. The bad news: who’s next in line to take his place as ranking Democratic member of the Financial Services Committee. Megan McArdle brings the bad news. She’s right: for all his faults – and they are legendary, especially with the Fannie/Freddie mess — Barney Frank is not remotely an idiot. His replacement? Hoo boy. She makes Forrest Gump look like Dwight MacDonald.

Fortunately, America is not facing an economic crisis, much of it centered on the financial industry. Therefore, we can afford to have nitwits like her in positions of elite political leadership.

UPDATE: I agree, Barney Frank can be a hilarious guy. I like his wit. The Atlantic has a nice video collection of his greatest smart-aleck hits.

10 Responses to The good news: Barney Frank is going

Steven Donegal says:

November 28, 2011 at 1:36 pm

C’mon–ya gotta love Barnie:

“I thought the Gingrich Group was his wives” is a classic.

“Let me be very clear: I will be neither a lobbyist nor a historian.” The best thing may be that since he isn’t running again, he can really go after the Newt now.
Gene Callahan says:

November 28, 2011 at 2:01 pm

“Miss Barney Frank”

So, is that his formal title?
MiniMax says:

November 28, 2011 at 2:28 pm

Don’t worry about Maxine. She’s the subject of a bailout related ethics probe, and even the corrupt Donkeys won’t let her rise any higher on that committee.

That said, Wall Street would love to have her, since the ethics “issues” would render her vulnerable and pliant.
Mike says:

November 28, 2011 at 3:10 pm

Rep. Carolyn Maloney is next in line after Maxine. She’s a friend of Wall Street (representing the Silk Stocking district in Manhattan). She’s also no Barney Frank, who is an intellectual giant and the quickest wit in Washington.

It’s not as though Spencer Bachus, Jeb Hensarling, or Peter King–the top Republicans–are any better than Frank or even Waters. King is on a constant Muslim-hunt and Bachus and Henersling are light-weights.

Maybe we are doomed, since Frank was the only adult in the room.
Thomas O. Meehan says:

November 28, 2011 at 3:17 pm

“Never interfere with your enemy while he is making a mistake,” So said Napoleon. We of the right should wait and savour this opportunity. She is not only corrupt but her afro-partisanship will feed into the phenomenon you named in the post above. Large numbers of ordinary white people are coming to see the Democrats their opponents on racial grounds, which they are.
Charles Cosimano says:

November 28, 2011 at 4:25 pm

And of course, who will be elected in his district?
TheRealAnswer says:

November 28, 2011 at 4:26 pm

If voters get out and do their job next November then we won’t have to worry about any of these third-raters.
J says:

November 28, 2011 at 6:58 pm

Actually the district isn’t difficult for Frank to win- it’s safely Democratic. That’s just a propaganda talking point. He has noticeably gotten less sharp and more prone to flying off the handle in the last year or two, though- still highly entertaining but it was time for him to walk.
Siarlys Jenkins says:

November 28, 2011 at 10:54 pm

Like it or not, “Real,” Maxine Waters is supported in her district, and voters there will do their job as they see fit, not as any of the rest of us would like to think.

Much as I believed it was time for Frank to go — particularly because he failed to fully restore Glass-Steagall when the financial reform bill was concocted — this is indeed a dismal picture of what is likely to come next.

What the Democratic Party needs is a lot of primary challengers dumping entrenched incumbents, not to replace them with Tea Party lite, but with people who can dump old, tired, stereotypes and offer some bold new proposals that are both in the interest of the 99% and sustainable. I’m not hopeful. When Republicans took control of the Wisconsin legislature in 2010, most of the Democrats who lost deserved to lose, not because they were “liberals,” but because they were spineless wimps standing around with one finger in the air testing the wind, and their other thumb… well, never mind.
Sheldon says:

November 28, 2011 at 10:57 pm

Rod, you’re too decent a person for the “Good News Barney Is Going” headline. Disagree with him politically, though in fact on economic issues you are more aligned with him than you seem to realize, but he’s put in a long tenure as a public servant and in that category he’s been a lot better than most.