Top 10 Barney Frank Offenses

Top 10 Barney Frank Offenses
by Human Events
12/03/2011

Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) has announced that he will not run for reelection, giving conservatives an early Christmas present. Let’s look back on his more than 30 years in office and give thanks that the liberal lawmaker will soon be returning home. Here are the Top 10 Barney Frank Offenses.

1. Fannie and Freddie: As ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank blocked tightened oversight over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying in 2003, “These two entities … are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” and, “I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing.” More than any other factor, the 2008 financial meltdown was caused by pushing these government-sponsored enterprises to encourage housing loans to risky borrowers. Thanks a lot, Barney.

2. Liberal voting record: Frank never met a liberal cause that he didn’t embrace, including backing partial-birth abortions and gay marriage. Liberal groups such as the ACLU, NAACP and others routinely give him the highest marks for his voting record. Americans for Democratic Action named Frank one of their “heroes” for his perfect left-wing tally of votes.

3. Live-in prostitute: In 1989, the Washington Times reported that Frank allowed his lover at the time, male prostitute Steve Gobie, to live in the basement of his Capitol Hill townhouse, where the hooker turned tricks while the openly gay congressman was at work. The sordid living arrangement led to an official reprimand of Frank by the House of Representatives for using his congressional office to fix parking tickets racked up by the prostitute.

4. Dodd-Frank: This misguided attempt to reform the financial sector has added to the problem with its burdensome regulations. The only benefit from the bill will be the jobs created in the legal and accounting fields needed to comply with its onerous provisions.

5. Campaign donations: Frank’s interest in allowing free rein at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was not necessarily due to his altruistic motivations for helping poor people buy houses. He also received more than $40,000 in campaign donations over the years from its top officials. Other top donors to Frank’s campaigns included Fidelity Investments, J.P. Morgan and the Bank of America—all institutions that stood to benefit from his position on the House Financial Services Committee.

6. Lover at Fannie Mae: Frank’s longtime lover Herb Moses worked as a top official responsible for relaxing mortgage standards at Fannie Mae, an enterprise that was subject to oversight authority by the House Financial Services Committee upon which Frank served. Conflict of interest, anyone?

7. TARP favor: Frank inserted a provision in federal bailout legislation that granted $12 million to OneUnited Bank. Yes, that is the same bank that embroiled Rep. Maxine Waters, Frank’s colleague on the House Financial Services Committee, in an ongoing House ethics committee probe for seeking special treatment for the bank where her husband has financial ties.

8. Airplane freebie: Liberals love to hurl ethics charges against their conservative opposition, but said little when Frank was caught taking a free trip to the Virgin Islands on the private jet of a billionaire, G. Donald Sussman, head of Paloma Securities, which received $200 million of federal bailout funds. Imagine the howls if any conservative had done the same.

9. Rude and insulting: It is not just that Frank voted as a true-blue liberal that is galling, but also how he expressed his opinions. Normally described as witty or acerbic by his fans in the mainstream media, Frank was often rude and insulting when pushing his agenda—witness his attack on Bill O’Reilly, telling the Fox host during an interview, “Your stupidity gets in the way of rational discussion.”

10. Disheveled: Far from upholding the gay stereotype of being meticulously dressed, Frank always looked like he'd slept in his suit. And considering that his net worth is several million dollars, is there a reason why he can’t afford to buy a comb?
________________________________________

To read another Top Ten article by Human Events, click here.