Barney Frank's planned retirement: 'The end of an era'
Washington prepares to say good-bye to an openly gay congressman both beloved and loathed for his bitingly honest wit
The video: It's "the end of an era." Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced on Monday that he won't run for re-election in 2012, ending a groundbreaking and colorful congressional career after 16 terms and three decades in office. (Watch Frank's speech below.) The 71-year-old Democrat first won his House seat in 1981, and was the country's first openly gay congressman. Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee from 2007 until 2011, Frank was instrumental in the 2010 passage of a sweeping financial reform bill that represented "the stiffest restrictions on banks and Wall Street since the Great Depression." Frank said his decision to retire is partly driven by redistricting that makes his district more conservative — and potentially more difficult for an unabashed liberal to win. Frank, well known for his acerbic wit, did not disappoint on Monday, taking several parting shots at former House speaker and current GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, saying that a Gingrich nomination "would be the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party since Barry Goldwater."
The reaction: "We'll all miss Barney," says Susan Milligan at The Boston Globe. He was "arguably the smartest person in the House of Representatives," and "bitingly witty." Plus, "Wall Street is losing a major critic," says Kevin Roose at The New York Times. But let's not get too sentimental, says Peter J. Wallison at The American. Frank leaves behind a mixed legacy, marred chiefly by his "intellectual arrogance" and fierce protection for years of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — a position he's since reversed. And Frank's retirement is a "bad sign for Democrats," says Alana Goodman at Commentary. The Left is trying to regain a House majority in 2012, and would certainly have a "better shot with Frank running in that seat instead of an unknown candidate." Watch the video:
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published