Barney Frank: Boehner’s “a disaster,” Cruz an “intelligent fool,” and heroin should be legal

[DonViejo]

Boehner’s “a disaster,” Cruz an “intelligent fool,” and heroin should be legal: Barney Frank talks to Salon

Former congressman Barney Frank slams ex-colleagues, questions banks' clout, and predicts how the shutdown will end

BY JOSH EIDELSON

Barney Frank spent 32 years in the U.S. House before retiring in January. In recent years, he helmed the House Financial Services Committee during the 2008 financial crisis, became the first member of Congress to marry a same-sex partner while in office and helped lead the charge for a ban on anti-gay firings (so far stymied) and post-crash financial reform (that law now bears his name). He’s currently writing a book.

In a Monday afternoon interview, Frank predicted the endgame of the debt-ceiling showdown and defended his push in Congress for an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would have left out transgender workers. He also told Salon that big banks “have very little political power,” called the president’s support for Social Security cuts “appalling” and urged America to legalize heroin and cocaine. What follows is a condensed and edited version of our conversation.

So we’re about to hit two weeks of a government shutdown, and we’re days from the debt-ceiling deadline without a final deal. Are you surprised?

No. One of the lies people tell is, “I don’t like to say I told you so.” It is in fact one of the few pleasures that improve with age. I don’t have to take a pill before, during or after I do it.

So no, I’m not surprised. The control the right wing has over the Republican Party, and the ideology of those people, and the political framework that has dominated the Republican Party where all Republican politicians have been terrified of losing a primary to an extremist — that was predictable.

full article
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/15/boehners_a_disaster_cruz_an_intelligent_fool_and_heroin_should_be_legal_barney_frank_talks_to_salon/

[NMDemDist2]

1. i miss Barney n/t

[Special Prosciuto]

2. I agree with the first proposition,

would strike "intelligent" from the second, and oppose the third.

[johnthunder]

3. about Barney Frank

My favorite description of Barney Frank is from the Wall St. Journal cited here http://www.macmillanspeakers.com/barneyfrank

“Mr. Frank’s combative liberalism and quick wit make him a standout in a Capitol filled with politicians dependent on talking points and polls, a trait alluded to by Mr. Obama who said in a written statement that, ‘The House of Representatives will not be the same without him."

Combative yet with integrity, so rare these days!

[gopiscrap]

4. welcome to DU