Hillary Clinton and Barney Frank
Throw Momma Under The Train
I never liked the idea of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. When President Obama announced that he was choosing her and played up the idea of a “Team of Rivals” (an expression I quickly grew tired of) I shivered at the thought of Hillary in such a high profile position. Given her history, who wouldn’t be worried? And it wasn’t until recently that I realized the genius of the move on Obama’s part – he took his biggest competitor in the Democratic Party out of the equation and effectively sidelined her. The ironic part is that I think she just figured it out too.
The writing was on the wall when Obama appointed former Senator George Mitchell and others as special envoys to the world’s hot spots. Then came Bill Clinton’s history making trip to Pyongyang and, most recently, Senator Jim Webb’s trip to Myanmar to secure the release of an American citizen imprisoned under questionable charges. The spin is that the Secretary of State and her staff played integral parts in these victories, but without the limelight who cares? This is politics and all the hard work in the world doesn’t mean squat without the photo op. Regardless, you can see in this video that Hillary has finally figured it out. But the lingering question is “what is she going to do about it?” This goes back to my initial trepidation with having her anywhere near such a seemingly powerful position in the new administration. Will she sabotage Obama and run against him in 2012? Stranger things have happened.
Being Frank With Constituents
I’ve never been much of a Barney Frank fan, but if you haven’t seen the video of his recent Town Meeting in Dartmouth, Massachusetts it’s worth taking a minute to do so. Personally, I find the recent right wing nutjobs showing up to scream and yell about Nazism about as intelligent as the left wing whackos who did the same when Bush was president. Both groups jump enormous ladders of inference and end up looking stupid in the process. For example, I was never comfortable with some of the provisions of the Patriot Act and abhor the atrocities that have taken place at Guantanamo Bay, but to claim that Bush and his cronies were flat out fascists is a stretch. Likewise, universal health coverage is certainly “socialistic” in spirit, but to suggest that it will cause the collapse of our way of life is more than a bit overboard.
Back to Frank…at least he held a meeting and took all questions. There are many a U.S. Representative and Senator who are hiding under rocks because they can’t take the heat. And personally, what he said to the lady in the video doesn’t bother me in the least bit. Lately, people have been confusing their right to free speech with others’ rights to judge their speech. The First Amendment guarantees your right to say whatever you want, but it doesn’t mean that others have to listen and it certainly doesn’t guarantee that you won’t make an ass out of yourself.
See you next week.
About the Author: Randall H. Miller is an American college educator/blogger. He is also a former U.S. Army officer (82nd Airborne) with a M.A. in Diplomacy (focusing on International Terrorism) and a B.A. in Criminal Justice. Use the form on the right to sign up and receive notifications of new content. The words and ideas expressed here are 100% his own and not those of his employers or affiliated organizations.
Clara | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Isn’t Frank gay, and jewish? Accusing him of supporting Nazism is doubly stupid.
Your country has so many lovable loons. If only ours were half as entertaining (although they aren’t any less stupid than yours).
gpalmer | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Barney Frank is way too liberal for my liking.. but, I admire him greatly for his plain speaking and no nonsense approach.
I was at a mortgage industry event where Frank spoke, and member of the audience commented that he blamed the Fed for mortgage crisis because they made money so cheap and available to banks to lend out… Frank’s reponse? “That’s like blaming your alcoholism on the fact that there’s a liquor store across the street.”
Don’t like his politics, love his approach.
Daniel Williams | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Hillary will mount a challenge (pun intended) to Obama in 2012.
Remember when Barney Frank demanded to know the names of all those getting AIG bonuses? I’m no fan of Rush Limbaugh, but his response to Frank was classic. Rush said he was all for naming names – and the first ones he wanted were those of the customers frequenting the escort service run by Frank’s lover out of their townhouse. Frank suddenly fell silent…
Barney’s responses to his constituents were appalling and condescending, displaying clearly a belief in his own superiority. Someone with his supposed intelligence surely could have found a better way to handle the situation.
Throw all the bums out!
Frank the Tank | Aug 23, 2009 | Reply
Throw all the bums out is right. Time for a third party with a new vision, libertarian with a conservative bent and a call for a greatly reduced federal government.
And yes Hillary is a first class b****. As anyone who has ever worked for her.
David Cobb | Aug 26, 2009 | Reply
Agree with you all round. I’m definitley to the left, but I am uncomfortable with some of my fellow liberals who speak without thinking, like these right-wingers and their Hitler clap-trap. Luckily the moment someone uses the Hitler metaphor, their argument is doomed. It’s when they have gone too far.
I still have Clinton fatigue. Either they’ve got to leave or I do. I think I’ll have to book my flight to the Faroe Islands or the Falklands to get some peace.