Attacks on Frank intensify with his star poised to rise
WASHINGTON -- It is one of Vice President Dick Cheney's favorite attack lines. If Republicans lose control of the House, Cheney warns at campaign rallies, then Democrats such as Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts will become powerful committee chairmen, "and I don't need to tell you what kind of legislation would come."
Indeed, the possibility that Frank could control a committee that oversees the regulation of most of the nation's financial services industries is being portrayed by Republicans as a major reason to prevent a Democratic takeover.
In addition to the attacks by Cheney, Representative John N. Hostettler , an Indiana Republican facing a tough reelection fight, has launched an ad that says Democrats have a "radical plan to advance the homosexual agenda, led by Barney Frank." House majority whip Roy Blunt even issued a press release that attacks Frank for supporting "scary" legislation such as "Medicare coverage of adult diapers."
Frank is both outraged and bemused by the attacks. If his mother were still alive, "she would have kvelled at Dick Cheney attacking me, she would have been the proudest mother in America," Frank said in an interview, using a Yiddish word for bursting with pride.
Meanwhile, Frank -- outspoken, openly gay, and eminently quotable -- is more in demand than ever. In just the past week, he has flown across the country, stopping at several fund-raisers, and made an appearance on the HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher," on which Frank accused Republicans of wanting to criminalize gay sex.
In the aftermath of the scandal surrounding former representative Mark Foley, who resigned after sending inappropriate messages to male congressional pages, Frank has blasted Republicans who, he said, criticize gay behavior and then "close the door and do it themselves."
Beneath the very public sparring between Frank and Republicans, however, is evidence that the powerful industries that Frank would oversee as financial services chairman are falling over themselves to praise the 66-year-old from Newton -- perhaps mindful of the power he may soon have over them. At the same time, Frank is seeking to cast Democrats as being friendly to the banking and insurance industries.
"I think people may misunderstand what being a liberal means," Frank said. "I really do believe in the free market."
Frank summed up his philosophy this way: "You need inequality in the capitalist system, but we are at a point now where we are getting more inequality than is necessary for efficiency or socially helpful. The role of the government should put some limits on that inequality, through raising the minimum wage, encouraging unions, [and] providing public sector programs that help people go to college."
Frank has occasionally tangled with business. In 2004, he believed
But Bank of America is now quick to note that any animosity is a thing of the past. Spokesman Ernesto Anguilla said yesterday that Bank of America is restoring Massachusetts jobs to pre merger levels and has "enjoyed a productive working relationship with Congressman Frank."
There are dozens of issues on which Frank could influence national financial policy. For example, Frank said he is undecided about whether large banks such as Bank of America should be limited, based on their size, in the types of mergers and acquisitions they are allowed to make. A spate of bank mergers has limited competition in many communities.
Powerful industry groups, meanwhile, increasingly are seeking Frank's views.
Frank "is a liberal who understands markets," said Floyd Stoner , chief lobbyist of the American Bankers Association. "We expect him to be the next chairman, and we are pretty excited about that," said Dan Forte , president of the Massachusetts Bankers Association. Former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating, a Republican who is now the president of the American Council of Life Insurers, said he expects no problem if one of the most liberal members of Congress takes over the committee reins.
"I believe we will have an excellent relationship with him," Keating said.
Indeed, despite the vice president's sniping at Frank, Cheney's office was unable to provide examples of financial services legislation that Frank would produce that would worry the vice president. Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, responded via e-mail that Cheney is concerned about "liberal Democrats whose voting records reflect that they're out of sync with the American people."
In the interview, Frank said Republicans are trying to smear him and other Democrats on the basis of race or sexual orientation. "They can't demonize my record on the committee," Frank said. Instead, "they appeal to prejudice."
Cheney has not mentioned Frank's sexual orientation. But other Republicans have brought up Frank's relationship with a male prostitute that generated headlines 16 years ago when the man claimed he ran a prostitution ring out of Frank's home.
The House Ethics Committee recommended that Frank be reprimanded for trying to fix the prostitute's parking tickets and for writing a letter to a probation officer on the prostitute's behalf. But the committee concluded that Frank did not know about the prostitution ring allegedly being run out of his townhouse.
Nonetheless, Brad Blakeman , a Republican strategist who served previously as deputy assistant to President Bush, said in an Oct. 4 appearance on MSNBC that Frank had "admitted running a prostitution ring out of his townhouse."
Blakeman couldn't be reached for comment.
Frank said he won't back down from his leadership on issues affecting gays and lesbians, even while acknowledging that becoming a committee chairman would require him to focus more time on financial issues. Frank's outspoken style was in evidence Oct. 20 when he appeared on "Real Time."
When the host, Maher, asked whether Republicans brought the Foley scandal onto themselves, panelist Stephen Moore, the founder of the conservative Club For Growth, responded: "Brought what on? The fact that there are gay Republicans? Is that a crime?"
"It would be, if Republicans had their way," Frank interjected.
Frank does plan to be a bit more conservative in one respect: If Democrats take over the House, he said, he plans to tone down his one-liners. He worries that anything he says could adversely affect financial markets, at least in the initial days after the Nov. 7 election.
"I will have to be a little less freewheeling," Frank said. "I'll have to be a little boring. I'll get over it."
