Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, August 19, 2009
Politics Barney Frank for Senate
Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Um... gee. There's probably going to be a vacant U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts sometime soon—which is a tragedy, and I loves me my Ted Kennedy, and I wish the senior senator from Massachusetts a full, speedy, and miraculous recovery. But if that doesn't happen, Frank for Senate.
1
I'll second that motion.
Can't think of anyone who'd be better to fill that seat. He'd be an excellent choice.
Can't think of anyone who'd be better to fill that seat. He'd be an excellent choice.
2
Sorry, but Ted Kennedy should have groomed someone for his seat years ago so he could go out with some class. Not in a wheelchair on the door step of death.
Seriously, ALL the Senators need to realize that it shouldn't be a job for life.
Seriously, ALL the Senators need to realize that it shouldn't be a job for life.
3
I like Ted K. and love Barney F. (and I'm a committed straight). Lived in Mass. for years, and it was great to have these guys representing me. Because they actually were! Unlike the oozing creepy types far more typical (this means you, junior Senator from Washington state!).
Cato the YY @2 makes a valid point, sort of. Why is it Teddy's job to prepare a successor? Especially if his/her surname is not Kennedy, or lacks the Big Teeth?. Family dynasties suck.
Barney's a highly visible House member. Could he keep this up in the Senate? I suppose he could.
Cato the YY @2 makes a valid point, sort of. Why is it Teddy's job to prepare a successor? Especially if his/her surname is not Kennedy, or lacks the Big Teeth?. Family dynasties suck.
Barney's a highly visible House member. Could he keep this up in the Senate? I suppose he could.
4
As a Masshole, I can't see it happening. The Commonwealth is becoming more and more Republican, and the only person they hate more than Ted Kennedy is Barney Frank.
6
Since the U.S. Senate is so corrupted by the insurance industry, I think Frank should stay put. Unless he can fight and call it what it is.
8
I agree that the video made me happy. But, as someone who lives in Frank's district, I was horrified by his response to the homophobic Obama DOMA brief earlier this year. You haven't forgotten about that, have you, Dan? It took Frank nearly a week to issue a response, and he basically said, "I think the brief is fine."
10
Really @4?
Do you live here? It may become slightly more republican on a state level because Deval Patrick sucks but there is still a long way to go before the state elects a republican to the U.S. Senate. Barney Frank's district captures some liberal Boston suburbs but mostly stretches down into places like New Bedford and Fall River where he still has a lot of support. Also the bluest state becoming slightly more republican really doesn't mean much. Out of the 150 state legislators only 24 are republican. They really have nowhere to go but up.
The primary for Kennedy's seat will be a bloodbath but whoever wins that will most likely have a senate seat for life.
Do you live here? It may become slightly more republican on a state level because Deval Patrick sucks but there is still a long way to go before the state elects a republican to the U.S. Senate. Barney Frank's district captures some liberal Boston suburbs but mostly stretches down into places like New Bedford and Fall River where he still has a lot of support. Also the bluest state becoming slightly more republican really doesn't mean much. Out of the 150 state legislators only 24 are republican. They really have nowhere to go but up.
The primary for Kennedy's seat will be a bloodbath but whoever wins that will most likely have a senate seat for life.
11
He's awfully senior in the House. He'd have to give up all his committee seats, etc., to become junior Senator.
12
uh, yeah, Geni makes a point...why the hell would we WANT him to give up his seniority and power in the House to be the lowest man on the Senate totem pole? It can take 20 years to get decent seniority and chairmanships. Barney isn't dumb; he'll be the King of the House until his state funeral...
13
What @11 & @12 said, only per Barney himself: he will not run for senate because he'd be the most junior of juniors and at his age, he's not likely to stick around long enough to become senior. He's actually said as much on many occasions, and I was there and heard hit utter it directly.
14
i'm kind of surprised that Dan is buying into the idiocy of thinking that the Senate is better/more prestigious/ than the House...historically, the Senate has been a home for toothy, gabby, rich do-nothings while the House actually does a lot of the dirty work.
16
The chief advantage of the Senate over the House is the six-year term. The Senators don't have to spend ALL their time running for office. They still do, but they don't have to.
A senior member of the House is a far preferable position to a junior member of the Senate.
A senior member of the House is a far preferable position to a junior member of the Senate.
17
@16
You are right but in a state like MA none of the seats are really that competitive. Frank doesn't even have a challenger most elections and I wouldn't be surprised if the other districts in the state are similar in their lack of competitiveness.
You are right but in a state like MA none of the seats are really that competitive. Frank doesn't even have a challenger most elections and I wouldn't be surprised if the other districts in the state are similar in their lack of competitiveness.
18
#15 - haven't we had at least sixteen gay presidents? Washington, Buchanan, Lincoln, Garfield, Taft, McKinley, Eisenhower, Nixon, Roosevelt I and II, van Buren, Hayes, Johnson I and II, Coolidge. Oh, and Clinton.
Ridiculous.
Ridiculous.
19
Let's see:
Washington - As a career surveyor and soldier, he spent almost his entire life in the exclusive company of men. What happens in Valley Forge stays in Valley Forge. There is no evidence to suggest that he had a sexual relationship with Martha. Certainly, they had no children together.
Buchanan - Never married. Lived with William King for 15 years, leading King to be called his "wife" and "Aunt Nancy." After King's death, Buchanan writes of "going a wooing to several gentlemen."
And surely everyone knows about Lincoln's relationship with Captain Derickson.
Washington - As a career surveyor and soldier, he spent almost his entire life in the exclusive company of men. What happens in Valley Forge stays in Valley Forge. There is no evidence to suggest that he had a sexual relationship with Martha. Certainly, they had no children together.
Buchanan - Never married. Lived with William King for 15 years, leading King to be called his "wife" and "Aunt Nancy." After King's death, Buchanan writes of "going a wooing to several gentlemen."
And surely everyone knows about Lincoln's relationship with Captain Derickson.
20
As a constituent, I was glad to hear Rep. Frank on NPR immediately dismiss the idea in typically vociferous terms. Barney sees his work regulating the financial mess to be more important than a vanity quest. The primary process for that seat, after a quarter-century of no job mobility for senior pols here, is going to get pretty savage and I like that my congressman is smart enough to stay the hell away from it. My guess is the legislature will change the law next month to appoint a placeholder (despite GOP legal threats) and we will have Senator Dukakis until the election which will be something like Martha Coakley vs. Scott Brown (my state senator, who when not posing for Cosmo, likes to make it easier to out LGTB youth to their parents and inveigle against marriage equality)
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
NYC Man Ticketed for Not Riding in the Bike Lane by Jonathan Golob
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (20) RSS