Sean Bielat, the aRepublican ctive duty Marine from Massachusetts who tried and failed to unseat Barney Frank in November’s elections, has never been shy about his dislike for the veteran politico. “He’s abrasive,” Bielat said of Frank this time last year. And now that Frank has announced he’s running for another two-year term? Bielat isn’t leaving open an opportunity to diss him. “None of the presidential candidates have declared, but I guess Barney thinks America is waiting with bated breath to see if he is running,” he says. “I was surprised. I thought he’d call it a day.” With Frank’s announcement came an eight-paragraph statement from Bielat, who railed against repealing DADT and who hasn’t ruled out the possibility of running again. And why not: Frank only has $21k in the bank right now. And somebody has to pay off two Massachusetts reps who will likely lose their seats after redistricting is completing, and be forced to retire or run against their own colleagues.
SouthSideShorty
Good! Blowhard Barney has done enough damage to the fiscal state of this country. Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he’s not a shameless self-promoter with an agenda. Go Sean!
Riker
They can’t redistrict him out, the population in the Brookline area (which he represents) is mostly stable. If anything, with less and less students living there from the nearby Boston University, the area has more permanent residents.
John
I would love to see that SOB Frank given the boot, but I’m not about to support someone like Bielat in order to do it. If he were more like Scott Brown, sure, yet he his support of DADT means he’ll never get a dime from me. Fortunately for him he doesn’t have to worry about my vote though since I don’t live in his district.
Andy
@SouthSideShorty: Okay, Frank may be corrupt, but what’s with the “Go Sean!” part? That guy’s a complete homophobe.
justiceontherocks
@Andy: if Bielat couldn’t beat Frank in 2010 it’s hard to imagine when he ever could. But someone should. Frank is as corrupt as a congressperson can get.
the crustybastard
@John:
LOL. Barney Frank voted for DADT.
SouthSideShorty
Thank you, ya Crusty Bastard, for pointing that out.
And frankly, though I know this will gain me few friends, DADT is something that should be decided not by lawmakers or by public opinion, but by the people who will actually be affected by it: those in the military.
Joe
@SouthSideShorty: Good thing blacks in the military didn’t have to wait for that option. You’re an idiot
Soupy
Yes, the civil rights act in the 60s faced great opposition from conservatives. I suppose South Side shorty would have had a problem with that too.
whatever
He couldn’t beat Frank in a wave republican year. What makes him think he can beat Frank in a year with Obama on the top of the ticket?
Dfrw
I just moved to LA from Newton, so I will miss the opportunity to vote against Bielat again, but Frank cleaned his clock in 2010 and would probably do so again in 2012. Frank may not be popular at the national level, but he is in his district. Also, Bielat supports DADT and DOMA and is absolutely no friend to gay people. He should stay in the private sector at his regressive company and his regressive views.
Dfrw
I just moved to LA from Newton, so I will miss the opportunity to vote against Bielat again, but Frank cleaned his clock in 2010 and would probably do so again in 2012. Frank may not be popular at the national level, but he is in his district. Also, Bielat supports DADT and DOMA and is absolutely no friend to gay people. He should stay in the private sector at his regressive company and with his regressive views.
OrchidIslander
@the crustybastard: “LOL. Barney Frank voted for DADT”
There’s much more to the story than just Barney voting for DADT. You act as if there was no compelling reason for him to do so and you paint his vote as if it was a bad thing; which at the time it was not. Would you have preferred a threatened and supported alternative to DADT, which was an outright ban on gay people in the military? DADT was a compromise, flawed and equality-challenged, yet better than what some Republicans had in mind for us. So when you’re throwing stones at Barney for voting on DADT, stop with the snide half-truths and put his vote into historical context. Many gay supporters went with DADT, because at the time it was the best they could get.
justiceontherocks
@OrchidIslander: DADT, the “flawed compromise,” probably kept the issue out of the Supreme Court for 20 years. Almost no one outside of right wing lug nuts thinks DADT or an outright exclusion is constitutional.
Support for DADT was foolish and short-sighted. Both those characteristics are descriptive of Barney Frank.
OrchidIslander
@justiceontherocks: “DADT, the “flawed compromise,” probably kept the issue out of the Supreme Court for 20 years”
Yeah, so what is your point? The outright ban on gay people in the military PRIOR to DADT had been in effect a hell of a lot longer than DADT – and it, as an issue, never made it to the Supreme Court either.
Support for DADT was nowhere near as foolish as your refusal to consider the historical facts and political landscape when DADT was made policy.
It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair – but it was a compromise and it was a lot better than what Newt and Company threatened at the time.