Barney Frank (D-MA) to Hold Massachusetts 4th District Town Hall Meeting – Dartmouth, August 18, 2009 – Rumors of Frank’s Retirement Race Through MA

Barney Frank to discuss Health Care Reform, 8-19, Dartmouth, MA - image: blog - sltrib.com

Addendum: Contrary to Anonymous Comment posters This meeting is confirmed and Open to the Public.

Barney Frank (D-MA) will hold a “Town Hall” meeting on Health Care Reform, in Dartmouth, MA on August 18th. The meeting has been moved to the Dartmouth Council on Aging, 628 Dartmouth Street, Dartmouth, taking place from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. Frank, who is a proponent of the Obama Administration’s Health Care Reform program, will be available to take questions from his constituents; it is expected to be a very well attended meeting.

Frank, who has yet to confirm his intent to run for a another term in the 4th district, is rumored to be retiring in order to concentrate on a run at the Senate. The seat in question is Kennedy’s, who will be up for re-election in 2012, and, with Kennedy Legacy a larger part of the DNC, it is more than likely that a Kennedy will attempt to run for the seat, which would push Frank into retirement. The rumors are based on a new book that is due to release in October, an over-the-top glowing review of Frank’s political career, being published by UMass University Press. A quick read of the advance copy gives one the impression that this is more “Fiction” than fact - and one can make a fairly safe prediction that this Title will not make the New York Times Best Seller List. A Massachusetts political insider suggests that Frank will use this book as a springboard for his campaign for the soon to be vacant Kennedy Senate Seat. The speculation may have come from a Boston Globe article in 2004, where Frank spoke about positioning for a Senate Seat – Kerry’s. Had Kerry won the Presidency, then Frank had intended to run for the Senate.

That said, 8 years later, the same may not apply, and Frank may not have the political clout to go up against a brand as solid as “Kennedy”, specifically when Democrats in Massachusetts refer to Frank as the “DNC’s Sarah Palin”.

Frank faces opposition in the 4th in 2010 from several candidates: Earl Sholley Republican candidate, Keith Messina (No Party Designation) and Herb Robinson, Democrat (no website). Of (those candidates who have filed with the FEC – Sholley, a populist, Conservative Republican, leads in contributions – source: FEC filing as of June 30, 2009). Should Frank indeed be retiring, it will be interesting to see who comes out of the woodwork to file before the June, 2010 Deadline (Major Party candidates). The major party and independent candidates will face a primary in September, with the general election in November, 2010.

It will, therefore, be interesting to see how Barney Frank, best known for his relationship with Freddie and Fannie, mortgages, on-line gambling, and the like, will handle this particular Town Hall meeting. One the one hand, if Frank is positioning himself for a Senate Run, (somewhat unlikely and unconfirmed), he may cut back the rhetoric and try to appear more moderate in order to attract the majority of voters in the state who are designated as unenrolled), if he intends to run, once again, for his Congressional Seat or if he indeed intends to retire, expect vintage Frank. In either event, this meeting should prove to be both enlightening and entertaining.