MA Rep. Barney Frank Looses Cool – Over $1 Senior Discount! –The 4th is Being Polled! Frank Faces Republican Challenge in 2010

From the New York Post: Barney Frank apparently caused quite a scene, demanding he receive a $1.00 senior citizen discount for the Fire Island Ferry. Problem is that these discounts are only available for residents with I.D.’s – Barney appears to be a fiscal conservative when his own money is at stake, either that or he is starting to emulate one of his opponents when it comes to being fiscally conservative.

For those looking for polls on Barney Frank - Several reliable south coast residents have contacted this blog and confirmed that a “firm” is polling the 4th district race, as to when results will be released is anyone’s guess, however, the poll bypasses the primary and is directly pitting Frank against Republican Earl Sholley.

Speaking of Earl Sholley, Barney Frank recently defended Mr. Sholley against attacks by primary rival Sean Bielat. From:
BarneyFrank.net

"July 20, 2010
Congressman Barney Frank


Republican tactics are ready, shoot, aim.


There are many pressing issues that we can debate in the campaign for the Fourth District congressional seat, chief among them jobs, economic growth, and the foreclosure crisis. So I was disappointed to see one of the Republican candidates engage in tactics that do not belong in a campaign on the issues.


Mr. Sean Bielat, a candidate for the Republican nomination who has never run for office, attacked Senator Scott Brown for voting for the critical financial reform bill that protects consumers, taxpayers, and Massachusetts businesses. In addition, he accused three Republican town committees in the Fourth District of bias when he refused their invitation to debate his primary opponent, Earl Sholley. Mr. Sholley has the same right as any candidate to be treated properly, since he has fulfilled all the requirements to be on the ballot.


In addition to attacking Senator Brown and Mr. Sholley, Mr. Bielat has lied about my record on Israel. In a recent statement he falsely asserts that I said that I was “ashamed of Israel.” In fact, I have never made any such comment and I have been very proud of my work in support of Israel and its right to be free, independent and secure. I did express my very strong negative feelings – shame in fact – about the actions of some individual Israeli settlers who have engaged in violent persecution of Arab residents in the West Bank. I made it very clear that I was talking about these individuals and explicitly stated that I was not talking about the policy of the Israeli government. And the implicit notion that no one should ever criticize any action taken by any residents of the State of Israel undermines intelligent defense of Israel’s rights to defend itself and maintain its independence.


One web site that posted the same false claims promptly removed them once the editors learned the facts. I would hope that Mr. Bielat would also retract this verifiably false charge and return to a discussion of meaningful issues where he and Mr. Sholley and I have differences."

In Massachusetts, especially the 4th District, never take anything for granted. This may be one of the most interesting district races in the nation this November.


Frank Sholley Debate at Youtube.com (8 parts)

Barney Frank (D-MA) up for Reelection in 2010 – Throws Gov. Deval Patrick Under the Bus – States “Voters are Angry”

Barney Frank must campaign hard, Sean Bielat one of the 3 stronger candidates who is running for Frank's Seat in the Massachusetts 4th - image The Advocate

From the Boston Herald: Barney Frank is in campaign mode – the 4th District Congressional Representative has been in Congress since 1980 and is directly tied to the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac fiasco. Frank, in an interview with the Herald, opined on the Massachusetts Governors race:

“It’s not bad if you don’t know a job, what’s bad is if you don’t know a job but think you do. I think that was a mistake. Someone who’s very successful in the private sector will often come in and have an overabundance of confidence,” said Frank, who has served in Congress since 1981.
He went on to point out Patrick’s difficult relations with the state Legislature and list his “terrible mistakes,” such as redecorating his office with $12,000 drapes and offering a $175,000 job at an obscure state agency to early supporter Sen. Marian Walsh (D-West Roxbury).
“I think the business that I am in is harder than people think and people who come in at the very top level with no prior experience underestimate the difficulty,” Frank said.

He went on to take a few swipes at both the GOP Candidate, Charlie Baker and gave a backhanded compliment to Democrat turned Independent Candidate, Tim Cahill. Frank did say it was going to be a difficult campaign due to voters’ anger over TARP, but failed to acknowledge voter anger over a myriad of issues including health care reform, the deficit, failure to act on the Gulf Oil spill, the Sestak scandal, and continued high unemployment. The unemployment rate in Frank’s district is particularly high, at over 12% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Commonwealth’s average unemployment rate has remained between 9.2 and 9.5% for the year, starting at 5.6% in January of 2009, according to the Boston Globe.

Frank faces multiple challengers, including a primary challenge from Democrat Rachel Brown, who filed papers on May 27th. In addition, the Republican field includes Earl Sholley who ran against Frank in 2008, taking 70,000 votes in the district – given the fact that Sholley had barely campaigned, this early challenge shows signs of weakness in the incumbent. Sholley will face up-and-coming GOP Star, Sean Bielat www.seanbielat.org in the September primary. Bielat, a Marine (currently serving in the Reserves) and worked for I-Robot corporation, he currently runs a consulting firm. Bielat holds several degrees including a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy school of Government, and a Master of Business Administration for the Wharton school at the University of Pennsylvania. He also had served as a congressional page, giving him insight into our Congress at an early age. He then joined the Marine Corp.
Bielat’s biography can be found here on YouTube
The winner of both primaries will face off in November. Given the amount of voter angst, it is quite possible that those Democrats going to the primary polls may just pull that lever for Rachael Brown, as incumbents are not enjoying a particularly strong political season.

As Frank Said, he needs to campaign hard, however it may do him little good. Voter anger, coupled with multiple challengers makes Frank a target for retirement. The 4th District will be one of the most interesting races to watch, although polling has only been on an internal basis to date. A source close to one of the campaigns indicated that early internal polling in indicated that Frank was on shaky ground. One would imagine, that the other challengers have taken time and treasure to do the same, regardless of Scott Brown’s win in the district (a sign of trouble for the Democrat Party), the district has always favored Frank, and all politics, as they say, are local.

The Massachusetts State Democrat convention will take place this weekend in Worcester which should be interesting, given the fact that there are over 200 Republican’s running for state and local offices, an historical figure in Massachusetts politics. The last time they met, in 2008, it was a boisterous event, with Clinton the delegate’s favored presidential candidate. It will be of interest to see if the State Democrats can manufacture enthusiasm in the current environment, considering that their “Big Guns” (i.e. the likes of Barney Frank) must actually campaign to try and save their seats.

HR 4173 – Barney Frank Continues to Bail Out Banks – Files It Under Consumer Protection - Frank is up for Reelection in 2010

Hr 4173, a bill devised by Barney Frank, and introduced on December 2nd, 2009 referred to the Financial Services Committee (along with several other Committees by Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, is, in essence, yet another bail out of the Big banks.
Suggested reading: An article by David Reilly of Bloomberg entitled: “Bankers Get $4 Trillion Gift From Barney Frank”

Reilly pointed out several concerns, chief amongst them:

Instead, it supports the biggest banks. It authorizes Federal Reserve banks to provide as much as $4 trillion in emergency funding the next time Wall Street crashes. So much for “no-more-bailouts” talk. That is more than twice what the Fed pumped into markets this time around. The size of the fund makes the bribes in the Senate’s health-care bill look minuscule.

In addition, the bailout of Frank’s pet projects, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, resulted in yet another loss for taxpayers – an estimated $400 Billion. Article Here also at Bloomberg

Although Frank’s seat is considered “safe” (the norm for Massachusetts entrenched politicians), internal polling from one opposition campaign, showed a 30% approval rate for Frank in the 4th district. That said, even though logic dictates that Frank would not be returning to Congress in 2011, that is not always the case with Massachusetts politicians. Frank is facing opposition from Earl Sholley (website here) who ran against Frank in 2008, garnering approximately 30% of the vote. Sholley had entered the race late in 08 and has a solid campaign together going into 2010. Sholley, a conservative, is running as a Republican. Keith Messina (website here) is also running as a Republican. Messinna has never run for elected office. Frank also faces Democrat Rachel Brownwebsite here. It is evident that Frank is inspiring people in Massachusetts and his district - to run for his seat.

However, should sister Pelosi, lose her majority (looking more probable by the day), (and/or John Dennis wins in San Francisco, where Nancy does not enjoy great popularity (John Dennis for Congress) Frank would be downgraded to less lofty position (or one from which he can no longer destroy the economy). That said, retirement would be preferable, as he would no longer be eligible to get his hands on the taxpayers pocketbooks.