Barney Frank, a longtime Democrat nearing the end of his life, has criticized the far-left members of his party in a television interview from his hospice care facility. The 86-year-old former congressman, who authored legislation on banking and gay marriage, spoke with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday about the party's shift to the left.
Frank's Critique of the Far Left
Frank, who is in hospice due to congestive heart failure, said, 'It's precisely because I have been on the left that I have undertaken this. Many of us fought to get inequality on the Democratic agenda.' He added, 'But the problem was, as we succeeded in bringing the mainstream of the left into a concern with inequality, we also enabled people who wanted to use that as a platform for a wide range of social and cultural changes, some of which the public isn't ready for.'
Frank noted that Democrats have lost the plot on pushing progressive issues. 'We didn't get to marriage until after these other things had been resolved. And that's what I'm suggesting that we do today. The analogy is males and female transsexuals playing sports that are for women.' He acknowledged anger on the issue but urged a more granular approach rather than labeling opponents as homophobic.
Platner and Party Direction
Frank pointed to Graham Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer who recently had a Nazi tattoo removed, as an example of what's wrong with the party. Platner is the presumptive Senate nominee in Maine after Governor Janet Mills, backed by Chuck Schumer, dropped out. Frank said, 'I think Platner actually shares with Trump this capacity toward making the most out of the anger that people feel. What I'm afraid of is that he won't be able to translate that into enough votes.'
Frank expressed concern about a 'flavor-of-the-month tendency' where new candidates are preferred over those who understand the importance of hard work to adopt controversial policies.
Broader Democratic Criticism
Frank's comments align with other Democrats criticizing the far left. Last week, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman told the Daily Mail that Democrats need to 'drop the TDS' and back President Trump's proposed White House ballroom after the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting. Fetterman said, 'The leader of the Democratic party is TDS,' referring to 'Trump Derangement Syndrome,' a term used by Trump supporters to describe irrational opposition to the president.
