Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is openly jockeying for the Senate seat currently held by Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry.
In an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Friday, Frank said he had called Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) and asked for the interim appointment to Kerry’s Senate seat if Kerry is confirmed as President Barack Obama’s next secretary of state.
Frank had hinted last month in an interview with Politico that he was interested in the interim appointment, stating he would not reject an offer that had not yet been made. In his comments today, Frank went further.
“I’m not going to be coy. It’s not something I’ve ever been good at,” Frank said. “I’ve told the governor that I would now like, frankly, to do that because I would like to be a part of that. It’s only a three-month period; I wouldn’t want to do anything more; I don’t want to run again.”
In an interview with The Boston Globe, Frank said Patrick was “noncommittal.” His change of heart comes after the fiscal cliff compromise between the White House and Congress over the New Year’s holiday.
“The first months of the new Senate will be among the most important in American history. I may be a little immodest, but I called the governor and said I think I can be a help in reaching a fair solution to some of these issues,” Frank told the Globe, adding key decisions will be made on financial policy and his 30 years in Congress would allow him to slip easily into the role of senator.
“I think there are progressive ways to work on Social Security and Medicare. I think making the case against them (Tea Party Republicans) on the debt limit is important,” Frank said, according to the Globe. “A split emerged in the Republican Party over the fiscal cliff, with mainstream Republicans splitting with the radical right. I think it’s important for us to continue to exploit that. We need to reach out to conservative Republicans who nonetheless are willing to compromise, and find a way to reach a deal.”
Patrick has said he will not announce a replacement for Kerry until he is confirmed as secretary of state. If Frank is picked, he will become the second out senator in American history. Upon her swearing in yesterday, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) became the upper chamber’s first out gay member.
WATCH Frank’s comments here via Talking Points Memo:
A Christian high school in California went out of its way to recruit a talented baseball player, and then rejected him because he has two gay dads.
Caleb Degala-Burnett, a recently graduated eighth grader from Union City, was invited to a high-level scouting event for the Class of 2029–2030, where 20 top prospects participated in a pro-style workout and game. According to statistical analysis, he had the fastest outfield throw in his class. The website Perfect Game rates him a "college prospect" and a potential pro draft pick "with development."
Jackson Vogel has been sentenced to life without parole for strangling his cellmate -- 19-year-old Micah Laureano, a Black gay man -- inside Green Bay Correctional Institution in what prosecutors described as a racially and homophobically motivated killing.
The Wisconsin inmate was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide by a jury last month.
Before sentencing, Vogel -- who was already serving a 20-year term for attempting to kill his mother in 2016, when he was just 16 -- told Brown County Circuit Judge Donald Zuidmulder he was "sorry" for his actions, although he did not appear to show any signs of regret.
In a tense House hearing, a pair of congressional Democrats blasted Pentagon officials for stripping gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s name from a Navy ship, accusing the military of erasing LGBTQ history. U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), an out gay Democrat, directly confronted Navy Secretary John Phelan over the decision during the June 11 Armed Services Committee meeting.
"I just wanted to take a moment to talk about a veteran who served on a submarine as a diving officer during the Korean War," Sorensen said, referring to Milk's biography before actually naming him.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
In an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Friday, Frank said he had called Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) and asked for the interim appointment to Kerry’s Senate seat if Kerry is confirmed as President Barack Obama’s next secretary of state.
