Posted on 12/23/2008 7:37:15 AM PST by Reaganesque
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) thinks that President-elect Obama picked same-sex marriage opponent Rick Warren to give the inauguration invocation because Obama "overestimates" his ability to unify people.
"Oh, I believe that he overestimates his ability to get people to put aside fundamental differences," said Frank, the first House member to come out of the closet voluntarily.
Frank, on MSNBC on Monday, said that he's delighted Obama was elected and that the country is headed into the "best time" for public policy since the New Deal.
"But my one question is, I think he overestimates his ability to take people, particularly our colleagues on the right, and, sort of, charm them into being nice," Frank said. "I know he talks about being post-partisan. But I've worked, frankly, with Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay, the current Republican leadership. The current Republican leadership in the House repudiated George Bush. I don't know why Mr. Obama thinks he's going to have them better than George Bush.
"And so, to be honest, when he talks about being post-partisan, having seen these people and knowing what they would do in that situation, I suffer from post-partisan depression," Frank said jokingly.
Frank and same-sex rights advocates have fiercely criticized Obama for picking Warren, an evangelical pastor who supported a same-sex marriage ban in California. Frank said that Warren's attempts to reach across to the gay and lesbian community and other groups such as Muslims doesn't allay his objection to Warren's featured inaugural role.
"I think Rick Warren's comments, comparing same-sex relationships to incest, is deeply offensive, wildly inaccurate, and very socially disruptive," Frank said. "And I'm glad he is talking to the Muslims. I'm glad everybody's talking to everybody. We're not here talking about not having conversations. We're talking about singling somebody out for a great honor. And I think the president-elect made a serious mistake in doing that."
Lock him up with the criminally insane.
A man who’s lover was an insider at the banking deal gets to ask the questions. This same politician who SHIELDED Fannie Mae from congressional investigation YEARS ago.
CORRUPTION at the head of the investigation.
Dear Democrats: Re: NICE. You first.
The corruptions go far and deep, our Treasury Secretary had his Goldman Sachs buddies in the middle of the AIG (and subsequently others) bailout.
So he thinks it will be like when George W. Bush brought a "new tone" to Washington 8 years ago?
Unfortunately, I think the Republicans (and especially the RINOs) will be much nicer to President Obama than the Dems were to President Bush. I think the Republicans will try to "take the high ground," and be more respectful.
I agree. Mr. Obama’s ability to unify his own party is seriously suspect at this point, let alone the nation and the world.
Obama overestimates everything, so do his zombie followers.
“Lock him up with the criminally insane.”
Now you’re talking.
Perhaps Barney should “suck up” to Obama.
Maybe Obama would listen to Barney next time.
It’s never been anything but nonsense when politicians starting blabbering about unifying the nation. Obama’s speech at the 2004 DNC was a silly joke to anyone with any ability to deal with reality: not black, not white, one nation, blah blah blah.
So, why didn’t all those Dems. yearning for unity, bipartisanship and one-nation, why didn’t they rally around W and end the partisan divisions of the past eight years? Because all this blather about unity is nothing but a bad joke. If we were going to unify, there would be no reason for more than one political party. There would no differences of opinion on major issues, etc., etc.
If we had a more informed electorate, and one less inclined to live in various fantasy worlds, then any politician blathering about unity and putting partisan divisions aside would be laughed off the stage. That’s not the real world. but just the disingenuous blather of crooked politicians trying to wrap (disguise) themselves in noble sounding rhetoric.
No more talk of unity and ending partisan divisions, please.
We may yet get to witness a steel cage match between Barney and Rahm (the latter wearing his ballet shoes).
I agree that the Treasury Secretary (who seems to have given to Democrats) has done a HORRIBLE job. But I doubt he had sex with his “buddies”.
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