Or, in this case, "If A Straight Republican/ Conservative Did This He/She Would Be Raked Over The Coals": U.S. Rep Barney Frank admits he helped then-lover get lucrative government post. Raise your hand if you already knew this, because it wasn't exactly a state secret. Keep raising your hand if you're a Dem/lib and conveniently ignored it because it was one of your own and not one of those filthy Rethug/Conservative/Christian hypocrites. Yeah, all of you. I know you arm is getting tired, but that's your punishment for being PC and biased as opposed to honest. It's more punishment than Frank is likely to get for his blatant and unapologetic lack of ethics.
Some choice quotes from Representative Frank (bold mine):
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank admitted he helped his ex-lover land a lucrative post with Fannie Mae in the early 1990s while the Newton Democrat was on a committee that regulated the lending giant — but he called questions of a potential ethical conflict “nonsense.”Actually, as stupid as those comments are in the real world where the rest of us live, to a privileged career pol like Frank it makes perfect sense. Move along folks, nothing to see here, despite the fact that he is clearly guilty of using his influence to benefit his boyfriend, possibly to the detriment of a more qualified individual. Not to mention that if this story was about a Republican representative, Frank and his fellow Dems - with a big assist to their enablers in the mainstream media - would probably hound the offending individual out of office. Two wrongs only make a right when certain people are caught misbehaving and besides, rules are only for little people, not him. Add in the additional PC protected class of him being gay and he's pretty much untouchable.
“If it is (a conflict of interest), then much of Washington is involved (in conflicts),” Frank told the Herald last night.
Maybe it's just coincidence that when Frank and the boyfriend split up, the boyfriend left the job Frank had helped him land. (bold mine again):
Moses, who lived with Frank in Washington at the time, worked for Fannie until 1998, when he left the mortgage behemoth. Moses, who could not be reached for comment, and Frank split up that year...
Frank was a junior member on the House Financial Services Committee at the time he helped Moses land the job and served on the committee, which regulates lenders, for the duration of their relationship...
In an interview Tuesday on WBUR’s “Fresh Air,” Morgensen said Frank “was very aggressive and really tough on those who were testifying in Congress about reining in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” during hearings after Moses was hired. She said Fannie Mae “rolled out the red carpet” for Moses as part of a strategy to curry favor with Frank and other members of the Financial Services Committee.
Morgensen also noted that members of the committee raked in tens of thousands in campaign donations from Fannie and Freddie execs, including Frank, who received $42,000 in contributions from 1989 through 2008.Nope, no conflict of interest at all. But you just know if a Republican had pulled this shit he'd be in deep shit, and rightly so. Since Frank is a Dem and gay to boot, I have a feeling this will be conveniently swept under the carpet and I think that's a shame. It's not just Frank; I'd like to see the same standards applied to unethical and criminal politicians regardless of their party. I'm a big fan of fair play and I'm also a big fan of seeing people get what they've earned and deserve, whether it's good or bad. Plus, we're never going to have partisanship or the ability to truly work for the common good in our government if we have double standards for one party versus the other. The sooner we hold all pols accountable, the sooner they remember who they really work for.
Maybe I'll call the new political blog "Double Standard" instead. Says the same thing, but would be a lot easier to fit on the banner.
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