Barney Frank may be retired, but a new documentary has him back in the spotlight—and pairs him with an actor some would call an unlikely ally, the Daily Beast reports. The gay, retired Massachusetts lawmaker will be interviewed at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Compared to What by the film's executive producer, Alec Baldwin, despite the actor's apparent history of gay slurs. "One of the things this does for [Baldwin], is give him a chance to reinforce his argument that he is not homophobic," says Frank, adding that Baldwin "is, in fact, very supportive" (although the Advocate notes that Baldwin has "condemned" Frank before). Either way, a few good Frank quotes:
- Will there be a Hollywood biopic on Frank? "I don’t claim to have infallible political judgment, but there are some questions I am smart enough not to answer."
- On his asking Gov. Deval Patrick to make him interim senator when John Kerry became secretary of state: "I was taken aback that he seemed to think that it was somehow effrontery for me to request the appointment like it was interfering with his prerogative. How very bumptious to ask to be a senator! Well, some people spend $20 million to ask to be a senator."
- On Wall Street after the economic meltdown: "I would have liked to have seen criminal prosecutions. The argument that you couldn’t do criminal prosecutions because you would endanger institutions—I never understood that."
- On left-wing criticism of the Dodd-Frank reform act to regulate Wall Street: "Most importantly, [banks] can’t make terrible loans to people who can’t repay them. We just ended that—the irresponsible subprime loans."
- On this year's House elections: "I think the Ryan Budget is going to cut down their majority. ... I mean, you’re gonna cut Pell Grants and Medicare and raise military spending? There are very few congressional districts where doing those things is popular."
- On his new beard: "My husband thinks I look better. He wanted me to grow one and he lobbied for it. It was the last issue on which I have apparently been lobbied in my career."
Now, see what Frank has to say about
legalizing heroin. (More
Barney Frank stories.)
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uBlock 
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Ghostery 
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