Lisa DePaulo interviews Barney Frank in GQ, and he is characteristically candid in his assessment of newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter:
Well, as a Democrat, I’m glad to have him. But as an elected official, I have to say I don’t think he did our profession any good. First of all, to announce that it was done purely so he could survive. Secondly, his performance since then has been very disappointing. In particular, what troubled me was when he was quoted as saying, “Well…” In terms of no Jewish Republicans, the answer should have been, Who cares? That’s not a relevant issue. But then, when he said, Oh, but I’m confident the courts in Minnesota will do justice to Norm Coleman, and then said, Oh, I forgot which side I’m on!--forget about forgetting which side he’s on. What that says is, his view of what the law should be depends on what party he’s in. This notion that your view of what’s an appropriate legal decision depends on your party is shocking for a guy who’s supposed to be this great lawyer....
Well, so far, look, it’ll mean he’ll vote with the Democrats more often. But there’s an erratic behavior pattern there that’s very troubling. I think at this point it’s entirely reasonable for some Democrats to think about challenging him.
You can find Frank's further thoughts on outing anti-gay politicians, Nancy Pelosi's torture briefing, and his and Larry Summers's mutual arrogance here.
--Christopher Orr