Barney Frank Lashes Out at Protester

(AP)  Rep. Barney Frank lashed out at protester who held a poster depicting President Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache during a heated town hall meeting on federal health care reform.

"On what planet do you spend most of your time?" Frank asked the woman, who had stepped up to the podium at a southeastern Massachusetts senior center to ask why Frank supports what she called a Nazi policy.

"Ma'am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. I have no interest in doing it," Frank replied.

He continued by saying her ability to deface an image of the president and express her views "is a tribute to the First Amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated." (Watch the video here)

Frank, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, sought to assure more than 500 people attending the rowdy meeting that the average taxpayer wouldn't be hurt by plans currently under consideration in Congress.

Some of those attending the meeting organized by the Democratic Town Committee of Dartmouth shouted and booed as Frank and others addressed the crowd.

At one point, Frank asked the crowd: "Which one of you wants to yell next?"

Several people wanted to know how the government would pay for the reforms without worsening a growing federal budget deficit.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

At least two dozen protesters gathered in small groups outside, handing out pamphlets and holding signs criticizing the overhaul, Obama and Frank. Some of the posters read: "It's the economy stupid, stop the spending" and "Healthcare reform yes, government takeover, no. Tort Reform Now"

Audrey Steele, 82, from New Bedford, said she does not want the government to get involved with health care because "they just make a mess of everything," referring to the $700 billion bailout of financial institutions that was used to pay for lavish conferences and hefty executive compensation.

Others at Tuesday's meeting were more supportive of reform.

Dr. Sheila Levitt, a physician from Newton, said she hoped for changes that would support primary care physicians who aren't paid as much as specialists. She said some of the rowdy critics at Tuesday's meeting appeared to be using the same "talking points" as those who showed up at similar meetings around the country.

[sbaron1_dotmac]

That was "hahdly" as in "his way out".

[sbaron1_dotmac]

Rep. Frank has asked the most pertinent question and has made a most rational observation. Now if only other congresspersons would stand up to these brownshirts we might hear genuine debate and conversation. Nazis - pot/black/big lie. If you lie often (and loudly enough), soon people might begin to believe the lie, especially if it's a large lie.

[woeisme1]

Why would republicans want to stall healthcare reform?


They want the WH back. If they can stall this until 2010, than they will claim at that time Obama a failure (like they have done from the beginning).

Historically, whichever party won the WH, that same party lost seats in the mid-terms elections. So if in 2010, the republicans can claim Obama a failure (which is what they want) they will surely gain seats and if you combine that with the normal historical expected loss, that loss of seats for dems could be significant.

With those lost seats, and healthcare reform still not done, it will be extremely difficult for Obama to pass energy legislation or any other bill. The republicans will be able to block everything Obama tries to do.

They will then declare Obama's presidency a total failure and possibly, most certainly, re-gain political control of this country.

It's of course also worth mentioning that the current republican legislature has recieved 14.3 million dollars this year from insurance company lobbyists. That's no surprise. We know the republicans care more for dollar bill votes than the people's votes.


However. My prediction is this. America had grown way weary of the partisan bickering by 2008 and hence Obama and his successful "change" campaign.

If the republicans are successful at creating gridlock, America, with anger still fresh in their soul towards republicans, may decide it has had enough of both parties and their extremists ways and we may see a new political party in Washington and a new President as well - one that is neither Democrat nor Republican. America this soon, will NOT venture back to the republican party. They are fools to think America will.

So either way the republicans create chaos, it's a win for them. If they get the WH great. If they don't get the WH, they will revel that they dethroned Obama. I am not sure which they want more. I suspect it is too dethrone Obama no matter what the consequences.

[ABM_21]

You know, with all of this talk about 'socialism' and 'facism', you would think the hurlers of these insults would have a point. It is so funny to hear them speak of 'facism' when they (Retardicans) fully supported a facist and an election thief for the previous eight years. When he ran the country into the ground, they had the audacity to blame Pelosi and Reid, as if either one of those two were the president. How sad.

For one thing, this anti-government nonsene uisually flares up when a Democrat is in office. That would make the vast majority of the demonstrators conservatives. Even though they (the conservatives) have nothing of merit to add to anything, they honsetly feel they are the only people qualified to lead this nation. That is the most ridiculous thought I ever heard. Since we all know conservatives are nothing more than incompetent bigots, what in God's name makes them think they're qualified to lead ants to a picnic?
Second, when all is said is done, the conservatives are honestly still angry that Obama won the election, fair and square. Now, to McBush's credit, he did try to run a clean campiagn---'til the end, that is---but we all know that is he had a chance to cheat to win it, he would have. But anyways, it's funny: Now that the man has won the election, questions are raised by the sore losers about the authenticity of his birth certificate. Do any of these morons honestly believe the Democrats would have taken a chance like that? Support a man who was not legally able to run for the presidency? If you were to listen to all of these whiners, the answer must be yes.
Now, health care. For one thing, if there is something wrong with government run health care, then there must be something worng with government run business. Now, before all of you finger pointers try to claim Obama tried to take over business, lest we forget it was business that came to the Bush White House with their hand out. It was Busah that initially gave them taxpayer moiney in order to stay in busness, and Bush wanted to give them this money with no strings attached. So, if Obama is a 'socialist' for giving them the other half of the bailout money, Bush has to be a 'socialist' for giving them the money initially. The only people whining about a government run alternative are the people with healh care already. One clown states we the people without health care should just 'get a job'. We're in a recession, idiot. There aren't very many jobs. I wonder how much you'll be running your mouth if/when you lose your health care.

[charlie448]

This is not about Democrats and Republicans any more it's about Liberals and Conservatives. I do not know of many people that will say Bush was a conservative. What we have today is how much control of our daily lives do we want the government to control. The way it is going now is that the present administration is for all control of everything from business, banking, industry, employment, media, etc. etc. This will eliminate free enterprise, competition and free speech.
Think about it, look what is going on now.

[DaBroiler]

I bet Barney spends most of his time on Uranus.

[charlie448]

SOCIALISM

?noun
1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

[wtcmedic911]

I wanted to like and support obama. I cannot.... he isnt hope and change. he is the ssdd just with a different face and all the same actors from clinton admin. I cannot stand obama in any form. HOWEVER those who make him out to be hitler, those that bring firearms to an obama speech are just plain idiots. He isnt hitler pure and simple. He is perhaps a marxist or communist and truthfully i dont know the difference. he thinks hes robin hood when he should be the president. However he is FAR FROM HITLER. to say he is gives liberal, and thinking moderates ammo to shoot us with examples of our nuts.
to the gun carriers. i have pistol permit for most states HOWEVER you need to think first. just because you CAN carry doesnt mean you NEED to carry. There is NO NEED to carry at an event with the president. You must take reasources away from secret service, police to monitor you that should be on preventing threats to the president. LEAVE YOUR GUNS, AND HITLER SIGNS AT HOME. YOU MAKE US LOOK LIKE IDIOTS!!!! for 8 years we saw liberal idiot. code pink, fat man moore and others. dont join them!

[charlie448]

If Barney is your hero you have a big problem. Ask him if he is going to enter into this program like he wants all the rest of us to do. Ask him why he was one of the senators that caused the financial problem we have with the housing industry in the first place. Barney is no better than the rest of the liberals they do not like the truth, they do not want to hear the truth and they are always looking for something for nothing from the government. It's just a fact that they are socialists and un-American.

[charlie448]

Barney may have read the 1000+ pages but I guess he did not understand them. It does state in the bill that it explicitly prohibits health care for undocumented workers. HOWEVER --
The House Energy and Commerce Committee endorsed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) that was designed to provide political cover for Representatives who want to give illegal aliens benefits under the healthcare reform bill (H.I. 3200). The amendment?s language reaffirms current law, which prohibits illegal aliens from applying for state Medicaid and child health insurance programs, but does not require "STATES" to verify whether applicants are actually eligible to apply. Therefore, H.R. 3200 will continue to allow states to require little more than an attestation of citizenship in benefit applications.
Under the health care bill, "STATES" would be required to automatically enroll non-traditional Medicaid individuals to the proposed government-run option.

The bill is so full of loopholes and language that is meaningless. The bill and the program is nothing but CONTROL AND MORE CONTROL of the American citizens. Fix the problems in our present system or give the American people the same system that the congress and administration has.

[jcole19471]

I think that many of the people complaining about the government's role in heathcare revision are themselves covered by Social Security and Medicare. If they are so ill informed on the subject maybe they would be willing to give up those benefits once advised they are government programs. How many of our veterans, covered under the VA insurance program, would give that up if they don't like government intrusion into healthcare?

I'm not sure what to make of these people. Are they really that uninformed? Are they that selfish in that they now have their government program, so we don't need any more? I think some of these folks are being used by the same people who like the system the way it is. Unfortunately, the seniors in our country are the group most often taken advantage of by scam artists who pretend to be looking out for their interests. These are the same people who tried to point out the "advasntages" of allowing people to take some portion of teir social security contributions and put it into Wall Street.

For all those people who now claim we can't afford to fix heathcare for fear of ballooning the deficit, where were your street demonstrations when W was not including the war costs in the deficit determination? This may sound harsh, but what rock were you folks under between 2000 and 2008. Or, are you all McCain voters who just want to stir the pot?