Barney Frank: Hillary Shouldn’t Have A Challenge From The Left

Tuesday on “The Alan Colmes Show,” Alan spoke with former Congressman Barney Frank, who has written his life story in a new book called Frank: A Life In Politics From The Great Society To Same Sex Marriage. Alan and Frank discussed various aspects of Frank’s career from coming out while in Congress to some of his achievements as a legislator. They also touched upon some of the candidates running for President, including why Hillary Clinton should not have to face opposition in a primary. Here are some highlights:

COLMES: Are there people in Congress who are vehemently anti-gay publicly, but yet are still in the closet?
FRANK: There have been during my time there. In a couple of cases I knew who they were, and in some cases I was surprised to find out. But what I’ve said is the right to privacy does not include the right to hypocrisy. And that’s not just for gay people. There are certain things that are private, as long as you are honest about them, but to be doing one set of things and then be voting to punish other people for doing exactly that is just morally unacceptable.
**********
COLMES: How emotionally difficult was it for you to have to live a secret life?
FRANK: Enormously, it led me to make the stupidest decision of my life, when I got involved with this hustler, and I was vulnerable to him, he understood that it was my fault, my irresponsibility. People have said, you may have read, sometimes people have a great career and that’s the substitute for a good private life. No, it’s the opposite. Everybody that I know of has needs, physical, emotional, that you need to satisfy, and the right kind of relationships with the right human beings, in a one on one relationship. The best career in the world not only doesn’t substitute for that, it almost makes it worse.
**********
FRANK: I think you have in the Tea Party, people who don’t understand that government has a role, conservatives have traditionally understood government had a role, have been critical of the way which it was operated…So I think there has been there has been a movement beyond a reasonable conservatism into an extremism.
**********
COLMES: Who would you like to see as the next President?
FRANK: Hillary Clinton.
COLMES: Really? So you’re firmly behind Hillary Clinton?
FRANK: Absolutely. I think she a contentious candidate for the Democrats. I don’t think she’ll be challenged. I do not think that the average voter cares what email server she used. If something were to come out where she said something in an email that was embarrassing, that would be a problem, I don’t expect that to happen, and I think that it’s just inside baseball.
COLMES: Would you like to see a robust primary where she is sharpening her skills against people like Martin O’Malley?
FRANK: I think her skills are pretty sharp right now. For my friends on the left who say wouldn’t be good if she was challenged from the left very vigorously, I ask them if they really think we want to replicate what happened to Mitt Romney in 2012.