JoeClarke.Net

Barney Frank's legacy will not include the prostitution ring that took place at his Washington D.C. townhouse in 1989, without his knowing, according to Barney. He was reprimanded by the House of Representatives in 1990, but Massachusetts, the home of American witchcraft, reelected him - too many times.

Barney Frank's legacy will not be that he was the first "Out" gay to become part of the United States Congress.

Frank will also not be known, either as the brother of Clinton wonk Ann Lewis, nor for his stammering and stuttering. He will also not be famed for the excessive regulation through his Consumer Protection Bill which includes 140 rules and regs, outlined in a 2300 page document, which will restrict banks enough to make banking more costly in the long run. It is also predicted to hurt small businesses and farms. All that, just in an attempt to cover his own fanny for the economy-housing meltdown that brought the United States to its fiscal knees and culminated in 2008. They called it the Great Recession.

Rather, Barney should be remembered for his infamous quote protecting Fannie-Freddie and the status quo in the housing industry, which was a premeditated plan to furnish houses to the masses, obviously in exchange for the affections and votes of new, unqualified home owners to "own" homes they could not afford.

BF in 2003: "'These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''

Unqualified home buyers only needed one qualification, that they be NINJAs - No Job No Income No Asset borrowers.

The so called Neighborhood Reinvestment Act of 1977 was first proposed by Jimmy Carter and the Democrats in order to stop "redlining" which accused banks of home loan discrimination. (Banks had the bad habit, back then, of requiring down payments on homes up to 20 percent, along with good job and credit records in order for a buyer to be qualified). How unfair, the Dems said. Clinton, at the urging of Jesse Jackson and other community organizers, upped the ante and accelerated the NINJA loans despite the objections of many Republicans and even Democrats. Barney Frank was not an objector to this Share the Wealth Plan that was doomed to failure from the beginning.

The fiat regulations permitted by the Federal Government, during the sub prime interest cum housing bubble, encouraged greedy mortgagees to make loans that were bundled and securitized - to the moon - because the assumption was that all the loans were, in some way, guaranteed by the Fed. It was this sort of regulating that was the problem. Those faux regulations should have never been allowed, or at least, eliminated.

Very much part of Barney Frank's political longevity must be attributed to his gayness, which has given him an immunity from academic/press/Hollywood criticism, just as Rosie O'Donnell was dubbed "The Queen of Nice," despite her real personality, and the judges on Dancing With The Stars sobbed on each other because of Chaz Bono's courage and talent. Huh? One common opinion shared by political insiders on both sides of the aisle, is that Barney Frank is one nasty man, as spoken by liberal columnist Dana Milbank to Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove. Chris Matthews, however, has expressed his Obama-type tingling for Senator Frank.

Then, in the 1990s Barney Frank had an encouter with Moses. No, not that Moses. It was Herb Moses who worked at a high level position at Fannie Mae, who became Barney's special beau years ago - and worked at Fannie up until the late 90's - when Barney was on the House Banking Committee, which overlooked Fannie Mae, but not that closely, obviously.

Among Barney Frank's unmemorable legacies will include his Financial Stability Oversight Council, part of the Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection legislation, which actually affords financial institutions to again be bailed out if they sink into another 2008 type meltdown, because they will be deemed, once more, Too Big To Fail.

Backdoor Bailout Barney is exiting Stage Left. How else?