I had always been interested in politics. I had assumed - for two reasons, being Jewish and being gay back in the late '50s, early '60s - that I would never be elected or anything, but I would participate as an activist. Barney Frank More Quotes by Barney Frank More Quotes From Barney Frank The best humor is offered up to you by the stupidity of your opponents. Barney Frank opponents stupidity The Moral Majority supports legislators who oppose abortions but also oppose child nutrition and day care. From their perspective, life begins at conception and ends at birth. Barney Frank day-care party children These two entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not facing any kind of financial crisis. The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing. Barney Frank affordable-housing two people Capitalism works better from every perspective when the economic decision makers are forced to share power with those who will be affected by those decisions. Barney Frank perspective decision power I have this fear that one day there's going to be a fire in the Senate and there are only going to be 57 senators there and they’ll all die because they won't have 60 votes to allow themselves to leave the building. Barney Frank vote one-day fire These two entities—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—are not facing any kind of financial crisis. Barney Frank financial kind two But it is also clear that left entirely untouched by public policy, the capitalist system will produce more inequality than is socially healthy or than is necessary for maximum efficiency. Barney Frank efficiency produce healthy There are no moderate Republicans left, with the exception of a few who would vote with us when it doesn’t make any difference,” Frank said. “It’s the most rigid ideological party since before the Civil War. … The bumper sticker I’m going to have printed up for Democrats this year is, ‘We’re not perfect, but they’re nuts.’ Barney Frank party war years If you care deeply about a cause and you are then engaged on behalf of that cause in an activity that makes you feel very good and very brave and you're really in solidarity with all your friends, and you're enjoying it, you're probably not advancing the cause very much, because you're spending all your time with people you agree with cheering each other on and not engaging. Barney Frank cheer brave people Bush senior used to say that we have more will than wallet. So he urged the country to attack poverty with a thousand points of light, none of which could be eaten. Barney Frank senior light country The best antidote to prejudice is reality. Barney Frank antidote prejudice reality They have to convert our agenda into something aggressive. Two guys wanting to be happy together are invading their marriages. Helping a kid who's getting beaten up in school is promoting homosexuality. If you gave me a million dollars, I wouldn't know how to promote homosexuality. Barney Frank two kids school Particularly marijuana, I think is a great hypocrisy. I think frankly it contributes to a good deal of the sense of unfairness you have among younger people who are told they shouldn't do this because it’s got all these negative effects, but then older people are engaging in all kinds of things that probably have a greater impact on people. Barney Frank marijuana impact thinking Let us not say that we will decide on a political basis at the national level that no State is competent to regulate the practice of medicine in that State if they decide to allow a doctor to prescribe marijuana, because that is what we are talking about. Barney Frank practice-of-medicine marijuana doctors This bill is the legislative equivalent of crack. It yields a short-term high but does long-term damage to the system and it's expensive to boot. Barney Frank yield doe long [Democrats] are trying on every front to increase the role of government. Barney Frank roles government trying Most people who are activists and are concerned about issues get their information from sources which reinforce their opinions and give them the facts that they want to hear. Barney Frank issues giving people When I was here there was still a requirement that students had to swim 50 yards to graduate...because Harry Elkins Widener had drowned with the sinking of the Titanic. And it made me very grateful at the time that he had not gone down in a plane crash. Barney Frank funny-graduation grateful swim The single most important thing you can do politically for gay rights is to come out. Not to write a letter to your congressman but to come out. Barney Frank gay rights writing I do have things I would like to see adopted on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people: they include the right to marry the individual of our choice; the right to serve in the military to defend our country; and the right to a job based solely on our own qualifications. I acknowledge that this is an agenda, but I do not think that any self-respecting radical in history would have considered advocating people's rights to get married, join the army, and earn a living as a terribly inspiring revolutionary platform. Barney Frank military jobs country
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