Barney Frank Gets Blamed for Banking Crisis During Debate (with Video)

It's something that most conservatives have wanted to see for a long time but thought would never happen. Not only does Barney Frank have a legitimate Republican challenger, but he has the incumbent Massachusetts Congressman with his back to the wall. Sean Bielat appeared to keep Frank on his toes with repeated questioning and accusations, which Frank did not take kindly to.

"I'm sorry, Sean... please stop... can I ask what the rules are? Can I ask what the rules are about interruption?" Frank said towards the beginning of the debate as Bielat challenged his assertion that there needed to be no forces in Afghanistan for human intelligence.

Frank called for military cuts-- like his 2008 call that defense spending be decreased by 25%. But Bielat pushed Frank further on the economy, even going so far as blaming the Congressman for the banking crisis:

“Government can’t keep propping up businesses,” he said. “At some point, you’ve got to let the market forces decide.“

Frank, meanwhile, accused Bielat of pandering to the people by offering vague plans for reforming the health-care bill and revamping Social Security.

“You’re more of a politician than the politicians you criticize,” Frank said at one point.

Frank would posit: "...the public sector is actually where the jobs are being lost..." even though the public sector has gained far more than private employment during the Obama Administration. Frank would then defend the stimulus but relayed regret that the unemployment rate peaked over 8%. Bielat called for reductions in income tax reductions.


"We need to reduce the regulatory burden," Bielat would later say.

The recent polls showed Bielat trailing Frank by just 10% despite the fact that this is Frank's 15th term. It still appears up in the air, but we must hope that Bielat can, in fact, win in November.

This is just one of the multiple videos of that raucous debate:





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