Politics, Banking and Congressional Gridlock: A Q&A with Barney Frank

WASHINGTON — Rep. Barney Frank, the retiring lead Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, has always been known for speaking his mind.

But in a more than one-hour interview at his office in Massachusetts earlier this year, he was also surprisingly open, discussing what motivated him to get into politics, his sexual orientation, and the cause of political gridlock in Congress.

While a handful of these remarks were included in an earlier article on Frank's legacy, much of the conversation was left on the cutting room floor. As Frank prepares to leave Congress, we offer an edited transcript of the full interview:

Rep. Barney Frank

How did you get into politics?
I was fascinated by the [Joe] McCarthy hearings — I couldn't wait to get home and watch them.

Secondly, I was reading about a kid my age named Emmett Till. A black kid from Chicago — he whistled at or looked at the wrong way a white woman and they killed him. I was outraged. This was my first look into what was going on in America in the south. At that point I became very interested in the '54 elections and thereafter.

I was outraged by racism, outraged about the interference with free speech. I feel strongly about ending discrimination and people being free to express themselves. The economic piece of it evolved but those are the first things that come to mind.

What made you run for office?
I decided I wanted to be in politics and would follow it. For two reasons at that time, I assumed I would never be an elected official

One, I realized I was gay when I was 13 — I didn't tell anybody. This notion that it's a choice. At 13, realizing I was gay was just devastating. I carried on, I didn't dwell on it a lot, but it was not good news.

And secondly, I'm Jewish. One of the things that has evolved in America is that anti-Semiticism is no longer a barrier to getting an elected office, but it was 60 years ago.

So I figured I would be involved in politics as a volunteer, a helper, etc.

I volunteered to go to work for Kevin White. I assumed I would work for him, the election would be over, and I would go back [to law school] — I was supposed to be writing my thesis.

And he won and said he wanted me to come work for him. It changed my life.

In early 1972, the moderate Republican state representative from downtown Boston, Back Bay announced he was retiring. I had moved there when I went to work for Kevin White.

So some friends said, you know there's a vacancy here. It's been a Republican seat but it's changing. People moving in. It was the year of the 18-year-old vote and George McGovern.

And I went back up and I got elected to the legislature.