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Whenever people are being intellectually dishonest in debate, it is an implicit concession they have lost the fight

Barney Frank

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Barney Frank
Age: 84
Born: 1940
Born: March 31
Former U.S. Representative
Politician
Bayonne
New Jersey
Barnett Frank
Fighting
Concession
Lost
Concessions
People
Dishonest
Implicit
Intellectually
Debate
Whenever
Fight

More quotes by Barney Frank

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I am not aware of any specific provision that mandates any tightening of lending to small business other than a requirement that people who lend and then sell that loan be prepared to take a part of the risk. And I'm proud of that.
Barney Frank
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The people who started the American government, the founders of the Constitution, didn't like political parties but they were forced to start them. Nobody ever created political parties in England, they evolved. And there do tend to be two general tendencies that focus around how much government you think you need.
Barney Frank
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Serving in Congress is like having a second shot at high school.
Barney Frank
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Legislators have a formal set of responsibilities to work together, but there's no hierarchy.
Barney Frank
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It seems to me that politicians ought to use the same words as other people.
Barney Frank
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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
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I can tell you about health care and also about the financial reform bill. The Barack Obama, the President personally and his administration officials at his direction were very much involved.
Barney Frank
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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
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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
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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
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I should have voted for the first Iraq war. George Bush did that one very well. I had been skeptical. I was afraid that George Bush was going to treat the first Iraq war the way his son treated the second.
Barney Frank
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I will tell you, I'm a lousy cook, but I think I'm a pretty good judge of a good meal.
Barney Frank
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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
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In the debate between those who believe in essentially unregulated markets and others who hold that reasonable regulation diminishes market excesses without inhibiting their basic function, the subprime situation unfortunately provides ammunition for the latter view.
Barney Frank
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The best antidote to prejudice is reality.
Barney Frank
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And I think there is too much bloviating around from politicians.
Barney Frank
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They appear to have become so attached to their outrage that they are even more outraged that they won't be able to be outraged anymore.
Barney Frank
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And unless you think there is a serious chance you're going to jail, don't listen to your lawyer.
Barney Frank
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I am very proud of the role I played in getting legal equality for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and in helping get rid of the prejudice by being visible about it, helping to block the conviction of Bill Clinton of impeachment.
Barney Frank
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I was still closeted, but from the day I decided to run for office, knowing that I was gay, I decided that I would, of course, still be closeted but that I would work very hard for gay rights. It would be totally dishonorable, being gay, not to do that. So I had that as kind of a secondary agenda.
Barney Frank