Barney Frank might not draw a connection between his coming out as gay nearly four decades ago and his coming out against left-wing dogmatism in the Democratic Party today. But the parallel is unmistakable: The 86-year-old former Democratic congressman from Massachusetts is shining a light on a sensitive subject that many people wish he would keep quiet about. In his forthcoming book, The Hard Path to Unity: Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy, Frank contends that left-wingers have saddled his party with a 'vote-repelling platform' of open borders, defunded police departments, and 'the rule of the pronoun police.' By voicing his criticism of these stances, Frank hopes to give cover to fellow liberals who share his political concerns, if not his courage. 'I know most Democrats agree with me,' Frank told me via Zoom from his home in Ogunquit, Maine, where he recently began hospice care. 'But they've been intimidated out of saying so.' Frank's physical infirmity had no...
learn more
