Barney Frank Offers Several Reasons For Retiring

In his live press conference, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) offered a laundry list of reasons for retirement, among them: the fact he would be campaigning in a new district, meaning it would be a tough re-election; the fact that he doesn’t like raising money; and the desire to spend his next few years focusing on academic writing.

The Boston Globe reports that Frank’s decision was spurred in large part by redistricting, with him having lost some key strongholds and gained some relatively more conservative areas. On the other hand, Dem sources point out that the redrawn district is still heavily Democratic, having voted 61% for Barack Obama in 2008. A Dem source in Massachusetts says that a potential candidate is Brookline Selectwoman Jesse Mermell, who is said to have been putting her name around in case of a possible Frank retirement.

Frank will perhaps be best remembered on Capitol Hill for his quick wit and pugilistic attitude in political debates, combining both a serious approach to the issues and a certain lightheartedness about himself. From a 1996 interview with the New York Times: