Barney Frank town hall

Barney Frank town hall

Barney Frank had a spirited town hall meeting in his home state recently in which he (unlike so many of his colleagues) directly engaged and insulted his constituents. I don't agree with Frank on much beyond legalizing drugs and gambling, but I think he comes off pretty well here, and certainly gets points for showing up. Here's a report that includes many Frank-a-riffic highlights (for instance, asking a resident, "On what planet do you spend most of your time") from Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show, which also includes an interview with Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) about health care.

Earlier today, Massachusetts representative Barney Frank had a run-in with a town hall protester who opposes President Obama's proposed health care reform. The woman asked asked the congressman, "Why do you continue to support a Nazi policy?" Frank's off-the-cuff response shows why he has become a favorite of cable television talk shows.

At a Barney Frank town hall meeting in Dartmouth, MA, a constituent asks, "Why are you supporting this Nazi policy?" Frank responds: "On what planet do you spend most of your time?" He then calls her approach "vile, contemptible nonsense." He closes by saying: "Trying to have a conversation with you would be like arguing with a dining room table."

Chris Dodd

Chris Dodd, in particular, over AIG bonuses that he gave only a cursory, half-baked review of the facts. As a headline read, "Caught Red Handed," Hannity almost completely ignored Senator Dodd's explanation for the "bonus protection" he supposedly placed in the stimulus bill and all but declared Dodd responsible for the bonuses. With video.

At the beginning of tonight's Hannity, he announced, "Democratic Senator Chris Dodd slipped an amendment into the stimulus package last month that protected bonuses agreed to before February 11, 2009, meaning the AIG bonuses, and Senator Dodd tells FOX News this evening that he wasn't responsible for - well, the February deadline.

What Hannity never explained (and there was no balancing guest on the show), is that Dodd's original amendment did not include protection for bonuses. Indeed, as Media Matters notes, it included restrictions on executive compensation. The amendment was later modified in conference and put into the final bill with that modification. Dodd says it occurred without his knowledge. Foxbusiness.com included these details in its rundown of the situation.