Barney Frank represented Massachusetts in Congress from 1982 to 2012, thirty years in which he was one of the most powerful, smartest, and wittiest politicians in DC.  He was also the first LGBTQ Congressman to voluntarily come out while in office, a highly controversial move in 1987 during the height of the AIDS crisis.

I interviewed Barney remotely from his home in Ogunquit, Maine (where he now resides with his husband, James Ready). As I had expected, Barney’s whip smart mind was evident as was his wit. 

What I hadn’t expected were his answers to some of my questions. Most notably, I was surprised by his assessment of the state of our democratic system at present.