Barney Frank: Gingrich, media to blame for angrier politics
By Michael O'Brien - 04/09/10 07:46 AM ET
Blame Newt Gingrich and the media for the angrier tenor of American politics, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Thursday night.
Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said the former Republican speaker, along with shifts in the media, were to blame for a more tense tenor in contemporary U.S. politics.
The Massachusetts Democrat said that things were "easier" when he first gore to Congress in the early 1980s, but acknowledged that things had only become angrier over time.
But Frank pinpointed Newt Gingrich's ascension to head the Republican Party in the House as the breaking point.
"A very self-described partisan came to office. Newt Gingrich became the speaker, and he said this was a mistake, that politics get muffled if you act like as if it's all people of goodwill disagreeing," Frank said during an appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.
"So they got angrier, we responded," Frank added.
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http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/91299-barney-frank-gingrich-media-to-blame-for-angrier-politics