Barney Frank Really Wants to Replace John Kerry
Newly retired Representative Barney Frank confirmed Friday morning his interest in temporarily filling John Kerry's soon-to-be abandoned Senate Seat — and said that he'd told Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick "I would now like, frankly, to do that." Here's the clip from MSNBC's Morning Joe:
RELATED: Is This the MSNBC Segment That Got Keith Olbermann Fired?
RELATED: The Bulgers' Public Connections, Explained in a Giant, Messy Map
Last month, before Kerry was appointed Secretary of State, Frank would neither confirm or deny his interest in being Massachusetts' placeholder Senator, telling Politico that "accepting offers that haven’t been made is kind of presumptuous." But after the 16-term Congressman handed over his own seat to Joseph P. Kennedy yesterday, he went on Morning Joe's 113th Congress-apalooza this morning as enthusiastic as ever. From the transcript:
“I’m not going to be coy. It’s not something I’ve ever been good at. I’ve told the governor that I would now like frankly to do that because I would like to be a part of that. It’s only a three-month period; I wouldn’t want to do anything more. I don’t want to run again…Coach, put me in!”
Patrick has not made clear his intentions, saying that he will not appoint a successor until Kerry is confirmed. Either way, the appointment would only be a temporary position, as speculation continues leading up to a special election for the open Senate seat in the spring.
