Barney Frank on Morning Joe

Barney Frank was on Morning Joe Tuesday. The interview was wide ranging and involved serious discussion of issues. Because of his seniority as the former chairman of the House Finance Committee and current ranking member, he can bring insight to the discussion. When he speaks, I make it a point to listen. He provides framing of subject in a manner that is understandable by the public. Also, we gain insight into what a major leader of the House is thinking.

Key issues discussed were:

• federal debt is a result of past mistakes by both parties
• NATO is a mechanism for Europe to outsource their military costs to the US
• we need a new model of medical care which involves more than Medicare
• clarifying end of life care considerations
• the need to re-evaluate the utility of NATO
• putting a missile shield in Poland to protect them from Iran is not our problem
• problems of Libya are more germane to countries within spitting distance of Libya while NATO wants us to step up with more
• Less defense spending could leave more money for health programs.

The  Morning Joe, Barney Frank segment can be viewed here. The first part of the segment is information to set up for the discussion with Barney which starts at 4 minutes. The video is about 17 minutes which enables a good discussion. Joe basically conducts the interview and generally lets Barney make his points.  He typically interrupts the conversation only for agreement or clarity.