Cranky, perhaps. But Barney Frank’s accessibility and honesty were a breath of fresh air.

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Cranky, perhaps. But Barney Frank’s accessibility and honesty were a breath of fresh air.   May 21, 2026 By Jack Sullivan

There’s little in the news business that bothers seasoned political reporters. We deal with personalities, egos, partisan attacks, attempts at humiliation, personal barbs, even veiled threats.

Most of it bounces off the hardened veterans of this noble effort to pry information loose about our government, those who wield power in it, and make sense of it all for the public. But one thing reporters never stop hating is when a public figure declines comment or simply doesn’t return a call.

That never applied to Barney Frank, the longtime Massachusetts congressman who died Wednesday from congestive heart failure at age 86 at his home in Ogunquit, Maine.

Frank was consistently accessible, ever quotable, always on the record, and honest to a fault. Love him or hate him – and there was often little middle ground – you’d be hard-pressed to find a story that included the sentence, “Frank did not return a call for comment” or “Frank refused to comment.”

If you were going to talk with him, you had best be armed with solid facts and good questions, or be subject to his famously acerbic style, which could slice through you before you knew it.

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More Context Barney Frank, 86, left mark as trailblazer in politics (May 2026)

More from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso sits down with Dave Denison, founding editor of CommonWealth magazine – CWB’s precursor – to discuss the seismic changes in both the media and political environment in Massachusetts on the 30th anniversary of the news organization’s launch. GASSED UP: Enbridge, a Calgary-owned gas pipeline company, has proposed an expansion to the Algonquin pipeline, which carries natural gas from New Jersey to Massachusetts. Jordan Wolman dives in. OPINION: Massachusetts environmentalists run the risk of alienating key Democratic allies over debates about energy affordability, writes union leader Harry Brett. He says that the environmental community’s mission to “‘electrify everything’ has become increasingly unmoored from the growing economic concerns of ordinary people.” MY ADDITION: ENERGY!  I am a firm believer in REDUCE YOUR CONSUMPTION!  It's easy, sometimes COST FREE, or LOW COST, but possible!  I've blogged about it ENDLESSLY!  We replaced 2 ALWAYS ON LIGHTS with LEDs $2 INVESTMENT.  With no change in usage, the bill dropped $5 the following month.  LEDs are now mandatory in NEW CONSTRUCTION.  We were recently purchasing LEDs for $1 each until TRUMP  imposed TARIFFS,  TRUMP also eliminated ENERGY STAR ratings so you can't find the MOST ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES.  ALL OF OUR PERIPHERALS, including TV, are on ENERGY STRIPS - when they're OFF, they're OFF!  It's disappointing that your articles focus on POLITICAL ENERGY COST HYSTERIA and ignores options.options.  WBUR has broadcast several programs about COMMUNITIES that welcome WIND ENERGY that pays for LOCAL PROGRAMS.  Wind farms can create millions in cash for local services, but efforts to block wind projects are ‘widespread and growing’ https://fortune.com/2024/07/25/wind-farms-tax-money-local-services/ This is what happens when a wind farm comes to a coal town Michael LevittTinbete ErmyasAri ShapiroKat Lonsdorf February 26, 2024 https://www.wbur.org/npr/1233128242/coal-renewable-energy-west-virginia-inflation-reduction-act-climate I blogged about BALCONY SOLAR: Plug in, power up: the people's solar movement is here https://middlebororeviewandsoon.blogspot.com/2026/05/plug-in-power-up-peoples-solar-movement.html FRANK TALK: By all means, read Jack Sullivan’s terrific remembrance of Barney Frank. But for a taste of the more combative side of the late liberal icon, revisit this great interview with him from 2015. Gabrielle Gurley gets plenty of Frank talk, including a passing reference to Boston Mayor Kevin White, for whom he worked, being “a little bit racist” in his 1960 run against Ed Brooke, and exasperation when he accuses his interviewer, at one point, of “not listening to me.”

What We're Reading MUST  MUST READ! ANOTHER FOR PROFIT HEALTH SCAM?  SCRUTINIZE THIS DEAL CAREFULLY! HEALTH CARE: HYM Investment Group and My City at Peace plan to build a $850 million health campus on the 12.8 acres in Dorchester where the shuttered Carney Hospital operated. (Boston Business Journal – paywall) Related Articles Developer plans healthcare hub at shuttered hospital Developer plans healthcare hub at shuttered hospital Steward's collapse, and other big healthcare stories of 2024 Steward's collapse, and other big healthcare stories of 2024 Steward Health's 14-year rise and fall in the Bay State: A timeline Steward Health's 14-year rise and fall in the Bay State: A timeline Developer pitches senior housing at vacant South Shore shopping center Developer pitches senior housing at vacant South Shore shopping center Suffolk Downs to add hotel, apartments EDUCATION: Harvard faculty have approved a plan to curb grade inflation by limiting the number of A grades professors can issue. Proponents argued this will restore meaning to grades, while opponents argued it would impose an arbitrary quota on academic achievement. (GBH News) ENVIRONMENT: The creators of a small floating island in Boston’s Fort Point Channel hope it will eventually foster a tiny, thriving ecosystem. (WBUR) EDUCATION: To address a deficit of more than $1 million, the Southern Berkshire Regional School District has cut more than 21 full-time positions. (The Berkshire Eagle – paywall) HEALTH CARE: About 300,000 people in Massachusetts are at risk of losing their health insurance when new Medicaid rules take effect in 2027. State leaders are scrambling to figure out a way to keep as many of the affected residents as possible covered. (The Boston Globe – paywall)

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