Barney frank young12/6/2023 I didn't want to ever tell people how old I was because I thought they would think I was a has been or over the hill. So she's like, uh, an old soul, but it-it’s funny. įJ: But on a more serious note, if I needed anything, Michelle would answer my need.įJ: I may not talk to her for a month, but then we can talk right away. Michelle: I will say when he doesn't answer his phone, I get very nervous. It really gives you a lot of confidence to move around and a lot of your other relationships and spaces.įJ: And, you know, Michelle plays a role in my life of being someone who keeps track of me, where I am. He was the first person that, like, when I went through a rough breakup in college, like, he was who I went to talk to and when you know you have someone that's, you know, just they're there for you all the time. Michelle: For me, being in FJ's life, it's just having this person that you know is always going to be there for you. ![]() So, I don’t know, I found a good friend in him. Even though I was quiet, probably my first couple of weeks going, he always took the time to ask me about me and ask how my day was and then would make connections, uh, between me and seniors that came in that he was like, well, you know, Michelle knows this or, you know, Michelle likes that to you guys should talk about it. Michelle: So I transferred to Notre Dame the fall of my sophomore year and kinda kept to myself, but when I eventually met Father Joe, and I went up to bake, um, it was just immediately super welcoming. It’d be like 200 women dashing up the stairs at 10:20, and we’d have 200, like, at least.įJ: And this whole thing wraps up about midnight.and it's become something that, uh, students look forward to it and it’s kind of like the feeling of being safe and being able to relate to people and to feel, um, just the warmth of a community. But I didn't want to invade their spaces, and so I had to get them to come to me.įJ: At Notre Dame a tradition is something that you do three times, you know, and so one of the things I do is, um, on Tuesday nights have, uh, an event with 150 to about 250 students, you know, and they come and eat cookies in my dorm. We start baking on Tuesdays at 4. So when I was asked if I would live in a women's hall as a priest in residence, the women-I wanted to know them, to, uh, listen to them and just spend time with them. How old were you, FJ, when we met?įJ: My name is Father Joe Carey, I'm 81 years old, and I live at Notre Dame, Indiana in a dorm with 240 college women. Michelle: I know that I'm not 70, but I always say that my best friend from college is. Michelle Drappi: My name is Michelle Drappi, I'm 28 years old, and I live in Tysons Corner, Virginia. “The bigots have kind of withered away in America to a great extent,” said Frank, “but the financial institutions trying to make money without any set of rules – they dug in.Madeleine Albright: I know this program is 70 Over 70, but I really wish I were younger. “I am convinced there will be no weakening of that bill over the next two years,” he said, “But if the Republicans win in 2016, you will see financial reform gutted.” Getting that bill passed was more challenging than coming out, he told “To the Point.”įrank is confident that Dodd-Frank will stand through the end of President Obama’s presidency despite Republican opposition. Also, “it adds to the authenticity,” which isn’t a trait that most politicians are known for.īeyond being a role model as a gay Congressman, Frank’s legacy is tied to the Dodd-Frank law, which imposed financial reforms after the Recession. “Legislating is a very personal business,” Frank said, and being honest played an important role in that business. “In public life you don’t have the choice to be private, you have to be secretive,” said Frank, “and I didn’t want to be secretive anymore.”įrank came out in 1987 – the first member of Congress to do so – and his life changed for the better. ![]() “My first choice was being in politics,” said Frank, who thought he could sacrifice his personal life. ![]() Frank knew that being a politician was very important to him, and that he wanted to make a difference on a public scale. “My having married a man when I was a member of congress was much better received than having chaired the committee that wrote the financial reform bill,” he said.īut it wasn’t easy, particularly as a young politician. “We gay and lesbian people don’t discuss our sexuality any more than straight people do,” he told Warren on “To the Point.” It’s just that when we do it, it’s called ‘coming out.’ When straight people do it, it’s called talking.”īy the end of his career (he retired in 2013), Frank said being gay was much more socially acceptable than being in Congress. In his new book, “”Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage” Barney Frank tells his story of navigating Congressional politics as a gay man.
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