Good news for Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank: CNN has confirmed that the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee will marry his partner, Jim Ready, in Massachusetts. Wikipedia describes Ready as a “surfing enthusiast” whom Frank met during a gay political fundraiser in Maine.

Rep. Barney Frank may find the 2012 Republican primary as wildly entertaining as most anyone else following the campaigns has, but he is still a little worried that the Democrats may suffer from this. This he told Lawrence O’Donnell on tonight’s The Last Word, where he explained that part of the blame for close-minded political rhetoric was voter demand, and that Democratic desire to cooperate has led to more gridlock in Congress.

Today in the House, Barney Frank took to the floor to speak about bank failures.Frank currently has a cast on his left hand and so he wore his suit over his shoulders. This both gave it the appearance of a cape and also showed off an awesome bright blue sweater. The look was…mesmerizing.

ABC’s This Week began the first in a series of big debates that will continue throughout the next year. Today’s topic was whether government is too big or not, with two advocates on each side arguing for each position, and naturally the conversation made its way to drug legalization. In quite a surreal moment, Barney Frank asked George Will his position on marijuana and if it should be legalized.

Political operatives on the left have remained largely silent about Newt Gingrich since his ascent to the top of the GOP polls, but Democratic legislators are having trouble keeping the cat in the bag. On the heels of Rep. Barney Frank‘s undisguised delight at the prospect of a Gingrich nomination, TPM reports that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has an avalanche of Newt dirt ready to go, “When the time’s right.”

Does that answer your question, Kirsten Powers?

Outgoing Congressman Barney Frank appeared on Morning Joe Monday and gushed about Elizabeth Warren‘s senatorial prospects in Massachusetts. “She’s the ultimate outsider, but she’s the outsider who has been very effective inside,” Frank observed, noting the latest poll has shown her ahead in the state.

“She showed a shrewdness,” Frank added. “She was a kind of a pragmatic ideologue, and that’s the best combination.”

When Newt Gingrich suggested during a Republican debate in October that Congressman Barney Frank be jailed for his role in the financial crisis, it clearly touched a nerve, as Frank has made multiple media appearances in the past few weeks going after Gingrich and dismissing the idea he is a serious candidate for the presidency. On This Week today, Frank continued piling on the former Speaker, saying he would make a weak candidate against President Obama in next year’s election.

Bill O’Reilly did not spend much time on Rep. Barney Frank‘s retirement yesterday, but seemed to hold his strongest opinions for tonight, when he shared a segment with Charles Krauthammer on the Congressman’s legacy in Congress. While O’Reilly focused on Rep. Frank being “dishonest,” Krauthammer lamented his “self-righteousness” and proclaimed him “the face of the failure of American liberalism.”

It’s Barney Frank O’clock, kitties! The Massachusetts congressman, who recently announced his plans to retire after he completes his current term, dealt Today show host Savannah Guthrie a healthy helping of sarcasm after taking issue with her questions and comments. *rubs hands together* Here we go.

Longtime Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank announced today that he would not be seeking reelection in 2012, bringing an end to his extensive career in Congress. There are many memorable moments, both on television and in the House, but tonight Greta Van Susteren chose on particularly entertaining exchange with Bill O’Reilly on the market crash in October 2008 to say goodbye to Rep. Frank with.

Following news that Congressman Barney Frank would be retiring after 30 years of service in the US House of Representatives, Joe Walsh sent out a classy farewell letter snarky retort via Twitter, saying “Today Rep. Barney Frank announced he will not run for re-election & the Dow is up by almost 300 points. Coincidence?”

Barney Frank, the controversial Massachusetts congressman whose name will continue to be election-year fodder as co-author of the “Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,” is expected to announce on Monday, in Newton, Mass., that he will retire from politics and not seek re-election in 2012.

What has been your favorite feud of 2011? Mine is Melissa and Teresa’s feud from The Real Housewives of New Jersey, followed closely by Newt Gingrich‘s ongoing spat with Barney Frank. MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell took a look at Gingrich’s recent comments about Frank’s lack of interest in the business community or the private sector before turning things over to Frank for a response.

Appearing on MSNBC’s Martin Bashir Wednesday, Barney Frank ripped into Newt Gingrich. “There are two ‘L’ words that have to do with Newt,” Frank exclaimed. “Lobbyist and liar!” “Mr. Gingrich was reprimanded for lying,” he added. “He has a history of doing that and this is nonsense that he was being paid $1.6 million and maybe more to talk about history.”

On Monday night Rachel Maddow explained how the Occupy Wall Street movement defied some traditional party lines, or in her words, protesters “aren’t exactly delighted with Democrats either.” She then introduced Rep. Barney Frank, who shared some frustrations with the protesters, saying “I’m unhappy when people didn’t vote last time blame me for the consequences of their not voting.” Frank echoed the thoughts made last week by former Gov. Ed Rendell who basically asked where were these folks during the last mid-term elections?

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich ratcheted up the temperature at last night’s Bloomberg/Washington Post GOP Debate when, in response to a question about the financial meltdown, Gingrich suggested the jailing of Rep. Barney Frank and former Sen. Chris Dodd.

Frank shot back last night, noting that “It’s interesting, the charge is failure to stop Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay from deregulating,” and called the charge odd “even by Gingrich’s standards.”

When people turn to Tucker Carlson‘s DC-based political website The Daily Caller to check the political winds, this probably isn’t what they have in mind. On Tuesday morning, The DC‘s Jeff Poor reported on the possibility that Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) farted on The Rachel Maddow Show‘s air. The DC posted a clip of what is pretty clearly Frank shifting on a noisy chair, and even went so far as to contact Rep. Frank’s office for comment on the matter.

Rep. Barney Frank was one of the few in the House of Representatives to vote against the debt deal slated to become law tomorrow, and as a liberal found it difficult to believe, he explained today, how conservatives had finagled a bill with no tax hikes in it. On The Last Word today, he told host Lawrence O’Donnell that negotiating the bill felt like saving the baby in the King Solomon fable, and that many Republicans’ “craziness” could be explained by “pure ignorance” and misunderstanding of government.

Democratic Congressman Barney Frank appeared on The Ed Show last night with substitute host Chris Hayes and unveiled a new description for people in the Tea Party that at least should garner some chuckles for its randomness. Frank also thought Congresswoman Michele Bachmann was “seriously delusional” and “bizarre” to think Democrats have it as their goal to shutdown the government.

Democratic Congressman Barney Frank appeared with Lawrence O’Donnell last night and took on the Tea Party and their “misunderstanding of the Constitution.” Frank suggested it was “insane” to even entertain the idea of a government shutdown when the country was engaged in three wars and also had some unflattering words for Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

It’s fair to say that MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell is none too impressed with either Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), nor the people in her district that elected her. During a recent trip to New Hampshire, which many saw as an exploratory mission for her presumptive presidential bid, Bachmann made somewhat of a gaffe, mistakenly noting that the “shout heard ’round the world” had occurred in the Granite State. O’Donnell did not let her constituents off the hook, describing them as possilby “the most ignorant in the country.”

With Don’t Ask Don’t Tell dead for all intense and purposes, we might as well all talk about things that don’t make it seem like we’re still in a previous decade. However, Nicholas Ballasy, a reporter for conservative CNS News recently managed to catch up with Rep. Barney Frank to ask about the “implications” of the repeal, namely, whether or not army showers are gonna get all gay and stuff. While Frank initially bristled at the question, he gave the guy the benefit of the doubt and turned the questioning around, making for an interesting little interview.

“People will advise me, sometimes, to be more judicious,” began Barney Frank before launching into an epic slam against the media, primarily the Boston Herald and Fox News, right in the middle of his acceptance speech. Frank said that sometimes you have to “bite your tongue,” but his tongue remained firmly unbitten. The speech was about as Barney Frank as Barney Frank can get and, therefore, you can probably guess as to how your mileage will vary.

Sean Bielat is the GOP candidate for Massachusetts’ 4th District, running against the legendary Barney Frank (D -MA). Perhaps because Frank is an openly gay member of Congress, the issue of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has taken on added significance in this race. Today Mr. Bielat made absolutely clear where he stands on the controversial issue, though his choice of words may raise some eyebrows, as he compared not allowing gays to serve akin to the minimum height required by the armed services.

In an apparent bid to win over the votes of reality television fans, the gay-conservative group GOProud has a new ad that compares congressional Democrats to The Real Housewives of D.C.. The ad employs soundbites and splashy purple graphics to make the argument that for Barney Frank, Barbara Boxer, and Nancy Pelosi are catty, arrogant, and more dysfunctional than “the housewives.”