Barney Frank, Former Congressman, Dies at 86

Barney Frank, the longtime Massachusetts congressman who served more than three decades in the House, died Wednesday at age 86. Frank maintained a consistent message for Democrats from early in his career until his final days: the party must moderate its positions on social and cultural issues to regain middle-class voters who have shifted toward Republicans.

In a book he authored, Frank identified what he called “notsapostas”—topics progressives are reluctant to discuss for fear of being labeled retrograde. He placed the Democratic response to violent crime at the top of that list. Frank argued that the party’s focus on social programs to address root causes of crime among young Black men had come at the expense of empathy for crime victims.

He urged liberals to confront poverty and racism without appearing to justify or mitigate violent criminal acts.

Frank spent his later years continuing to press the same argument he had advanced while in office. Colleagues and observers noted his willingness to challenge prevailing views within his party on issues he viewed as politically damaging. The former congressman’s death prompted reflections on the evolution of Democratic messaging over the past several decades.

” — Barney Frank, in his book on Democratic strategy.