Leading A Counter-Offensive?

I'm thinking this may be a bit of a coordinated pushback against the far left fringe. Froma Harrop writes about Barney Frank and the assault he is under from the gay community. Or at least some elements in that group. This is the second major story about this particular incident - and Frank seems to be pushing it for a reason.

"For some of these people, you can never be an ally," Frank told me. And the proper response is to "call their bluff."

"Who are they going to run against me?" he asks. "Larry Craig?"

At issue is Frank's decision to remove language on "gender identity" from a bill that protects gay men and lesbians in the workplace. This is a reference to the "transgender" community — people who do not identify with the gender assigned them at birth. Cross-dressers are one example.

Frank insists that the bill can't pass if it includes the transgendered. America is not yet ready to take that step. In response, gay advocates (though not all of them) have bitterly accused him of stripping the rights of this besieged group.

Frank marvels at their poor grasp of political reality.

"They think that getting a bill protecting sexual orientation is easy," he says. "We started on the gay and lesbian thing decades ago."

Frustration over his party's militants is not a new theme for Frank. In his 1992 book, "Speaking Frankly: What's Wrong With the Democrats and How to Fix It," Frank notes that the far left often spoiled the Democrats' ability to win the presidency. By making the party seem soft on national security, crime and the work ethic, it scared away the swing voters needed to win.

Frank is senior enough - and has enough liberal credentials - to fight this fight with the fringe. I rather suspect the counter-offensive is intentional and timed to start forcing the fringe back as the general election nears. (Frank has a couple of really good zingers quoted by Harrop, by the way.) If we see more pushback from other very liberal and very secure Democrats, then it will be a confirmed, coordinated effort. We've already seen David Obey hit the "idiot liberals" publicly. A third one would define a trend.