Retiring Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., previewed the Democratic National Convention Tuesday on CNN by applauding Democrats for officially backing gay marriage and warning that Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s stands on issues have “expiration dates.”
Frank said Democrats are making history by adding gay marriage to their platform. “I feel very good that the party I worked for so many years now says, ‘You know what, we're going to treat everybody in this country fairly and equally,’ ” Frank said.
The openly gay lawmaker, who was married this summer, brought his husband to the convention in Charlotte.
Frank added that he believes supporting gay marriage will help Democrats politically. Asked whether President Obama’s support would hurt his chances in North Carolina, where voters approved a traditiona- marriage amendment to their state’s constitution, he said he thinks the impact would be “fairly minimal.”
In the interview, Frank also accused Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, of flip-flopping on issues, in particular on health care. He said there should be an “expiration date” on Romney’s positions.
“When Mitt Romney takes a position, it’s only good until a certain point,” Frank said. “And you should be told, ‘But don’t buy this after April of 2013 or 2014.’”
Frank said it was “ironic” that Romney is trying to “repudiate his only accomplishment” as Massachusetts governor by distancing himself from the universal health care law he signed that became the model for the federal Affordable Care Act signed by Obama.
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