Review by Frank Plowright
Even within the USA Barney Frank remains a relatively obscure name outside political circles, despite being one of the first openly gay Congressmen, but he’s legendary in Boston, and it’s rapidly obvious why he’s a fascinating biographical subject for Eric Orner.
Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, and has never lost the local accent. A work ethic instilled early saw him overcome a poor background to attend Harvard, where his political activities brought him to the attention of a candidate running to be Boston’s mayor. After recruiting Frank, Kevin White’s previously faltering campaign was successful, and Frank discovered he was administratively effective for having no connection to the infighting factions of Boston’s political establishment.
Orner was Frank’s political aide in the 1990s, and while it’s not credited as such, this is obviously an authorised biography as time and again small details could only have come from the source. An example is Frank campaigning in worn shoes when a new pair he’d been gifted remained in his bag, and how that paid off. There’s also continuing insight into the way political life worked in a time preceding Orner’s own position. It extends into other areas, such as a telling story about James Brown lining his own pockets by exploiting the possibility of rioting in Boston after the killing of Martin Luther King.
Among politicians Frank transmits as an anomaly, genuinely caring about improving people’s lives and working toward that wherever he was elected. He’s diligent, actually reading the full legislation, rather than the summary, and able to use research to provide work-arounds. This is no hagiography, though. Orner stresses Frank’s personal integrity, but notes when under stress, particularly during election campaigns, he ranges on a scale from grouchy to what could now be considered bullying. He also brings out what a cesspool party politics is, with Frank having to work against long held beliefs in order to ensure he remained in favour and later able to advance causes he believed in.
Running parallel to his political rise is Frank being gay during a far more closeted era, and not wanting to reveal it, which eventually has consequences. He’s aware of his orientation from an early age, but suppresses any form of love life for his career, knowing disclosure could end it, and Orner brings through the sadness and compromise accompanying personal denial.
The natural density of Orner’s pages is the result of his packing every panel with detail, both written and illustrated. He’s a cartoonist by inclination, so portraits are off the agenda, and the better known faces who drop in wouldn’t be recognised without the context, but as in politics, Orner’s aware it’s the impression that’s important.
While compelling reading for anyone interested in recent American political history, there are frustrating leaps forward of several years at a time to concentrate on national events. By the early 21st century Frank’s primary concern is the economy, and it’s the only time where greater explanation of the details is needed. It’s a sequence resembling a West Wing episode where everyone is desperately rushing around, it’s understood there’s a crisis, but it’s explained in big terms, not details and it takes a background in economics to grapple with meaning and implication.
However, that’s just a small blip toward the end of what’s a fascinating glimpse into the corridors of power, and how a genuinely well meaning guy managed to buck the system.
