DC Power Lists-- Who's In And Who's Out?

Barney & Aaron-- different lists

Barney Frank (D-MA) and Aaron Schock (R-IL) are both members of Congress, Frank for nearly 30 years and Schock for almost 3 months. Frank is the brilliant, witty, beloved and powerful chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, the scourge of the crooked Republican banksters. Aaron... gets on entertainment tv programs because he's a cutie and is the #1 heartthrob for Washington's gay Republicans. Frank is upfront about being gay. Aaron's still in the closet, although-- to be fair-- I think Barney was in the closet when he was Aaron's age (27) too. [By the way, maybe today's the day for little Aaron and the other Republican frightened self-loathing gays to have a talk with GOP consultant Steve Schmidt who thinks the Republican Party needs to come out of the closet and realize it's the 21st century, not the 15th.]

This week the May issue out Out is out with its annual Power 50, a list of the 50 most powerful gay men and women in America. Barney, who was #2 last year, switched places with Ellen DeGeneres for the #1 slot. (The highest new entry, at #4, is Rachel Maddow, although Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin is new on the list as well, at #11 and Colorado Congressman Jared Polis made his debut at #16.)

We can’t wait to read Barney Frank: The Story of America’s Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman when it comes out this fall, but we suspect we’ll be hearing a lot from the 69-year-old head of the House Financial Services Committee. It was a power center when he became chairman in January 2007-- and will be the scene of some of the most heated public policy battles in the coming months. With the Democrats in power, Frank takes the number one spot on our list. We know he can handle the pressure: It’s been said that he “speaks 100 words a minute with gusts to 125.”

With his penchant for publicity and his eagerness to undress at the first sign of a camera, you'd think young Aaron would be on the magazine's front cover-- Aaron Schock and Out are a match made in heaven-- but he doesn't appear anywhere on the list. Maybe you really do have to be out. Is Anderson Cooper officially out? He's #3. And none of the GOP closet queens-- from the obvious ones like Lindsey Graham, David Dreier, Miss McConnell, Patty McHenry to the deep cover queens like Adrian Smith-- made the list either.

Anyway, the young winger from Peoria can console himself with another list. It was just announced that he's on the list of the 250 most influential Washingtonians under 40 in Washington Life magazine. Other members of Congress on the list are Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Patrick Murphy (D-PA), Glenn Nye (D-VA) and Adam Putnam (R-FL). Schock said, “I am grateful to be included on this list along with my good friends Adam Putnam and Glenn Nye." As far as not mentioning Linda Sanchez, make your own mind up if it's because he hates women or because he hates progressives-- or is just afraid of smart people.

Snubbed this year were 6 right-wing kooks under 40, Wisconsin's powermad and publicity-hungry Paul Ryan, Florida's Tom Rooney, Nebraska's Adrian Smith, Oklahoma Blue Dog Dan Boren, and 2 from North Carolina-- xenophobe Heath Shuler and sociopath, Patrick McHenry, as well as normal members of Congress like Andre Carson (D-IN), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) Jared Polis (D-CO), and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD).

On the other hand, blogger and congressional staffer (for Alan Grayson), Matt Stoller did make the list! So did Ezra Klein, another first class blogger Ken and I learn from all the time.