Barney Frank's present and former staffers have something to say about the kind of boss he is

Is Barney Frank the kind of boss that "The Boss," the late George Steinbrenner, was -- a pussycat to people with power and a bully to those without? His present and former staffers don't seem to think so.

"My colleagues and I also are grateful to him for his absolute loyalty to us, for his graciousness in sharing credit for what we collectively accomplish and for his respect for our personal lives outside the pressure-cooker environment of Capitol Hill."

-- Bruno Freitas, Barney Frank's chief of staff and legislative director, in a Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post

by Ken

Barney Frank hasn't exactly lacked for detractors during his time in Congress, and it's not surprising that some of them are lobbing spitballs now that he's withdrawing from the congressional arena. And I suppose some of the questions being raised -- whether, for example, he might have accomplished more if he had been less, well, abrasive in his D.C. dealings -- are legitimate, though I'm hard put to see what it is he might have accomplished. Mostly those detractors, and their media enablers, seem dedicated to reinforcing the principle that the correct way for Villagers to deal with one another is to "go along to get along" (or is it the other way 'round?).

This, I think, more than anything, more even than Barney's unapologetically liberal agenda, is what has driven his Village enemies so crazy. He's surely the most independent pol, at least on "our side," to have successfully embedded himself in the machinery of power in my recollection, and I don't really see his successor anywhere on the horizon. That's what has depressed me so much about his decision to leave Congress.

The other day, however, Dana Milbank wrote a column for the Washington Post which I gathered from the blurb in the paper's e-newsletter advanced the proposition that Barney's supposed meanness and orneriness extended to his staff, which again would be a legitimate subject of inquiry if there were any evidence for it. It's not, however, the impression I've gotten from what I've heard from people who actually deal with the congressman. In fact, my impression has been quite the opposite: that he's a caring and responsive boss.

My hunch was that somebody is trying to capitalize on a very real archetype in management circles: the boss in the mold of "The Boss," the late George Steinbrenner, who became famous during his tenure as principal owner of the New York Yankess for bullying, tyrannizing, and terrorizing the underlings at his mercy -- at least if they wanted to continue in his employment. Of course a certain number of them had to be fired just to satisfy George's sense of self-importance.

Most everyone I know has had contact with such a boss, and my own feeling is that this goes beyond being a "perk" of achieving such power as these people achieve in their domains; for many of them it's an important incentive for achieving that power. These are people who are generally all sweetness and light with what we might call "people their own size," even when they're trying to edge a shiv in those people's soft bellies, but then vent their pent-up rage at the helpless help.

Barney, by contrast, has tended to speak his mind to Villagers of equal or greater rank, which is something for which I don't think he could ever be forgiven in certain corners. And now 60-plus of his present and former staffers have joined to offer their corrective view of the kind of person he has been to work for. This letter was published in yesterday's Washington Post:

Letter to the Editor
How Barney Frank’s staff really feels about him

In his Nov. 30 column, "A bully leaves his pulpit," Dana Milbank grossly mischaracterized how I and my colleagues, members of Rep. Barney Frank’s staff past and present, feel toward him. I feel fortunate to have worked for him, and I have the highest respect for his integrity, brilliance and dedication to enduring democratic principles. But my colleagues and I also are grateful to him for his absolute loyalty to us, for his graciousness in sharing credit for what we collectively accomplish and for his respect for our personal lives outside the pressure-cooker environment of Capitol Hill.

In a congressional culture of deference, we all know him simply as Barney. He demands that we deliver at the highest standards of government service, but he often praises us publicly and privately for our work and dedication. He allows us to take time to care for our loved ones and to raise our children, and he respects the importance of family. If he makes a bad decision, he personally takes the heat; he doesn’t use staff as a shield.

This isn’t only my opinion. I speak here for 60 of my colleagues who asked to co-sign this letter. But one simple metric tells the heart of the story: Barney has one of the most tenured offices on Capitol Hill. Where career longevity in "tough" offices can be measured in weeks or months, Barney has 10 staff members who have been with him for more than 10 years.

I have real affection and the highest regard for Barney Frank. When a caller to our office who disagrees with Barney’s politics asked me how I could work for him, I said simply, "with great pride and honor." I know my colleagues would agree.

Bruno Freitas, Washington

The writer is chief of staff and legislative director for Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

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