Barney Frank: 'Unfortunately, Under American System, You Have These Checks And Balances'

Liberal fascism, anyone?  Add Barney Frank to the list of Thomas Friedman and Ray LaHood who regret that in the United States, that darn Constitution gets in the way of the enlightened class imposing its will on the rest of us benighted peons.

Sparring with Mario Bartiromo on CNBC this afternoon, Dem congressman Frank, expressing frustration at his inability to get through legislation he favors, lamented: "unfortunately, under this American system of government, you have these checks and balances."  Yeah, so unfortunate. If only Barney could be king for a day.  View the video after the jump.

Barney's lament over our democractic system comes about 10:10 in to the embedded video.  If Frank was being facetious, it didn't show.  Watch some Barney Beijing envy.

BARNEY FRANK: The problem we have--and by the way you said I blame the Bush administration--I was not blaming them for what happened in 2008, I embraced what Hank Paulsen recommended, I was explaining --

MARIA BARTIROMO: But you just said a minute ago that the Republicans squashed any opportunity to get something done in terms of the Dodd-Frank, you just blamed Republicans --

FRANK: Excuse me --

BARTIROMO: We have the tape! Let's stop the --

FRANK: You're not going to do this to me!  You're not going to misstate what I said and then shut me off from responding. I didn't say the Republicans squashed us from doing anything. I was much more specific than that.  Can't you focus on the specifics? There were two agencies that are given responsibility to do derivatives: the FEC and the CFPB, and the Republicans have starved them of the money they needed to do the rules. It's not a general condemnation, it's a specific reference to specific actions that the Republicans took in the House.  As to the fiscal situation, I'm trying very hard to do that.  Last week, I worked together with a Tea Party leader, Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, and for the first time we got the House to vote to reduce what the Appropriations Committee wanted to give to the military.

We have got to get an all-around solution. There are people who say no, no tax increases at all. No cuts in domestic spending. Unfortunately, under the American system of government, you have these checks and balances--it can be hard to get everybody together.