Barney Frank Has Got Your Back, Punk Staffers.

"Don't let those little punk staffers take advantage of you and stand up for yourselves," Boehner said. "All of us are hearing from our friends and constituents on lack of credit, you can't get a loan, the more your government takes and taxes, the more regulations you have to comply with the more cost you have there and less amount you are going to have available to loan to customers."

Aside from the fact that bankers have no trouble standing up for themselves on the Hill, and that regulation is not, in fact, what is hindering lending right now, this statement stands out because congressional staff are usually off-limits in the snappy back-and-forth of partisan Washington. Luckily for the folks behind the scenes, House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank has stepped into the fray on behalf of the little guy, sending a letter of rebuke to Boehner:

I am appalled that a Leader of the House, who must know what good work is done by our staffs, would take such an inaccurate cheap-shot at these people, for the purpose of ingratiating himself with bankers or any other group. ... Your reference to “punk staffers” trying to “take advantage” of people in the financial industry is wholly unfair to a lot of hardworking men and women, the majority of whom, in my judgment, could be making more money if they were working elsewhere, and working under less stressful conditions and shorter hours. ... If Mr. Orol accurately quoted you in referring to the people who work so hard in the public interest as “little punk staffers,” I urge you to apologize to them.

I understand that you differ with what we and the majority are doing in what we believe is appropriate, tough regulation of the financial industry. And of course you are free to defend that industry and work with them to try to defeat those regulations. But picking on members of the staff is unworthy of you. I urge you to confine your campaign against financial regulation to debates with other Members of Congress, and not engage in this sort of personal attack on staff members who, as you know, are constrained by our rules against even defending themselves from your name-calling.

Better pick on somebody your own size, Boehner. Of course, the minority leader may have been referring to actual punks who work on the banking committees, and if he was, I would like to meet them, please.

Update: Larry Summers gets in on the act.

-- Tim Fernholz

Note: I couldn't find any pictures of punks hanging out on the Capitol steps, so this punk panda will have to suffice.