Iconic former Democrat congressman Barney Frank warns from deathbed Dems are too leftwing

Jake Tapper, Barney Frank.

Barney Frank, the former U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, issued a stark warning to members of the Democrat Party essentially from his deathbed, saying in a gripping interview that the party has swung too far left.

Frank, 86, is under hospice care and dying of congestive heart failure. His frail condition was more than evident in the interview Sunday with Jake Tapper on CNN. The legendary former congressman responded to a question from Tapper about why he's speaking out about the current state of the party, and why he's been expressing caution about the party swing too far left too quickly. 

“It’s precisely because I have been on the left that I have undertaken this," Frank said. "The mainstream, to my disappointment for many years, ignored inequality. And many of us fought to get inequality on the Democratic agenda. But the problem was, as we succeeded in bringing the mainstream of the left into a concern with inequality, we also enabled people who wanted to use that as a platform for a wide range of social and cultural changes, some of which the public isn’t ready for. Even where I agree with them," Frank continued, at times coughing and unable to keep his eyes open, "I think they make a mistake by taking the most controversial parts of the agenda and turning them into litmus tests."

In 1987, Frank became the first member of Congress to come out as gay, and he fought for same-sex marriage rights up until the Supreme Court made it legal in 2015. In the interview with Tapper, Frank used the legalization of gay marriage as an example, saying supporters in Congress reached legalization incrementally over many years. 

"And that’s what I’m suggesting that we do today. The analogy is males and female transsexuals playing sports that are for women," Frank, long known for his outspoken nature, said. "I understand there’s a lot of anger about that, and I think, in the interest of the transgender community, as well as others, it would be better to go at that in a more granular way, and not simply announce that, if you don’t support it, you’re a homophobe.”

During the course of the interview, Frank also weighed in on other issues, including why he thinks Maine senate candidate Graham Platner, who is cruising to the nomination in the primary race, is an example of how Democrats have swung too far left. He also had harsh words for President Trump, and addressed his failing health saying that he's "in no great pain" but that "after 86 years, might heart's just wearing out." 

Below, watch a clip of the interview.