Barney Frank on Michele Bachmann and the Teabaggers

From the Hill:

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), called a "Homo Communist" on Saturday by protesters opposed to President Barack Obama's health plan, says his GOP colleagues need to do more to "differentiate themselves" from the hateful speech spewed in the healthcare debate's final hours.

Frank, an openly gay lawmaker, had to call the Captiol Police “to move away” five or six protesters who were banging on his office door and shouting through the mail slot.

While making the trek across the street from his office to the Capitol, Frank was called a “Homo Communist” and told to “go homo to Massachusetts” by several protesters, according to witnesses and confirmed by Frank.

Lawmakers at work on Capitol Hill for a rare Saturday session endured thousands of energized protesters gathered to show their opposition to the president’s sweeping healthcare reform bill, headed for passage on Sunday.

Frank, a longtime advocate for lesbian and gay rights, called it “unfortunate” that people protesting in the Tea Party event took to spewing “bigoted, abusive, personal things” at him and some African-American members.

“If this was a movement that I was part of, I’d be doing more than I think the Republicans are, to differentiate myself,” Frank said in an interview with The Hill that afternoon.

Then the Financial Services Committee Chairman took a shot at a GOP member of his Financial Services Committee panel, Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.).

“Any movement in which the intellectual leader is Michele Bachmann is obviously going to be problematic,” Frank said.

Bachmann's office did not comment for this story.