Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, the criminal defense lawyer running for a Congressional seat in Arizona’s Ninth Congressional District, is touting her endorsement from a Far-Left lawmaker who was at the heart of the financial crisis that brought Arizona homeowners to their knees and destroyed the state’s economy.

Sinema was touting late last week a fundraising letter from Barney Frank, the disgraced Congressional Democrat who retired this year rather than face a tough re-election he would have likely lost. In the October 9 letter, Frank said, in part:

My friend Kyrsten Sinema will face her biggest decision this Friday and how much money she raises today will determine the size of her [advertising] buy.
Can you help Kyrsten Sinema so she can stay on the air and fight back? Kyrsten needs you today.
Thank you for all that you do! Together, we can help Kyrsten Sinema win.
On to November,
Barney Frank

While most candidates would hide support from Barney Frank, that letter was found on Sinema’s own website!

So who is Barney Frank? Called a “subprime enabler” in the “government-mandated housing bubble” by Forbes magazine, and “Fannie Mae’s Patron Saint” by the Wall St. Journal, Frank is the man who for 20 years protected Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from reform, while pocketing campaign money from its lobbyists. He even helped his then-partner get a job at Fannie Mae.

The results of his protection include the taxpayer bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have directly cost the taxpayers $140 BILLION, according to a liberal media site—many say the amount is actually far higher. But the real cost of letting Fannie and Freddie run wild has been felt across Arizona, in foreclosures, closed businesses, high unemployment and a devastated construction sector. Thanks Barney. No wonder they say Kyrsten is extreme.

But what did Frank say when the Bush Administration tried to reform Fannie and Freddie in 2003, several years BEFORE the crash? As the NY Times quoted him:

“These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis.” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. “The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”

Oops. A few years later, Frank was proven wrong, but the price was paid by Arizonans and other Americans. Franks, then safe in a gerrymandered Massachusetts Congressional seat, kept fighting reform! His “Dodd-Frank” financial reform law, incredibly, enshrined the biggest banks as too big to fail (and thus guaranteed future bailouts) and did not even address Fannie or Freddie. They remain unreformed today.

Sure he helped destroy Arizona’s economy. But he can help Sinema raise money for her negative ads from Far-Left out-of-state activists. So rather than give Frank the scorn he deserves, she ties herself to him in a shameless fundraising pitch.

She’s hoping you won’t notice. Remember that when you vote, and send Sinema and Frank a message they will never forget: Vote Vernon Parker for Congress TODAY, for jobs and economic growth.

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You can reach the writer via Twitter. He’s a former GOP staffer who has been following Arizona politics for 20 years.