Recently, when Barney Frank was on Bill Maher, Frank indicated he was going to take a bolder legislative stance on some key issues that libertarians would be in agreement on. Since that time, Frank has remained true to his word, and in the process has formed a legislative alliance of sorts with Ron Paul in doing so. Paul has co-sponsored 3 of Frank's recent pieces of legislation.

1) Overturning UIGEA
2) HR5843, which would essentially remove and federal penalties for marijuana possession of 100 grams or less
3) HR5842, which force the DEA and other federal authorities to respect states’ current laws on medicinal cannabis

HR5842 essentially would make the Controlled Substance Act null and void in certain states because of their medical marijuana laws.

We can tentatively call this a "Frank-Paul" axis. This axis would undoubtedly come into play again with Frank's intention to introduce legislation to defund the Iraq war under a Democratic President. Also, I predict this axis will likely introduce a Federal Reserve Accountability or Transparency Act in the future.

Under Bush-Clinton-McCain regimes, this axis would wilt under the weight of the implied Veto Pen. But what about under an Obama Presidency? These bills are finding other co-sponsors and supporters in the congress. If the threat of the veto pen was removed, or even, i dare, say, there was actual support from the Executive branch for these bills, then this Frank-Paul axis could actually bear legislative fruit. Obama was rewarded last night for not pandering to the lowest common denominator. If his likely presidency truly represents "change we can believe in," a good starting point would be to support this Frank-Paul axis.