And with the White House, Gov. Ed Rendell and much of the party establishment backing Specter, Frank’s argument echoed points Sestak himself has made.

“I understand the political calculations of the President and the need to get the 60 votes,” Frank said during an appearance here. “And I don’t criticize him for that, but it doesn’t bind the rest of us.”

“I regard Joe as one of the most valuable members of Congress,” Frank said during an appearance with Sestak at a downtown law office here. “His military background is of great importance because getting our military policy [and] spending right is essential.”

Combined with a later endorsement from an army Lieutenant who was discharged under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the support of Frank, the first openly gay member of Congress, was clearly meant to showcase Sestak’s credentials on gay rights at a time when Specter has moved quickly to the left on such issues.

Frank said Sestak’s military background gives him an authoritative voice in the debate over the military’s current policy.

“Right now, we have people who have never been in the military pontificating on that,” Frank said. “As a vice admiral, Joe is in a position to refute their arguments.”

And while he refrained from speculating what effect his endorsement might have on the gay community, Frank criticized Specter for being “a Republican by choice, and a Democrat by necessity—the necessity to get elected.”

As chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank made sure to emphasize pocketbook issues, too.

“His role on the small business committee is particularly important,” Frank said of Sestak. “Small businesses have taken the brunt of this recession.”

Confronted by a woman holding a poster of President Obama sporting a Hitler-style mustache and calling the proposed health care reforms Nazi policy, Frank responded the way all thinking, reasonable people should to these outrageous, extremist shills. He reminded the occasionally raucous crowd that her ability to stand in front of him and spew such ridiculous, ugly bile is a testament to the strength of our country and our Constitution’s First Amendment, then asked her what planet she typically spends her time on. He refused to engage her, pointing out that doing so would be equivalent to trying to carry on a conversation with a dining room table and a complete waste of his time.

And he’s exactly right—trying to “engage” those who are conjuring up absolute nonsense in an attempt to derail health care reform and maintain the status quo for those benefiting mightily from it, along with those who are, apparently, existing in an alternate reality where any of this could possibly be legitimate, is a complete waste of time and energy that would be better spent addressing genuine questions and concerns voiced by those living in the real world.