“The opposite of pragmatism is not idealism. It’s wishful thinking.”

—  Barney Frank

Quoted in [Willies, Egberto, October 11, 2015, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/11/1430614/-Barney-Frank-has-a-message-for-Bernie-Sanders-supporters-they-won-t-like, "Barney Frank has a message for Bernie Sanders supporters they won't like", dailykos.com, 2015-10-11]

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Barney Frank 17
American politician, former member of the House of Represen… 1940

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