Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank (D- Frank You) officially started his farewell tour with a few broadsides aimed at freshly minted GOP presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich (R- Newt You).

From Monday’s Boston Globe:

“As I look at the Republican debate, I have been casting ‘The Wizard of Oz,’’’ said Frank on the ABC news program “This Week.’’

“Newt is the Wizard of Oz,’’ he said. “There’s nothing there.’’

That followed an interview last week in which Frank, who is retiring from Congress, called Gingrich “a despicable human being. . . . I think he’s just one of the worst people that I know of who didn’t commit violence against somebody.’’

But wait – there’s more.

Frank insists that his disdain for Gingrich is nothing personal.

Seriously, Barney?

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde on British fox hunting, Frank vs. Gingrich is the unbearable in pursuit of the unconscionable.