The Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Barney Frank this year sharply criticized the congressman on Thursday for sponsoring legislation that would decriminalize possessing a small amount of marijuana, saying that Frank has "become part of the problem" in Washington.

[img_assist|nid=613|title=Earl Sholley (R)|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=153|height=167]Earl Sholley  is running against Frank (D-Newton) this year in Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District. By any measure, Sholley, a retired landscaper, is a long way from unseating the 14-term congressman and current chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

But that didn't stop Sholley from lambasting Frank for having the wrong priorities.

"We have so many important and serious issues to discuss in this country and Barney Frank seems to have time to discuss something that no one cares about," Sholley told PolitickerMA.com. "People are not concerned about marijuana, they are concerned about paying four dollars per gallon for gas...They are concerned about immigrants coming into the country and taking people's jobs."

Last week, Frank introduced H.R. 5843, a bill that would decriminalize possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana. "The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government's business," Frank said last Wednesday at a press conference in Washington, according to news reports. "I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time."

The legislation is a waste of time, Sholley said. "No one is worried about marijuana," Sholley went on, "Except for the people that are smoking marijuana."

Asked if he was implying that Frank was smoking marijuana, Sholley chuckled and said that wasn't his concern. "I don't know what Mr. Frank does with his personal time, nor do I really care. I'm concerned about his performance and I don't think Mr. Frank represents the values or the priorities of the people in the fourth congressional district."

With the serious issues facing the country right now, Sholley said, his efforts on this marijuana legislation show that "Mr. Frank is not part of the solution, he's part of the problem."

Sholley supports implementing term limits on congressmen. In fact, he said he'd like to "dislodge 95 percent of incumbents."

"I don't think Mr. Frank has his priorities straight," he went on. "I think he's been there too long. I don't think he's in the real world anymore."