Synopsis

CORRUPT  BARGAINS is a unique documentary history of the constitutional crisis surrounding the implementation of gay marriage in Massachusetts, 2001-2007.  

     No other detailed history of these events exists. Much of the information in this book was rescued from the deep memory hole.
     Gay marriage did not develop organically in Massachusetts. It could not have begun due simply to the court’s ruling. Rather, it was a creation of activist judges abetted by their collaborators in the executive and legislative branches who brazenly defied the state constitution.

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     Massachusetts was the first state in the U.S. to allow gay marriage (beginning in 2004), following the executive branch’s illegal implementation of the unconstitutional 2003 Goodridge ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The precedent set – calling a court ruling “law” – would be played out around the country (culminating with SCOTUS’s 2015 Obergefell ruling nationalizing gay marriage). The propaganda model refined in Massachusetts worked: Repeat over and over that the court “legalized” gay marriage, and that the ruling was “law” that must be enforced. Even supposed conservative leaders fell for that mantra.

     Beyond the larger topic of the constitutional crisis, the book provides a detailed account of Governor Mitt Romney’s dishonest maneuvering during this period. He played a pivotal role, giving the activist court their wish through the unconstitutional actions of his executive agencies (done without enabling legislation). Chapters 1 through 3 document his long-standing advocacy for “gay rights” and help explain his actions as governor.

     Chapter 4 chronicles how the court’s unconstitutional activist dream became reality through unlawful actions by the executive branch under Romney.

     Chapter 5 covers the failed attempts to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman. All were undermined by legislative dirty tricks and/or the incompetence
of the conservative establishment.

     Chapter 6 documents the effort to hold the judicial activists accountable and restore constitutional governance (which would have, in effect, overturned the unconstitutional ruling that was used to force gay marriage through the bureaucracy).

     A detailed timeline in Chapter 7 cements the book’s argument that dishonest maneuvering abounded.           Chapter 8, on Governor Romney’s April 2004 letter to constituents, illustrates his weak and dishonest leadership during this period.

     The Appendix preserves contemporaneous discussions in the media.

     This is a documentary history, quoting relevant primary documents, news coverage, and commentary from the period. It is a first-hand account by a political activist (the author) in the pro-family opposition. The author’s frank viewpoint and original photographs enliven the text. The book's 580 pages (6x9  paperback format) include 900 endnotes (with updated URLs to the sources) and an index.

     CORRUPT BARGAINS is an extensive reworking and expansion of my 2011 book, Mitt Romney’s Deception: His Stealth Promotion of “Gay Rights” and “Gay Marriage” in Massachusetts.

     

See Table of Contents.