Nobody knows Mitt Romney better than Massachusetts’ residents. Just after electing him Governor in 2002 many of us rapidly, with shock, began to regret our electorate's choice. Over the next four years Governor Romney, the supporter of LGBT rights, a woman’s right to choose, stem cell research and many other popular “Massachusetts liberal” issues morphed into a completely different Candidate Romney. The issues that got him elected governor were flipped and flopped leaving us disenfranchised and disappointed. The Commonwealth’s CEO spent 212 days out of state in 2006; frequently bashing Massachusetts in his pursuit for higher office.
Romney was barely governor when his run for the presidency began. In an attempt to lure conservative Republicans to his side (which, obviously, eventually worked) he etch-a-sketched his beliefs on all the “socially liberal” issue that got him elected. It was at this time when Bay Windows started compiling “The Romney Files”. Our documentation on the flip-flopping and hypocrisy is too long to detail here but the uninitiated should pay a visit http://www.baywindows.com/List?channel=2&category=6
In November, 2003 the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the state’s same sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. Chief Justice Margaret Marshall wrote that the state's constitution "affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals. It forbids the creation of second-class citizens”. And that is when Romney’s anti-LGBT true persona came out. The high court gave the state legislature six months to create the appropriate measures to comply with their landmark civil rights ruling. Romney, the man who told Bay Windows he’d be “better than Ted” Kennedy for gay rights, would have no part of it. He championed a campaign to amend the Massachusetts constitution, the oldest in the country, to prohibit same-sex marriage rights.
In February, 2004 I attended the New England Patriots Super Bowl in Houston. I was also fortunate enough to be at the post-game victory party, which included the players, coaches, their families, journalists and dignitaries. It was that night that I first shook the cold hand of Governor Mitt Romney. In the testosterone-filled room of celebratory guys I told Governor Romney that I was disappointed in his newly found LGBT anti-marriage stance. He looked at me with a stunned look, perhaps surprised that a gay man was actually at such a venue. Then, after stammering a few mumbled words, he finally said to me “I’ve always been consistent on that issue.” Seriously, Governor? We have you on record!
So in the end I could not be more proud of the hard work that our staff has done in our 10 year long pursuit to reveal the true Mitt Romney to the rest of the country. My co-publisher, Sue O’Connell, former editors Jeff Epperly, Susan Ryan-Vollmar, Laura Kiritsy, Andrew Rapp; reporters Ethan Jacobs, Scott Kearnan, Chris Muther, Linda Rodriguez, Brandon Simes; and designers Matt Maguire, Kurt Malec, and Julie Walker.
All of these wonderful people, along with Bay Windows’ loyal readers, knew that if America met the Romney we knew, it would make the right decision. As a result we have just contributed to an election that will most certainly make our civil rights gains of the past decade irrevocable. And for that we should all be very proud.
