FROM OUR PRINTED DECEMBER 2024 EDITION

Mass. Rep. David DeCoste – A ‘Disturbed Individual’
Who is ‘Well Past His Sell-By Date’

by Brian Camenker
Executive Director, MassResistance
MassResistance.org

Many of us think of Democrat legislators in Massachusetts as being creepy and disconnected. But some Republican lawmakers, especially those who’ve been on Beacon Hill for a while, are actually worse – and also hypocritical. This is a story that should scare everyone.

By now many Boston Broadside readers are probably aware that the Massachusetts Legislature uses a corrupt and unconstitutional practice called “informal sessions” to pass a large percentage of their bills into law.

Article 33 of the Massachusetts Constitution clearly states that a majority of the members of each branch is required as a quorum to transact business. But both branches routinely ignore that and hold “sessions” where one, two, or three state reps. or senators meet before an empty chamber and vote to pass laws. They pretend there’s an actual quorum! They use these to “pass” hundreds of bills. There’s no debate or roll call vote.

No other state in America except Massachusetts does anything this corrupt. Our pro-family group, MassResistance, has been working to put a stop to it.

We’ve talked to several legislators about this. Their excuse is that all those bills are “inconsequential” so it doesn’t matter. But in fact, some of them involve millions – even hundreds of millions – of taxpayer dollars for questionable expenditures, and others change our laws in various unsavory ways.

Only if a legislator stands up and says “I doubt the presence of a quorum” are they forced to stop the phony session – until the next time. That actually happens – but it’s very rare. Both Republicans and Democrats go along with this scam. It beats having to do work!

In October, I attended a banquet of one of the pro-family groups. Before the dinner started, people were mingling in the hallway. I noticed Rep. David DeCoste (R-Norwell) talking to two of my friends – a state committeewoman and a long-time activist. So I walked over and joined them.

The four of us talked for a bit. Then I politely asked DeCoste if he would consider helping stop the informal sessions by going and calling the quorum. It seemed like a reasonable question. What happened next was incredibly bizarre.

DeCoste became very, very angry. His eyes glared and his face became twisted. He started basically ranting at me, much of it irrational, incoherent, and unhinged.

He immediately demanded to know, “Why didn’t you bring this up ten years ago!” which he repeated several times.

Then he complained about the “nut jobs” who keep bringing this up.

He angrily accused me of not supporting Avi Nelson in his election efforts. I still have no idea what that had to do with what we were talking about. Avi Nelson is a radio personality in Boston and I wasn’t aware he was running for any office. “I’ll bet you don’t even know who Avi Nelson is,” he barked at me.

His disconnected ranting continued. He fumed about GOP conservatives successfully running a primary opponent against RINO Rep. Susan Gifford (R-Wareham) this year while she had cancer. (Sadly, she later passed away. I think most people didn’t know she had cancer. But clearly, she should not have been running for re-election.)

Next, he demanded to know if I served in the military.

When I finally got him to talk about the constitutional problem of informal sessions, he said that he’s read the Massachusetts Constitution, and that informal sessions are perfectly constitutional. Then he basically admitted that they weren’t constitutional by saying that any legislator could come in and call the quorum to stop them. It made no logical sense.

After that, he told me that he thinks that I didn’t support Ronald Reagan.

Finally, he started shouting at me, “You’re gay, you’re really gay!” At that point, I’d listened to enough unhinged raving. I turned and walked away. But he continued shouting as I walked down the hall, “You’re gay, you’re gay!”

Later, I talked to the other two people who were there. Both of them said that they were shocked and surprised at his behavior. Neither could think of any explanation. But it was obvious that even the suggestion of going in and stopping an informal session made his head explode.

I’ve been dealing with Massachusetts legislators for thirty years. This is the most deranged experience I’ve ever had with one.

But it doesn’t surprise me that it’s with a Republican. Democrats are stupid and obsessed in their beliefs. But you can usually have a civil conversation with them about their positions. Republican legislators often become so disconnected from their constituents that when they’re challenged on their actions or beliefs, they break down and get weird.

Now comes the even weirder part. On November 21 and 22, the House held two informal sessions. DeCoste walked into both of them and officially “doubted the presence of a quorum,” causing both sessions to stop immediately!

DeCoste later told the State House News that he did it because the informal session was about to pass a bill he didn’t like. The bill would allow Boston to raise taxes on its businesses enormously. He implied he’d likely keep coming until they got an actual constitutional quorum to pass it. The hypocrisy here is astounding! And he’ll probably go back to viciously attacking anyone who wants to completely stop that corrupt and unconstitutional process.

In my opinion, DeCoste is a disturbed individual who should not be in the Legislature. He’s been there since 2015, and he’s way past his sell-by date. Interestingly, he’s also a Massachusetts GOP state committeeman. He probably fits in quite well with that disordered RINO bunch! ♦