American Thinker Blasts Massachusetts as ‘Madness’ in Richard Kirk Op-Ed

In a sharply worded opinion piece published this week by American Thinker, freelance writer Richard Kirk argues that Massachusetts—the self-styled “Spirit of America” state—has descended into a kind of political and moral madness. The commentary, titled “Massachusetts Madness,” paints a portrait of a state that has abandoned its historical roots in favor of what Kirk describes as a radical, secular, and ideologically extreme agenda.

Abortion and the Clancy Trial

Kirk opens by contrasting the state’s founding figures with its current leadership. Massachusetts, once home to John Adams—whom he calls the “Atlas of American independence”—is now led by Governor Maura Healey, the state’s first lesbian governor. Kirk notes that Healey recently signed a bill protecting a woman’s right to abort “up to the point of birth,” a ceremony he describes as attended by a group of women applauding enthusiastically.

He then pivots to the trial of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mother accused of strangling her three children—Cora, Dawson, and Callan. Kirk points out that a crowd of women in pink voiced support for Clancy, who was on trial for the killings. He invokes the late Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who, despite not being a pro-life warrior, compared partial-birth abortion to infanticide. Kirk wonders what Abigail Adams would think of her famous “remember the ladies” plea being used to cheer unrestricted abortion and to excuse what he characterizes as the carefully planned killing of three children over eighteen minutes.

The author attributes part of the Clancy outcome to Massachusetts’ unique insanity defense standard. Unlike most states, Massachusetts puts the burden of proof on the prosecution, requiring them to prove not only that the defendant knew the difference between right and wrong but also that they could control their actions. Kirk calls this standard “virtually insuperable,” likening it to proving a negative twice and beyond a reasonable doubt. When the crime involves killing three children, he writes, the prosecution’s task becomes “akin to climbing Mt. Everest.”

Sanctuary Policies and the ‘Protect Act’

Kirk also takes aim at Governor Healey’s recent signing of the “Protect Act,” a law he describes as “mendaciously labeled.” The law further limits the state’s cooperation with ICE and, in Kirk’s view, guarantees that illegal aliens are protected from deportation as much as possible. He notes that even before this law, the Boston Police Department under Mayor Michelle Wu—whom he calls “super-Woke” and the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants—ignored ICE detainers on scores of illegal aliens, including those accused of arson, child abuse, assault, and drug dealing.

Turning to the state’s senior Senator, Ed Markey, Kirk mocks the octogenarian’s support for a transgender bill of rights after defeating a forty-seven-year-old primary opponent with similar leftist credentials. He traces the issue back to Representative Seth Moulton’s 2024 statement: “I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete.” Moulton added that as a Democrat he was supposed to be afraid to say that. Even after apologizing, Moulton discovered that fear was warranted in “madly blue Massachusetts,” where gender-affirming care for minors is already a state constitutional right that extends to children from other states.

Chappaquiddick and Political Memory

Kirk reminds readers that Massachusetts is also the state that reelected Ted Kennedy seven times, even after the Chappaquiddick incident. He recounts how Kennedy drove a car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island with Mary Jo Kopechne inside; she likely died of suffocation while Kennedy returned to a party cottage. Police were not contacted for about ten hours, giving Kennedy time—if needed—to sober up, though he was never given an alcohol test. The judicial slap on the wrist for abandoning the scene did not deter voters, who sent him back to the Senate in 1970 with 62% of the vote. Kirk references a 2018 Politico review of the film Chappaquiddick for a detailed account.

A Proposed Muslim Commission

The op-ed also highlights a current bill in the Massachusetts legislature that would give Muslims a greater voice in state government and address discrimination against that community. The bill would create an eleven-member commission to work with state officials on education, civil rights, health care, employment, and Islamophobia. Kirk warns that these familiar topics could morph into madrasa lessons, community cutouts for sharia law, and employment standards reflecting Muslim mores regarding pork, dogs, and female attire. He wonders if even Bay State virtue signalers might find such concessions a “bridge too far.”

A Contrast with Illinois

Finally, Kirk notes a recent case in Illinois where a woman who closely followed the Clancy trial allegedly killed her two-year-old child by ligature compression of the neck in her basement—the same method and location as Clancy’s crime. The accused also inflicted perfunctory suicide cuts on herself. Kirk points out that Illinois does not require the state to prove what should be the defense’s burden, though the defense only needs “clear and convincing” evidence, not evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that a perpetrator doesn’t know right from wrong. He suggests that a less ideologically enthralled and more religiously grounded jury pool in the Midwest might be more willing to hold a mother legally culpable for strangling her child.

Kirk concludes by noting that Massachusetts boasts almost half its adults have college degrees and is likely the most secular state in the union—traits he implies have contributed to its current political direction. The piece ends with a brief bio of the author and a plea from American Thinker for reader donations to support its work.

Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/09/massachusetts-madness/