Since then, however, Terry has been tagged by Congress for questionable behavior, rebuked by his own pastor for recent marital missteps, and accused of using the Green Mountain State as a backdrop in his own political theater of the absurd. Though hawking a new issue, Terry has retained his trademark gift of gab. The state court's verdict cannot be appealed, leaving legislators to hash out the details. While a few staunch liberals have dug in their heels to defend same-sex marriage, many legislators now back a plan to grant recognition of the nation's first statewide civil unions, more sweeping even than domestic partnerships.
Terry aims to quash both.
Fat chance, say those now fashioning the civil-union bill. With gay-rights foes stuck doing damage control over Terry's credibility gap, his arrival in the state seems the answer to many a progressive's prayer. In early February, Terry's name came up during congressional debate on bankruptcy reform. Yet in November 1998, he filed for bankruptcy just after having raised thousands of dollars in campaign contributions during his ill-fated bid for a U.S. House seat that same year. Schumer's motion sailed through 80 to 17.