Thursday, May 10th, 2007...6:43 am
The Taller “Governor No,” I Guess
Anyone remember how for the last couple of years we have heard cries of “Governor No” and “Veto Queen” every time Janet Napolitano exercises her constitutional perogative and vetoes a Republican bill? The real comedy always came when the legislature would pass an identical bill weeks later and she’d (gasp!) veto it again and they’d actually look surprised.
So, when Napolitano vetoes a bill, it is evidence of some hidden authoritarian tendencies and a usurpation of the constitutional authority of the wise solons on West Washington. Yes, her power to veto bills is in the constitution, but, for heaven’s sake, she’s not supposed to use it.
Well, last night I couldn’t sleep, and I caught an ad by Mitt Romney. The name of the ad? “I Like Vetoes.” In it, he brags about vetoing bills as Governor of Massachusetts. “I know how to veto. I like vetoes,” the ad says and he proudly claims to have vetoed hundreds of bills. A quick glance at the entry on his term as Governor on the always reliable Wikipedia shows some form of the verb “veto” used sixteen times, and the entry records vetoes on a variety of legislation including raising the minimum wage and flood remediation for the city of Peabody after a disaster in 2004.
Legislators Mark Anderson and Chuck Gray have taken leadership roles in Romney’s Arizona campaign. Should Napolitano veto the budget again this year, will we hear the cries of “power grab” from those two this year? Will the ad still be running when the inevitable press release from the State Republican party comes out at the end of session complaining about how many bills the Governor has vetoed? Just wondering.
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