boutons_deux
10-16-2012, 09:08 AM
Romney’s 800 Vetoes Shatter His Bipartisan Myth
In the first presidential debate, Governor Mitt Romney claimed he had a bipartisan record as Governor, but history tells another story. In 2006, his last year as Massachusetts’ Governor (in which he was absent more than half of the year), Romney issued 250 vetoes, all of which were overturned by what the Romney camp dubbed a “hostile” legislature. It’s not just Democrats who didn’t get along with Romney, though.
Most of Romney’s vetoes were overturned, sometimes unanimously. Romney used the vetoes to claim he was a budget hawk, but in addition to his budget vetoes, he also vetoed a bill to raise the minimum wage, a stem cell bill and a bill to make the morning after pill available over the counter, among others. All were overridden. The Concord Monitor, (http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/romneys-vetoes-seldom-stood?page=0%2C1) observing Romney’s “frosty relations with legislators” noted in 2007 that this, “effectively remov(ed) Romney from the final stage of the state’s budget process.”
At the first Presidential debate, Romney said, “I figured out from Day 1 I had to get along, and I had to work across the aisle to get anything done.” But Romney liked vetoes so much, he used his vetoes in an ad titled “I like vetoes” during his 2008 run.
In the ad in which Romney tells us how much he likes vetoes, and he ends by saying, “I can’t wait to get my hands on Washington.” These are not the words of someone who is bipartisan, but they are also not the words of someone who understands the power of the Presidency. Unlike a Massachusetts governor, the President can’t line-item veto.
Vetoes don’t scream bipartisanship, and Romney had so many of them that it’s obvious he was on bad terms with the legislators from both parties as Governor. All told, Romney issued 800 vetoes in his one-year term as Governor. 800. Nearly all of them were overridden – 707 to be exact (http://www.ontheissues.org/2012/Mitt_Romney_Government_Reform.htm). Romney doesn’t mention that part in his “I like vetoes” ad.
In fact, Romney didn’t like having to work with Democrats so much that he spent his first two years trying to change the party makeup of the legislature and when those efforts failed, he pulled a Palin. That is to say, he gave up. He was gone – out of state – for 212 days of his last year.
Romney was never around for the last two years of his governorship. A March 2005 poll found that only 32 percent felt Romney should be re-elected if he ran for a second term as governor. (http://www.politicususa.com/mitt-romney-managing-triple-time-loser-home-states.html) It got worse. In 2006, Romney spent 212 days out of state, campaigning.
A Republican grumbled that Romney was never there (http://www.sltrib.com/ci_5021713):
“He was basically never here,” says Kilduff, a Republican who says she was annoyed when Romney poked fun at Massachusetts and also when he swooped in to take over the Big Dig project after a woman was killed in a tunnel accident.
“I don’t think anyone should be micromanaging when they’re not here.”
Romney told the Boston Globe that he was giving up on party building (http://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/154583216/romney-as-governor-confrontation-one-big-deal), “From now on, it’s me-me-me.”
http://www.politicususa.com/romneys-800-vetoes-governor-belie-claim-bipartisan.html
In the first presidential debate, Governor Mitt Romney claimed he had a bipartisan record as Governor, but history tells another story. In 2006, his last year as Massachusetts’ Governor (in which he was absent more than half of the year), Romney issued 250 vetoes, all of which were overturned by what the Romney camp dubbed a “hostile” legislature. It’s not just Democrats who didn’t get along with Romney, though.
Most of Romney’s vetoes were overturned, sometimes unanimously. Romney used the vetoes to claim he was a budget hawk, but in addition to his budget vetoes, he also vetoed a bill to raise the minimum wage, a stem cell bill and a bill to make the morning after pill available over the counter, among others. All were overridden. The Concord Monitor, (http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/romneys-vetoes-seldom-stood?page=0%2C1) observing Romney’s “frosty relations with legislators” noted in 2007 that this, “effectively remov(ed) Romney from the final stage of the state’s budget process.”
At the first Presidential debate, Romney said, “I figured out from Day 1 I had to get along, and I had to work across the aisle to get anything done.” But Romney liked vetoes so much, he used his vetoes in an ad titled “I like vetoes” during his 2008 run.
In the ad in which Romney tells us how much he likes vetoes, and he ends by saying, “I can’t wait to get my hands on Washington.” These are not the words of someone who is bipartisan, but they are also not the words of someone who understands the power of the Presidency. Unlike a Massachusetts governor, the President can’t line-item veto.
Vetoes don’t scream bipartisanship, and Romney had so many of them that it’s obvious he was on bad terms with the legislators from both parties as Governor. All told, Romney issued 800 vetoes in his one-year term as Governor. 800. Nearly all of them were overridden – 707 to be exact (http://www.ontheissues.org/2012/Mitt_Romney_Government_Reform.htm). Romney doesn’t mention that part in his “I like vetoes” ad.
In fact, Romney didn’t like having to work with Democrats so much that he spent his first two years trying to change the party makeup of the legislature and when those efforts failed, he pulled a Palin. That is to say, he gave up. He was gone – out of state – for 212 days of his last year.
Romney was never around for the last two years of his governorship. A March 2005 poll found that only 32 percent felt Romney should be re-elected if he ran for a second term as governor. (http://www.politicususa.com/mitt-romney-managing-triple-time-loser-home-states.html) It got worse. In 2006, Romney spent 212 days out of state, campaigning.
A Republican grumbled that Romney was never there (http://www.sltrib.com/ci_5021713):
“He was basically never here,” says Kilduff, a Republican who says she was annoyed when Romney poked fun at Massachusetts and also when he swooped in to take over the Big Dig project after a woman was killed in a tunnel accident.
“I don’t think anyone should be micromanaging when they’re not here.”
Romney told the Boston Globe that he was giving up on party building (http://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/154583216/romney-as-governor-confrontation-one-big-deal), “From now on, it’s me-me-me.”
http://www.politicususa.com/romneys-800-vetoes-governor-belie-claim-bipartisan.html