Shameful Tactics On Veto Override

Friday, July 6, 2012

D espite secret deals, questionable tactics and back-room arm-twisting, Republican legislative leaders in Raleigh can at least claim that two of last Monday's three late-night overrides of Gov. Beverly Perdue's vetoes were arrived at fair and square.

But surely nobody can claim that those words apply to the third override, the details of which again qualified North Carolina for national ridicule - as if we needed any more of that in the wake of such embarrassing episodes as the one in which it was ordered that our state will officially ignore any predictions of future rises in sea level, despite overwhelming scientific consensus to the contrary.

The subject of the third veto override, giving the go-ahead to that troubling method of natural gas extraction known as "fracking," is of extremely high interest to Moore County and a couple of its neighbor counties to the north, since we sit atop shale-oil deposits that make us a prime target for that environmentally threatening procedure.

A Simple Mistake

As for the grossly unfair tactic that House Republicans used to get their way, it went like this:

Rep. Becky Carney, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, was against fracking, which meant she was against an earlier bill authorizing its use in North Carolina. That meant she was in favor of Perdue's veto of that bill, which meant she was against overriding that veto. Given that confusing situation and the lateness of the hour, Carney ended up voting "yes" when she meant to vote "no."

Given the circumstances, and the fact that the GOP leaders were already ahead of the game, you would think they might have taken the gentlemanly course of taking another vote, just to make sure that all members were expressing themselves as they intended to. And you would be wrong.

Though Carney burst into tears and had to be consoled by colleagues when she realized what she had done, leaders claimed that the vote had to stand. House rules, they said, specified that a member can change his or her vote only if it doesn't make a difference in the final result.

Though that sounds backward to us, perhaps it is so. Still, what do you bet that the leaders wouldn't have found a way around that silly rule if doing so had swung the vote in the other direction?

Vigilance Is in Order

It has been clear all along that there is no massive public outcry in favor of rushing into the highly questionable fracking process, which involves the massive trucking-in of water and spiking it with still-unidentified chemicals before forcing it underground under high pressure to blast pockets of gas loose from their shale deposits. The agitation to pass this legislation came mostly, of course, from corporate interests.

Though some roadblocks have now been removed, a massive fracking rush seems unlikely any time soon, especially given the steep recent declines in natural gas prices.

Still, Perdue was right to veto the bill, which she said didn't have enough safeguards to help North Carolina keep from repeating some of the nightmare scenes that have been reported from states like Pennsylvania and North Dakota, where fracking has polluted groundwater and created massive disruptions in the lives of nearby residents.

That's the last thing we need here. Locally, extreme vigilance should still be our watchword.

More like this story

Bentpan 10 months, 2 weeks ago

So the fact that Rep. Becky Carney, a Democrat isn't smart enough to press the button she says she intended to and then starts crying, its someone elses fault, she should get a do over, a mulligan, Sounds like someone else, now who could it be. Oh yea it's not my fault Obama where it's always Bushs fault, or republicans, or FOX NEWS Yada,Yada,Yada, So now that he's failed dismaly he wants a Mulligan, reelection toscew us over even more, There were no "Shameful Tactics On Veto Override" just another Democrat doing their incompetent best.

JimRussell44 10 months, 2 weeks ago

I'll bet Rep. Carney was talking on her cell phone or texting as she reached for her voting button. That could be the only possible reason she would have botched such a simple chore.

The_AnonymusProfit 10 months, 2 weeks ago

I dont like this. Fracking is bad. There is so much oil and gas that we can get at without this procedure and some of it is off the coast of NC. Why are we doing this? There is barley any gas here to begin with.

DaveyNC 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Amazing. A Democrat screws up and somehow it is the Republicans' fault. You just can't make this stuff up.

Reminds me of the old joke:

A farmer is out in his field one day and looks up to see a hot air balloon hovering 50 feet up in the air with a single passenger. The passenger calls out, "Excuse me sir? Can you tell me where I am please?"

The farmer says, "You're 50 feet in the air in a hot air balloon."

The balloonist says, "You must be a Republican. Your answer is exactly right and of no use to me."

The farmer says, "You must be a Democrat. You're the one with the problem and now, somehow, it is all my fault."

clarabelle 10 months, 2 weeks ago

DaveyNC............... BLAH BLAH BLAH!

Bentpan 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Good one DaveyNC, Clarabelle for someone who takes their screenname from a beloved childrens clown, you've no sense of humour, lighten up ;-)

getreal 10 months, 2 weeks ago

The fact that State Rep. Becky Carney pushed the wrong button is unbelievable, the fact that the republican party blocked her so she could not change her vote is unforgivable. The vote could have been taken again, but that was blocked so it wasn't an option. There was also the incident of State Rep. Susi Hamilton selling out her vote to over ride the veto for a guarantee of an extension for a $60,000,000.00 tax cut incentive in Wilmington, for movie a production there. Way to go Susi, may the first well go in your backyard! This little underhanded ploy was exposed on the news a few nights ago with a filming of her giving high fives after the vote to members of the republican party. Please remember this and vote her out when you get the chance, a few letters and phone calls to her office letting her know how disgusted you are wouldn't hurt either. I will be phoning her office for a long time into the future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/06/opinion/songs-against-drilling.html?_r=1

Use the link above and see we are not alone.