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Gov. Lynch boxed in
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Gov. John Lynch
Gov. John Lynch is in a centrist box.
Some of the bills that have come out of the House are just too left of center for the centrist Democrat.
His dilemma comes if the Senate ends up ratifying the House bills that are seen by some as being too liberal -- repealing the death penalty, legalizing gay marriage and legalizing medical marijuana. Add to that any Senate action allowing the expansion of legalized gambling in the state.
Does he veto, risking some Democratic backlash? Does he sign, giving his Republican critics the opportunity to chirp about a liberal agenda?
Lynch has promised already he will veto the death penalty repeal if it gets past the Senate and ends up on his desk.
He hasn't made any direct statements concerning gay marriage and medical marijuana, though his spokesman has said he has concerns about the two items.
As for legalized gambling, he's already said in his biennial budget address that the state can't rely on video slot machine gambling to balance its budget.
The best the governor can hope for is to not have to do the dirty work of a veto at all. He can hope that his Democratic leaders in the Senate will find a way to kill the death penalty repeal, gay marriage, medical marijuana and legalized gambling.
And they have an out. The Senators could argue their attention and action need to be centered on making good decisions about the budget, that this isn't the time for rewriting the state's social agenda.
While that may satisfy Lynch's need for a political out, that thinking would be unfair to the legislative process that brought those bills through committee and onto the House floor for approval.
If those bills pass the Senate, so be it. The governor will just have to deal with them and get his hands dirty.
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