Probably the Most Incompetent TEA-Party Politician

Maine Gov. Paul LePage just recently had a veto overridden.  The legislature had passed a bill to fix a one-word clerical error in a state program to encourage energy efficiency.  So controversial!  LePage vetoes it, and the legislature responds with a unanimous vote to override.  Unanimous.  It's difficult to interpret that as anything but a vote of no-confidence in LePage's ability to govern at all.

I'll show them who's incompetent, LePage muttered to himself, as he cooked up his next great plan: take a batch of 19 bills the Legislature sent to his desk and pocket-veto them!  No action at all, and by the time the ten-day window for signing or vetoing is over, the Legislature will have adjourned!  The bills will be vetoed without any chance for an override vote!

Except Maine law doesn't work that way.  Kind of the opposite. All 19 bills will now become law.

When the TEA-Party advocates for "limited government", is this what they mean?  Government so bumbling that it accomplishes the exact opposite of what it sets out to do?  It's like a bridge collapsing.  Horrible, and yet utterly hypnotic to watch.

This article was updated on May 9, 2023

David F