Policy fights politics in Perry’s vetoes
A governor might veto a bill for policy reasons or for political reasons. Sometimes the motives are hard to tell apart, but here’s a tip-off: If the gist of a veto message seems to be, “Because I’m the governo,r and I said so,” then it was a political decision, based on flexing gubernatorial muscle.
Such was the case in at least three of the two dozen vetoes and numerous line-item budget cuts announced recently by Gov. Rick Perry.