For a guy who wants to be Vice President, Gov. John Hickenlooper sure doesn’t exercise a lot of strategic discretion with his veto pen.
This is the second year in a row that Hick’s said nyet! to a ban on the universally hated red light cameras. Why he has chosen to charge this hill is beyond understanding. Red light cameras suck and a broad bipartisan coalition of lawmakers have voted to get rid of them twice now.
Hick also continues to waffle on whether or not he will veto Senate Bill 197, which would change our state’s alcohol laws, getting rid of 3.2 beer and allowing for the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores by 2019.
We don’t have a stake in the SB 197 fight. (Though, it has turned into an epic brawl within the alcohol industry that has been fun to watch). The fact that Hick is still biting his fingernails as he frets over what to do isn’t exactly a profile in courage. There is also the possibility that he just allows it to become law without his signature, which would be hilarious given the public display of indecision.
This is all somewhat reminiscent of Hick’s eventual pardon of mass murderer Nathan Dunlap, which was another moment in his career that didn’t play well in the polls.
So, on second thought, maybe Hillary should pick him as her running mate….