Republican leaders in the New Hampshire state legislature have been trying to override Gov. John Lynch's veto of a
so-called right to work bill since May. They repeatedly had to
postpone an override vote, as it was clear they didn't have the votes. They cajoled, they threatened, they urged Republicans who would have voted to sustain the veto to
"take a walk" during the vote. And they kept open the possibility of finally holding the override vote on a day when opponents of right to work hadn't shown up to vote against it.
But Wednesday, with Americans for Prosperity blanketing the state in anti-union radio ads, state Speaker William O'Brien finally held the vote—and failed to override Lynch's veto, falling 12 votes short of the required two-thirds majority for override. Bear in mind that Republicans hold nearly three-quarters of the seats in the state House.
To mark the occasion, it's worth once again quoting Gov. Lynch's veto message from May:
"States should not interfere with the rights of businesses and their employees to freely negotiate contracts. That is unless there is a compelling public interest, and there is no compelling public interest in passing this legislation," Lynch wrote in his message to lawmakers. "There is no evidence that this legislation will offer any benefits to New Hampshire's economy or workers."
It would be nice to have a victory of the sort that actually moved the ball forward for workers, but preventing the bad stuff from happening is also good.