Maine's Gov. LePage clings to hope he didn't botch 65 vetoes

Even my aides think I'm full of it.

Even my aides think I'm full of it.

After Maine's state legislature refused last week to consider 65 vetoes by GOP Gov. Paul LePage, the governor has now turned to the state Supreme Court as his last best hope to save face. David Kurtz reports:

“Now that the Legislature has refused to consider the vetoes, my constitutional duty as Governor to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed’ is in question,” LePage wrote in the request to the court. “I must know whether my vetoes stand."

Just a guess that there's more "in question" than LePage's ability to faithfully execute the laws. Lawmakers said last week that they considered the bills to be law since they never actually "adjourned" but instead simply recessed and, therefore, bills that are not signed by the governor automatically go into effect if they are not signed or vetoed within a 10-day period.

Democrats and Republicans alike say they consider those bills already to be law, as LePage missed the 10-day deadline to properly veto the legislation.

The Democratic state attorney general, Janet Mills, has already signaled her concurrence with state lawmakers.

"It is exclusively the Legislature that decides when it adjourns, not another branch of government, and there is no requirement that the Legislature set a specific date for the next meeting when it finishes its business day," Mills wrote, further bolstering the legislators' case.