Reply #46: the problem with comparisons

[onenote]

You point out that the repubs overrode Clinton. Well, that's not exactly an accurate statement. First, Clinton vetoed 36 bills. THere was no attempt made to override 24 of them. And of the remaining 12, two were overriden. One of those that was overriden was the Line Item Veto legislation, which passed initially, and on override, with huge majorities from both the Democrats and the repubs, so to say that the "repubs" overrode is something of a misstatement -- members of Congress from both parties overwhelmingly supported the legislation.

The only other bill overriden during Clinton's term was the Private SEcurities legislation. In the Senate, that bill got 21 Democrats to go along with 47 repubs in the override. But digging deeper, you'll see that the bill didn't divide neatly along party or even ideological grounds. Among those voting to support the override: Kennedy, Mosley-Braun, Kerry, Harkin. But Feingold and Wellstone voted against it (as did McCain).

The bottom line -- vetoes are rarely overriden, particularly where the legislation doesn't start out with a veto proof majority.