GRRRR!
Regan would say..."McLAME..RETIRE YOU LEFT WING NUT CASE!"
GRRRR!
I remember the days when we had a Republican president who fought against pork, and a handful of Republican Senators would support him. The Republicans are just the party of pork prostitutes now...
President Reagan had vetoed the bill on March 27, citing a variety of problems, including funding levels that exceeded his request by $10 billion. He was especially concerned about the 121 "demonstration projects" in the bill. Members of Congress who wanted funds for a project in their State had adopted the practice of inventing a concept it would "demonstrate" as if it were part of an important research initiative. (Under this idea, for example, funding for two parking lots became a demonstration of "methods of facilitating the transfer of passengers between different modes of transportation.") To Reagan, they were wasteful. He told the press, "I haven't seen this much lard since I handed out blue ribbons at the Iowa State Fair."
The House voted decisively to overturn his veto, but it was close in the Senate. Very close. The President needed one-third of the Senators plus one to vote to sustain his veto.
On April 1, he prevailed in an initial roll call ballot by one vote. It was cast by Terry Sanford (D-NC), a 69-year old freshman in the United States Senate. Sanford had promised State officials he would oppose STURAA because he agreed with their assessment that North Carolina did not receive enough funds under its formulas. As a result, he had been the only Democratic Senator to vote against the bill when it initially passed the Senate. After 99 Senators had cast their vote, his would decide the issue. Sanford was surrounded by Democratic Senators urging him to vote with them to overturn the veto, and one Republican, Senator Alan K. Simpson (WY), who urged him to vote to sustain the veto as a measure of support for the President. Confused by Senate rules, Sanford initially voted "present," thinking he could in this way sustain the veto without voting against his party. Under Senate rules, the reverse was true. Quickly realizing his mistake, Sanford changed his response to "nay" a few minutes later. The veto was sustained, theoretically killing STURAA.
Deft parliamentary maneuvering by Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) forced a second vote on April 2. Under pressure from Senate Democrats and his State's Representatives who had voted to override, Senator Sanford announced he would vote with them to overturn the veto. He was, he said, "doing my duty as I see it." With all 54 Senate Democrats and 13 Republicans in favor of overturning the veto, the President needed just one of the 13 Republicans to switch for the veto to be sustained. He took the unprecedented step of going to the Capitol to lobby the Republicans personally. As Time magazine said of his meeting with the 46 Republican Senators: "Reagan uttered six words that Presidents use sparingly at best: 'I beg you for your vote.' The 13 Republicans felt the pressure."
They wanted to support their President, but not on a bill that was popular back home-bringing with it not only needed highway and transit funding but a provision that would allow the States to increase speeds to 65 mph on rural Interstate highways. Referring to the 13 Republican Senators who had voted to override the veto, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said, "You could almost see them squirming."
Although the Republican Senators desperately wanted to support President Reagan, they simply could not do so on this vote. In the end, all 13 Republicans and Senator Sanford voted to override the President's veto in a 67-33 vote that made the STURAA the law of the land by one vote on April 2.
The first -and only -veto of a "highway" bill in the 20th century. Widespread media exposed alleged "pork" in the bill. This was a surface transportation bill at the center of a political firestorm. A President begged for votes from his own party. Such high stakes were not usually associated with transportation bills.