Alaska's Legislature Overrides Palin Stimulus Veto

Alaska’s legislature voted yesterday to override Sarah Palin’s veto of $28 million in stimulus cash to defray energy costs, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Such an override requires the support of 75% of votes; the measure passed by a hair. “Instead of being the last state in the union to take this money we should have been the first,” said a Democratic state senator.

Palin said “accepting stimulus funds will further tie Alaska to the federal government and chip away at Alaska's right to chart its own course.” Backers of the veto said she’d hyped the “strings” attached to the cash.  But some 150 protesters rallied to support the veto, carrying signs with slogans like “Override=You're fired.” Meanwhile, lawmakers voted 55 to 4 to confirm the new lieutenant governor, Craig Campbell.