Maybe the art of the impossible

We hear that Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons has purchased a new veto stamp for the special session of the Legislature.

When Gov. Gibbons was in Gardnerville a few weeks ago he said some members of his own party had decided to "go along to get along."

It's that kind of talk that has longtime Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, bristling and is going to hurt the governor's chances of getting any of his programs passed.

With a 12-9 Democratic majority in the Senate, only two Republican votes are needed to override the governor's veto.

We suspect that the conflict between Gibbons and the senior Republican lawmaker, really means only one Republican vote is left to preserve a veto in the upper house.

The real question is who do the people of Nevada have to go along with to bring sanity back to state government.

We hear what the governor has been saying about finding ways to reduce the cost of government. We know a lot of state workers who deserve to be paid well, but we also know that the folks doing the paying are having a harder time coming up with the cash.

It's possible that gaming, sales, and property tax revenues will turn around, but that was the bet in the regular session.

Now's not the time to worry about political futures, now's the time to worry about keeping Nevada's future afloat.

That means state workers, teachers, lawmakers, and the governor are all going to have to start bailing, like it or not.

Some folks are going to be laid off at the end of this process, some are going to have their pay or hours reduced, and neither outcome is going to be limited to the folks on the front line.