Common Sense For New Hampshire

It’s forcing him to pretend to be a Republican for the next couple of years.

In NJ.com:

Christie vetoes bill to ban smoking at N.J. parks, limit it at beaches

TRENTON — Smokers in New Jersey can relax.  (We can never relax.)

Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill tonight that would have banned smoking in public parks and limited lighting up at public beaches across the state.  (Yay!)

Under the measure — which had overwhelming support in both houses of the state Legislature  (Big surprise there.) — violators would have faced a $250 fine for the first offense, $500 for the second, and $1,000 for an additional offense.  ($1000!  For smoking a cigarette?  That seem fair to you?)

Environmentalists and anti-smoking advocates praised the bill as groundbreaking, saying it would curb secondhand smoke exposure, cut down on litter, and reduce the risks of fire. (:(

Christie said in his veto message that he appreciates the concerns but derided the measure a “prescriptive, one-size-fits-all” ban.  (I wonder if any one-size-fits-all stuff fits him.)

The Republican (I.N.O.) governor, considered a possible GOP candidate for president in 2016, suggested that state lawmakers were overstepping their bounds by proposing legislation that should come at a local level. (Bounds?  What’s that?)  It’s a notion that dovetails with the small-government views of conservative voters (a group that certainly does not include Christie), whom Christie would need to court in a bid for the White House.  (Of course principle has nothing to do with it but still, I’ll take it.)……………………….