Concealed carry override: NRA is powerless

On Tuesday, the Assembly votes on whether or not to override Gov. Doyle's veto (for what seems like the zillionth time) of Sen. Dave Zien's concealed carry bill. It will be a close vote, by all accounts.

One thing to consider: last session, Rep. Gary Sherman (D-Port Wing), a co-author (!) of concealed carry, was the deciding vote against overriding the governor's veto. Sherman represents a northern, rural district that exemplifies NRA country. The gun lobby was enraged, and threw everything they had at him, even luring Sherman's predecessor, Barb Linton, out of retirement to run against him as a Republican.

Linton got slaughtered, and Sherman coasted to re-election. There is a lesson in this story for Assembly Dems who are sweating their votes on this issue.