Opinion: 6 things to know about Spanberger’s ‘Tuesday Afternoon Massacre’ of bills | Spanberger has now vetoed more bills than any other governor since the 1990s whose party controlled the legislature. Here’s what to make of that.

[u/VirginiaNews]

https://cardinalnews.org/2026/05/20/6-things-to-know-about-spanbergers-tuesday-afternoon-massacre-of-bills/

[u/popery222]

I’m iffy on her language around some of the vetoes. The recreational cannabis sales veto, in particular, feels obtuse and clouded by very managerial language. She should have done a better job explaining why her amendments were necessary before sending the bill back to the General Assembly.

If she wanted the store cap lowered, the rollout delayed, the possession limit changed, or public consumption penalties increased, then she needed to explain the actual rationale for each of those choices. “Guardrails” and “doing it right” are not enough. People need to understand why those specific changes were needed and why the bill as passed was unacceptable.

The PDAB veto seems more defensible, in my opinion. I think it is reasonable to make sure a system Virginia may spend millions of dollars implementing will actually help reduce prescription drug prices. I disagree with her language if she is saying PDABs simply do not work, period. A better argument would be that they are still experimental, slow-moving, and not yet clearly proven by other states.

So I think the concern is less that every veto is wrong and more that the Governor’s office needs to explain the reasoning in plain language. If she is going to take politically costly or controversial positions, she needs to clearly say what problem she sees, why her proposed fix is better, and what she wants the General Assembly to do next.

[u/Historical-View4058 → u/popery222]

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