I had to work late on Saturday.

Since the end of the New Mexico Legislative session was noon on March 20, we newspaper kids (who usually work half-days on the weekends) had to wait until the legislators sent their last-minute bills and budget to the governor and banged the gavel down. The close of a two-month-long session full of hot air.

See, at the beginning of January, both sides (the governor's office and the top legislators) said they would endeavor to work together. And then they never talked to each other again.

So guess what happens when everyone agrees to ignore each other? A guaranteed special session (at the expense of the tax payers, of which I am one of many) to yell at each other some more.

It would be easier to take if there was something important at stake. It would make sense if there was too much for the legislature to tackle and they just ran out of time. It would make sense if a big issue (like Indian casinos a few years ago) needed a little time to hash out and come up with good legislation. But no, we're getting the governor's wholesale veto of every bill drawn up by the legislature (except for our Megan's Law bill), necessitating the special session.

And why, you may ask, is this happening? One reason. Governor Johnson isn't getting his way. And so he's got his big red "NO" pen out, spilling the blood (well, money) of New Mexico taxpayers all over the floor of the roundhouse.

What Governor Johnson wants are school vouchers. Never mind that no one in the state wants this--from public educators to private school administrators to legislators to regular people. Governor Johnson wants them, and the rest of us can fuck off.

Since I'm already half-way down this road, I might as well point out that the one fortunate thing about having Johnson re-elected is that we can, with some sense of purpose, call him Governor Big Dick.

So Big Dick isn't happy.

And the legislators aren't happy--well, they will get a few more paychecks because of the special session--but most aren't happy because they'd find a way to get paid overtime anyway.

And I'm not happy because I've got to talk about the state government again.

Here's the deal.

Government is about compromise. Especially when the legislature is dominated by one party (here it is the Democrats) and the governor is another (Johnson says he's Republican, but actually he's more like an island unto himself). Working together is necessary for anything to get done.

Many Republicans blame the legislators for this gridlock. And they are partially to blame, but they have acquiesced to a number of Johnson's "recommendations." Johnson, however, is not budging on anything.

It's not about getting along anymore. It's not about party politics anymore, either. It's about personal egos, and the Big Dick has a huge one.

No one wants school vouchers--how many times have I said that?

No one but the Big Dick.

The Big Dick needs to let his head shrink down a few inches, zip up his pants and get to work. The rest of us need to let him know he's being a big dick (his e-mail is: gov@gov.state.nm.us). Because he can't see the citizens for all the stars in his head.

Matt Worley got free pancakes at work, but he's still not happy.