Tillis, Stam talk to AFP

House Speaker Thom Tillis was on hand today to welcome members of conservative group Americans for Prosperity who came to rally to encourage lawmakers to override Gov. Perdue’s many vetoes.

Tillis was introduced by AFPNC chief Dallas Woodhouse, who praised House lawmakers for the three veto overrides they accomplished Monday.

I am proud to say that ten Democrats joind the Republicans in overriding the governor’s petulant, partisan, and politically mistimed veto of medical malpractice reform,” Woodhouse told the crowd. “And if you are in a small town in North Carolina, you can write it down that in the next few years, you will have better access to quality healthcare because the trial lawyers in North Carolina have been soundly defeated.”

The crowd of several dozen, clad in bright-colored t-shirts, cheered Woodhouse’s remarks. They cheered for House Majority Leader Skip Stam, too.

“They hear you in there,” Stam told the rally. “They hear you loud and clear, and it’s great.”

But the headliner was clearly Tillis.

“I’m sorry,” Tillis told the rally. “I know some of y’all we’re coming to see us override votes that were taken yesterday. Very seldom does a politician have to apologize for doing something sooner than you expected,” he joked.

Tillis derided Democrats who argued that some of Monday’s vetoes should be upheld because the bills were 90 percent good but 10 percent flawed

“I’ve been here for four years, and I’ve never seen a 100% bill,” Tillis said. “That’s exactly why we ended up getting a number of brave Democrats to vote with us to get these bills into law.”

Tillis promised the crowd a veto override vote today, a promise that was kept three times over. “As I’ve told the governor and the governor’s staff, every veto will stay alive as long as we’re in session, and we’ll continue to work to get the votes and overturn what we think were bad decisions about good policy.” 

“You all are the bedrock of what we look at to give us strength, because a lot of times you get criticism for tough choices,” Tillis said. “And please make it very clear to the folks who are voting against our policy – November of 2012 is gonna come very soon.”

Watch the video here (and again, sorry – I’m not much of a photographer.)