Executive order plague?
Posted by Brad at 6:49pm Monday, January 19, 2009
Fried Green Onions laments:
This executive order plague by W Bush and the planned executive order blitz by Obama seems to be legislative usurpation.
What is congress been doing? Setting on their hands.
Has the death of the Republic already happened and I am the last to know.
Well, the reality is that George W. Bush is actually below the median. In fact, according to the Executive Orders Disposition Tables Index, which lists all the presidents since Herbert Hoover, only three presidents — Bush 41, Ford and Kennedy — had fewer executive orders. Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Nixon, Johnson, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt and Hoover all had more — and some alot more. Here are how those presidents rank from most to least:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt — 3,467 executive orders issued
- Herbert Hoover — 1,011 executive orders issued
- Harry S. Truman — 894 executive orders issued
- Dwight D. Eisenhower — 482 executive orders issued
- Ronald Reagan — 381 executive orders issued
- William J. Clinton — 364 executive orders issued
- Richard Nixon — 346 executive orders issued
- Lyndon B. Johnson — 324 executive orders issued
- Jimmy Carter — 320 executive orders issued
- George W. Bush — 289 executive orders issued
- John F. Kennedy — 214 executive orders issued
- Gerald R. Ford — 169 executive orders issued
- George H.W. Bush — 166 executive orders issued
On Jan 19, 2009, vesta44 said:
I would be curious to know how many of the executive orders of other presidents lessened our civil/constitutional rights compared to GWB’s.
On Jan 19, 2009, Brad said:
Well, that’s a whole different discussion.
On Jan 19, 2009, Jim said:
So instead of my topic you choose to try to make me look stupid about BushW’s rank in the number of executive orders by past Presidents which had nothing to do with my subject.
funny segway…typical liberal…be sure an check my spelin for u leave.
On Jan 20, 2009, Brad said:
The premise of your topic was unsound. My point was that W’s use of executive orders and “the planned executive order blitz by Obama” is nothing new. It may very well be “legislative usurpation,” but it’s been done for the last century. So, unless you think “the death of Republic” has been an amazingly long one, your point seems to be a little lost within history.
Did you have this much problem with Reagan’s use of executive orders or Nixon’s or Ike’s? As you know, I’m no fan of W’s, but this is not a recent development, and if anything, the trend has been fewer executive orders as time has gone by.
So, what is your point? Were you really upset about W’s use or were you more likely setting the stage to complain of Obama’s “unprecedented” use of executive orders?