History of Executive Orders Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) insisted that when it comes to executive orders, Obama should follow the examples set by Reagan and Clinton. McConnell is completely unaware of the fact that among presidents in the latter half of the 20th century, Reagan and Clinton issued more executive orders than any other presidents – and far more than Obama. What I suspect many on the right have done is start with an ideologically satisfying premise – Obama is a radical, power-hungry, extremist dictator – and then work backwards in the hopes of bolstering the thesis. But the endeavor clearly isn’t going well, largely because conservative activists and lawmakers don’t understand history as well as they think they do. “Can you believe Obama is issuing executive orders?” Well, yes, every president has issued executive orders, and Obama has issued fewer than any in over a century. “Can you believe Obama has relied on czars?” Well, sure, most all recent presidents have had czars and no one considered it controversial until 2009. “Can you believe Obama’s health care policy forces consumers to buy something?” Actually, the practice goes back to George Washington. “Can you believe Obama has made recess appointments?” Yep, because every modern president has made recess appointments. “Can you believe Obama has decided not to defend certain federal laws against court challenges?” Sure, but most modern presidents have done the same thing. msnbc/rachel-maddow-show/dont-know-much-about-history-0
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 14:35:32 +0000
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