The political Left is awash with ridicule and derision at House Speaker John Boehner over his announcement that he intends to sue President Obama over his abuse of execute orders. The Left claims hypocrisy on the part of Boehner and his GOP supporters because the historical record shows the following:
- President George W. Bush issued 291 executive orders
- President Bill Clinton issued 364 executive orders
- President Reagan issued 381 executive orders
By comparison, President Obama has issued only 168. However, the Left’s argument is entirely puerile because what is at issue is not the exact count of executive orders being issued, but the overreach into Congressional authority that Obama’s executive orders represent and his arbitrary interpretation of the law. Take for instance the delay in the Employer Mandate of Obamacare. That was already to have taken effect as the start date was mandated by law in the Affordable Care Act.
Nowhere in the law was the date subject to change as often as President Obama fancied. A delay in that mandate would require Congressional authorization which was not sought. Nor was congressional action sought when the small business penalty of the Affordable Care Act was delayed for a year, nor when the start date of the penalty for the individual mandate was delayed for 90 days. The Left may see Boehner’s actions as laughable, but would they feel the same way if George W. Bush had directed the Justice Department to not defend the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform measure because he found it unworthy of enforcement as Obama did with the Defense of Marriage Act?
Wouldn’t Bush have been behaving arbitrary in addition to derelict in his duties?