Historic perspective on Executive Orders shows double standard for Boehner
So it turns out that when Republicans do something, it’s ok, but when Democrats do something similar it isn’t ok. House Speaker John Boehner is suing (or at least will try to sue) President Obama and the Office of the President of the United States for signing a series of Executive Orders that he feels are illegal and excessive.
The real facts? It turns out if you compare President Obama to other presidents his number is among the lowest. Oops.
Here’s a fun meme I caught online about it
Here’s a helpful timeline of Executive Orders per day via the MaddowBlog
And here’s the data that proves the point:
Executive Orders: Washington – Obama via The American Presidency Project
Term |
Total Orders1
|
Average / Year | EO Number Range | ||
George Washington | Total | 8 | 1.00 | unnumbered | |
John Adams | Total | 1 | 0.25 | unnumbered | |
Thomas Jefferson | Total | 4 | 0.50 | unnumbered | |
James Madison | Total | 1 | 0.13 | unnumbered | |
James Monroe | Total | 0.13 | unnumbered | ||
John Quincy Adams | Total | 3 | 0.75 | unnumbered | |
Andrew Jackson | Total | 1.50 | unnumbered | ||
Martin van Buren | Total | 10 | 2.50 | unnumbered | |
William Henry Harrison | Total | 0 | unnumbered | ||
John Tyler | Total | 17 | 4.34 | unnumbered | |
James K. Polk | Total | 4.50 | unnumbered | ||
Zachary Taylor | Total | 5 | 3.71 | unnumbered | |
Millard Fillmore | Total | 12 | 4.52 | unnumbered | |
Franklin Pierce | Total | 8.75 | unnumbered | ||
James Buchanan | Total | 16 | 4.00 | unnumbered | |
Abraham Lincoln | Total | 48 | 11.66 | unnumbered | |
Andrew Johnson | Total | 20.32 | unnumbered | ||
Ulysses S. Grant | Total | 217 | 27.13 | unnumbered | |
Rutherford B. Hayes | Total | 23.00 | unnumbered | ||
James Garfield | Total | 6 | 11.00 | unnumbered | |
Chester Arthur | Total | 96 | 27.77 | unnumbered | |
Grover Cleveland – I | Total | 113 | 28.25 | unnumbered | |
Benjamin Harrison | Total | 35.75 | unnumbered | ||
Grover Cleveland – II | Total | 140 | 35.00 | unnumbered | |
William McKinley | Total | 40.83 | unnumbered | ||
Theodore Roosevelt | Total | 1,081 | 144.64 | ||
William Howard Taft | Total | 181.00 | |||
Woodrow Wilson | Total | 1,803 | 225.38 | ||
Warren G. Harding | Total | 216.27 | |||
Calvin Coolidge | Total | 1,203 | 215.14 | ||
Herbert Hoover | Total | 968 | 242.00 | 5075 – 6070 | |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | Total | 3,522 | 290.71 | 6071 – 9537 | |
Harry S. Truman | Total | 116.57 | 9538 – 10431 | ||
I | 504 | 133.40 | 9538 – 10029 | ||
II | 403 | 100.75 | 10030 – 10431 | ||
Dwight D. Eisenhower | Total | 484 | 60.50 | 10432 – 10913 | |
I | 266 | 66.50 | 10432 – 10695-A | ||
II | 218 | 54.50 | 10696 – 10913 | ||
John F. Kennedy | Total | 214 | 75.40 | 10914 – 11127 | |
Lyndon B. Johnson | Total | 62.90 | 11128 – 11451 | ||
Richard Nixon | Total | 346 | 62.30 | 11452 – 11797 | |
I | 247 | 61.75 | 11452 – 11698 | ||
II | 99 | 63.87 | 11699 – 11797 | ||
Gerald R. Ford | Total | 68.92 | 11798 – 11966 | ||
Jimmy Carter | Total | 320 | 80.00 | 11967 – 12286 | |
Ronald Reagan | Total | 47.63 | 12287 – 12667 | ||
I | 213 | 53.25 | 12287 – 12499 | ||
II | 168 | 42.00 | 12500 – 12667 | ||
George Bush | Total | 166 | 41.50 | 12668 – 12833 | |
William J. Clinton | Total | 364 | 45.50 | 12834 – 13197 | |
I | 200 | 50.00 | 12834 – 13033 | ||
II | 164 | 41.00 | 13034 – 13197 | ||
George W. Bush | Total | 36.38 | 13198 – 13488 | ||
I | 173 | 43.25 | 13198 – 13370 | ||
II | 118 | 29.50 | 13371 – 13488 | ||
Barack Obama | Total | 182 | 33.58 | 13489 – 13670… | |
I | 147 | 36.75 | 13489 – 13635 | ||
II | 35 | 24.65 | 13636 – 13670… |