Executive orders: how is Obama doing?

[zork]

Executive orders: how is Obama doing? Anyone care to put a historical context to how Obama has and is expected to use these powerful tools?

Do the recent raises given via EO generally originate from the Executive branch via Executive order for instance?

Is he just doing what the others have done or is he breaking new ground with his use of Executive orders?(not just the single example above) What do you think about it?

 

[Mr. Deez]

Obama's alleged abuse of the executive order is overblown. This puts it into historical perspective. Link. He has actually used the power less than others.

The federal employee pay raise was done by executive order. I honestly don't know if he had authority to do that or not. I don't fully understand the federal laws that set pay. I will say this though. If the congressional portion of the pay raise goes into effect before the 2014 election, I think it would violate the 27th Amendment. However, the DC circuit has said that the 27th Amendment doesn't impact a cost of living adjustment raise for members of Congress. I think that's ********.

I think executive orders that go beyond implementing a federal statute and try to set policy are on very shaky constitutional grounds. Probably the most extreme example was Executive Order 10340, in which Truman nationalized the steel industry in response to a strike. I don't condone the move, and the order was rightly struck down by the Supreme Court, but damn, he had some balls.