UPDATED: Jon Meacham Says Lincoln, FDR Never Tried To 'Rebuild America On An Executive Order'
Last edited Thu Jan 30, 2014, 02:34 PM - Edit history (2)
TOM KLUDT – JANUARY 30, 2014, 8:54 AM EST
The crew on "Morning Joe" once again turned to Jon Meacham on Thursday to provide an historical context for the show's steady drumbeat of conventional wisdom, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author sounded pretty skeptical of President Obama's pledge to take more executive actions.
"We make fun of the executive orders and that is in fact something that — you know, you never really heard Lincoln and FDR say, 'I'm going to rebuild America on an executive order," Meacham said. "You know, it's not something that resonates off the tongue."
Meacham's take was somewhat baffling. Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued more executive orders than any president, including some that helped usher in New Deal programs. And wasn't the Emancipation Proclamation an executive order?
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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jon-meacham-executive-order-fdr-lincoln-obama
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More commentary about Meacham the Historian:
By Matthew Yglesias
-snip-
I think it would be a bit crazy to compare the situation Barack Obama is dealing with in 2014 to the one facing the Lincoln administration in 1861 or the Roosevelt administration in 1933. But this is awful history.
Lincoln, for example, issued the Emancipation Proclamation as an extension of his war powers as commander in chief. It was kind of a big deal. FDR took the United States off the gold standard with Executive Order 6102, an extremely envelop-pushing reading of a World War I trade measure. FDR also used executive authority to close all banks across the country as part of an effort to stabilize the economy. Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.
Now if you want to make the case that this style of governance is not the best possible way to organize a democracy then I absolutely agree. But it is in fact how the American system is organized. Precisely because presidential authority is legally constrained, effective presidents and their teams spend a lot of time thinking up nonobvious ways to exercise that authority.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/01/30/meach_on_executive_orders.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content&mc_cid=f2102e4ff3&mc_eid=7a8b58c8c3
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UPDATE
Jon Meacham Says He Was 'Just Plain Wrong' With His Comment On Executive Orders
TOM KLUDT – JANUARY 30, 2014, 1:30 PM EST
Jon Meacham left quite a few people confused on Thursday morning when he suggested that neither Franklin D. Roosevelt nor Abraham Lincoln ever said they were "going to rebuild America on an executive order." It turns out that he was pretty baffled by what he said, too.
"I was at best imprecise and at worst just plain wrong today," Meacham said in a statement provided to TPM. "I did not say what I meant to say: that great presidential leadership requires not only executive action but public persuasion and legislative action."
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author said that he's written about plenty of presidents who used executive orders "often boldly and to the great consternation of their critics" to because that was the only way to implement their policies.
During an appearance on "Morning Joe," Meacham expressed skepticism toward President Obama's pledge to use more executive orders in his second term.
more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jon-meacham-executive-orders-fdr-lincoln-obama-apology
= new reply since forum marked as read
GWB used Executive Orders for all kinds of purposes, not all of which were appropriate. But they never complained when he did it. Am I wrong in saying that GWB issued secret Executive Orders?
Executive Order 13233 limited access to the records of former United States Presidents to a higher degree than the previous Order 12667, which it superseded. It was drafted by then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and issued by George W. Bush on November 1, 2001. Section 13 of Order 13233 revoked Executive Order 12667 which was issued by Ronald Reagan on January 18, 1989.
Executive Order 13233 was partially struck down in October 2007. The order was revoked on January 21, 2009 by Barack Obama's Executive Order 13489, which essentially restored most of the wording of Order 12667 with some modifications.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13233
Here is a list of GWB's executive orders:
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/orders/
Examples:
Here is one re: the labor relations of contractors, an issue rather similar to Obama's requiring a $10.10 wage for the employees of government contractors. So why the controversy?
Preservation of Open Competition and Government
Neutrality Towards Government Contractors' Labor
Relations on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C. 471 et seq., and in order to (1) promote and ensure open competi-tion on Federal and federally funded or assisted construction projects; (2) maintain Government neutrality towards Government contractors= labor relations on Federal and federally funded or assisted construction projects; (3) reduce construction costs to the Federal Government and to the taxpayers; (4) expand job opportunities, especially for small and disadvantaged businesses; and (5) prevent discrimination against Government contractors or their employees based upon labor affiliation or lack thereof; thereby promoting the economical, nondiscriminatory, and efficient administration and completion of Federal and federally funded or assisted construction projects, it is hereby ordered that:
Section 1. To the extent permitted by law, any executive agency awarding any construction contract after the date of this order, or obligating funds pursuant to such a contract, shall ensure that neither the awarding Government authority nor any construction manager acting on behalf of the Government shall, in its bid specifications, project agreements, or other controlling documents:
(a) Require or prohibit bidders, offerors, contractors, or subcontractors to enter into or adhere to agreements with one or more labor organizations, on the same or other related construction project(s); or
(b) Otherwise discriminate against bidders, offerors, contractors, or subcontractors for becoming or refusing to become or remain signatories or otherwise to adhere to agreements with one or more labor organizations, on the same or other related construction project(s).
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/02/20010221.html
Executive Order: Waiver Under the Trade Act of 1974 with Respect to Turkmenistan
RSS Feed White House News
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 402(c)(2) and (d) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the "Act"
19 U.S.C. 2432(c)(2) and (d)), and having made the report to the Congress set forth in section 402(c)(2), I hereby waive the application of subsections (a) and (b) of section 402 of the Act with respect to Turkmenistan.
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070629-10.html
