Tag: Pres. Clinton

Initial Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level Since Clinton Left Office

Jon Ponder

chart-jobless-claims-2000-2014

“The number of people who applied for U.S. jobless benefits fell 23,000 to 264,000 in the week that ended Oct. 11, hitting the lowest level since April 2000, showing that employers are laying off few workers, according to government data released Thursday,” Marketwatch reports. April 2000 was three months after Pres. Clinton left office. The chart above from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that employment never recovered during the six years Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress. The chart also shows that unemployment surged in advance of the financial collapse on Bush’s watch and only began to recover very slowly after the Stimulus kicked in. It’s impossible to say how much more quickly employment might have rebounded if Republicans in Congress and GOP governors hadn’t deliberately stalled the recovery by cutting funding to government services and employment.

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Contrary to GOP/Tea Party Spin, Pres. Obama Has Issued Fewer Than 200 Executive Orders – Bush, Who Had a ‘Rubberstamp Congress,’ Issued 291

Jon Ponder

In a gambit to lay the groundwork for impeachment, the GOP leadership has announced plans to sue Pres. Obama on grounds that he has abused his authority by issuing executive orders to implement policies.

In their single terms in office, Republican presidents Theodore Roosevelt issued 1,081 EOs, Calvin Coolidge issued 1,203 orders and Herbert Hoover issued 968. Richard Nixon issued 346 EOs in his five years in office, and tea-party patron saint Ronald Reagan issued 381 executive orders during his two terms.

In support of the lawsuit, the usual suspects on the right have been making outrageous claims about the number of executive orders the president has issued — the most extravagant of which asserts that he’s issued more than 900 so-called EOs. The actual number is much lower, fewer than 200, so far. By contrast, George W. Bush signed 291 EOs.

Not surprisingly, the U.S. president who issued the most executive orders was Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat who served four terms. Republican presidents have issued more than their share of EOs, too, of course. In their single terms, Republicans Theodore Roosevelt issued 1,081 EOs, Calvin Coolidge issued 1,203 orders and Herbert Hoover issued 968. Richard Nixon issued 346 EOs in his five years in office, and tea-party patron saint Ronald Reagan issued 381 executive orders during his two terms.

The chart below shows the exact numbers for all presidents going back to 1901. To see a complete list going back to Pres. Washington, visit the American Presidency Project.

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Bill Clinton Finally Supports Same-Sex Marriage

Trish

Good news gay people! Former Pres. Bill Clinton is finally feelin’ your pain. And while we love the former president, and totally respect the longevity of his marriage, and fully realize that the only ones who know what’s really going on in a relationship are the two people in it…Well, still, as far as him making any statements on marriage…Just saying.