Steve Bantly: Obama within his rights to get America moving
Re a letter criticizing President Obama for not being more cooperative (“Obama declares ‘war’,” Nov. 11) and not reaching out to Republicans after the midterm elections: the writer may have missed the reports of Obama’s luncheon the following day for Republican and Democratic legislators. At that luncheon, he pledged support of bipartisan action on immigration, and other legislation he finds acceptable.
Obama’s use of executive order is a prerogative granted all presidents. Obama’s 183 executive orders are modest compared to George W. Bush’s 291 or Reagan’s 381 (the all-time high is FDR’s 3,522 in 12 years!). Obama’s contemplated executive order mentioned in the letter, refers to bipartisan immigration legislation which passed the Senate over a year ago but has been stalled in the Republican House ever since. Obama has said he will take any legal action necessary to get this legislation moving, and is within his rights as president.
Since 2010, when Republicans gained the House, they have refused to vote on nearly all legislation, from immigration to tax reform, introduced by Democrats. This will get worse when they control the Senate. If any claims for not being more cooperative can be made, they can be laid at the feet of House Republicans.
Steve Bantly, Merced
This story was originally published December 4, 2014 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Steve Bantly: Obama within his rights to get America moving."