Republicans stamp their little footsies like the big crybabies they are

The Republicans have got to be the biggest bunch of hypocrites alive! (And trust me, they are alive, so be careful around them.)

Up in Ohio, Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has made use of his privilege to issue executive orders on certain issues, ranging from government ethics to welfare to how much steel that trucks are allowed to carry. As long as he doesn't violate any laws, this practice is legal and protected by Ohio law.

See, that's what happens when people elect you governor. You get to do these things. And the other side gets to whine about them.

The Republicans, who still control the right-wing state legislature, are crying foul over this because...well, something. Even though what Strickland is doing is perfectly legal. This is all the more hypocritical because the previous governor, disgraced Republican Bob Taft, issued not just a few executive orders, but 238 of them!

And look at what Bush has done. Bush hasn't just issued executive orders in cases where he's allowed to, but also where it illegally overrides a law passed by Congress. For instance, in 2003, Bush used an executive order to practically gut the law that protected emergency room patients from being turned away for failing to prove ahead of time that they could pay for their treatment. It's part of Bush's "unitary presidency" (dictatorship), ya know. The media has pretty much swept Bush's act under the rug, even though it was illegal for him to issue the order, as it contradicted a federal law.

Republican State Rep. Kevin DeWine cried, "Ohioans are not well-served with government by executive order, but the governor continues to issue these edicts as though he's been anointed to a monarchy rather than elected to work with a bipartisan legislature." Well, what in the Wide, Wide World Of Sports do you think Bush has done?

Sounds to us like somebody has a bad case of sore loser syndrome.

The same double standard is seen regarding Venezuela. The right-wing media in the U.S. moans about Hugo Chavez issuing executive orders, even though it's perfectly constitutional and the national legislature specifically authorized him to do so. Yet back in the 1980s when Venezuela had a right-wing President who made use of "rule by decree", the media never raised a peep. According to the Spanish-language version of the omnipotent Wikipedia, Venezuela in the '80s had a conservative President who issued a decree stating that all public school students were required to wear uniforms. Where was the press to complain about that?

As an avid student of democratic republicanism, I personally think executive orders should be used only sparingly. But yep, there's a time and place for 'em, as long as they don't conflict with any law. In short, the GOP's bleatings are nothing but sour grapes. Again.

(Source: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/NEWS01/708270358)