Presidential Vetos
Dean
Thanks to Scott Eiland, I found this terrific tally of Presidential veto use throughout history. Contrary to what some in the comments to our earlier thread suggested, the fact that the President's party controls congress does not explain Bush's incredibly low number of vetos. Presidents FDR, Truman, Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Carter all enjoyed similar circumstances throughout most or all of their Presidencies, and used the veto infinitely more often than this President has.
Interestingly, the chart also gives some idea why Andrew Johnson was so hated by the Congress: he used the veto more than the previouis six of his predecessors combined. (Or was that a symptom, rather than a cause? Ah, history!)
Related Posts (on one page):
- Presidential Vetos
- Bush's Vetos
--|PW|--
I think that there are two issues. First, I don't think that Congress has done much that Bush would strongly oppose. I think the other is how someone sees the role of the President and the role of the veto power. To some, it is merely another power the president has, that should be used to correct policy as the president sees fit. To others, it is more of an emergency power to be used when circumstances are grave enough to justify it.
I suspect that Bush sees the veto power as more of a last resort option, and I suspect that congress has not passed a law during his presidency that, to him, warrants its use.
Possibilities:
- Democratic controlled Congresses are likely to push through legislation that even their own presidents think stinks.
- Republicans haven't had a break like this in a long time; the party as a whole is choosing their strongest issues first, to gather public support and consolidate their power.
- Bush wants the threat of veto to mean something; everyone knows he hasn't vetoed anything yet, so when he does everyone will know how much he cares about the issue at stake.
- Bush is holding back vetoes because, in general, he believes Congress is doing the will of the people, and he wants democracy to do its job. Only on issues that weigh on his conscience (stem cells?) will he bring excercise his veto power.
- Bush wants to garner as much support for his policies among Congress as possible. He sees the veto as working counter to that goal by making Congress more generally hostile with him. He'll start using it if Congress starts scuttling his ideas (like tax cuts, Soc Sec reform).
None of the above are exclusive. All of them probably play some role in the President's decisions so far.