It’s a unique event in American politics when you have three separate factions – the anti-war left, small government libertarians, and now a liberal urban Democrat – agreeing on the same thing, that is questioning President Barack Obama’s use of military force against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
On Monday’s “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network immediately following the president’s address about his military actions against Libya, New York Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel said he still has questions about those actions.
“It was a very patriotic speech, I felt proud to be an American but I feel even more proud to be guided by the Constitution,” Rangel said. “You know, that pilot that got shot down that the president talked about, was embraced as a friend. He could have been embraced as an enemy. You know, that happened in Iraq. And then what happened if we had to come and release him from being a hostage? In other words, come and tell that Congress why our young men and women should be placed in harm’s way.”
However, Rangel added that he is held accountable for Obama’s use of military force and that without Obama’s consultation of Congress, he said he was unable to explain what the president is doing.
“What is embarrassing as a member of Congress is that people come to us in our district and around the country like we know,” Rangel said. “And if we send their kids a place them in harm’s way, we should know. And to say they met with political leaders and not met with the Congress I think is wrong. That is the same questions I have tonight, I would have wanted answered and one of them is abundantly clear. You know the fiscal crisis we are coming through. All I want to know is that since we are benevolent and we know that the rebels could have been massacred by a bum guy that we have slept with, but he’s a bum, terrible man — where did we get the money in order to do this humane thing?”
“Freedom Watch” host Andrew Napolitano ask Rangel if he understood how Gaddafi became an enemy of the United States, especially since in the not-so distant past, Gaddafi’s son had been embraced by the American government.
“That doesn’t bother me because that’s the devil we knew,” Rangel replied. “I’m concerned with who in the heck are the rebels.”
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