Charles Rangel: “My colleagues, some of you may have read that the protesters at Wall Street are now being subjected to attacks by the…”

“My colleagues, some of you may have read that the protesters at Wall Street are now being subjected to attacks by the police and law enforcement for loitering and other violations. There is no question in anyone's mind that the right to free speech has restrictions and it's not an open end and we have to be considerate of the people who are adversely affected. But there is also a moral issue, in addition to the constitutional issue, that no one can challenge that these protesters have brought to the attention of the American people: the fact that we have a moral obligation to take care of those people who are vulnerable, take care of those people who are sick, take care of the people that are aged and our children, not just before birth but after birth. The fact that we are talking about turning these questions over to 12 Members of Congress--it's not just unconstitutional; it is immoral. So I'm calling on the spiritual leaders of our country: Don't leave this vacuum. Bring in the Catholics and Protestants and all the religions to say there's something wrong with the formula that we have for the poor. ____________________”