James Traficant: “I support our troops like every American. Saddam Hussein deserves this. He earned it. He had it coming. But I do not…”

“I support our troops like every American. Saddam Hussein deserves this. He earned it. He had it coming. But I do not support this process. What has happened to the backbone of the Congress of the United States? We have allowed the executive branch to usurp nearly all of our authority. If these were political actions, we would send the police. If these were peacekeeping missions, we would send the Peace Corps. Ladies and gentlemen, what we are doing is placing troops on foreign soil in harm's way that could precipitate a major problem and the truth of the matter is we are allowing one person to do this. We all support our troops after the fact. I say it is time to throw out the War Powers Act. Throw it out. Get back to the Constitution. My God, no one man in America should be able to declare war, and that is where we are. What is even more problematic today is there are many skeptics out there. Everybody is afraid to say what they feel down here. From patriots to 'Wag the Dog' skeptics, people are questioning motives. I blame Congress for this. If we get back to the Constitution, do it the right way, we would never allow doubt and politics to raise their ugly head when our troops are in foreign lands under attack. God almighty, what has happened to us? Yes, maybe the constitutional process is clumsy, maybe it lacks surprises but you know what? Doing it the right way will not only save lives, it will ensure our great republic and our freedom.”