Video: Nadler Says Obama Is Becoming An ‘Absolute Monarch’
In the above video, Representative Jerrold Nadler (D- New York) rebukes the president for continuing U.S. military operations in Libya past the 60 days authorized by Congress. This is, according to most legal scholars, a violation of both the 1973 War Powers Resolution and the 1941 War Powers Act. It is very unusual for a liberal Democrat member of Congress to publicly criticize a sitting Democrat president with such vigor.
From the video:
“We have been sliding for 70 years to a situation where Congress has nothing to do with the decision about whether to go to war or not, and the president is becoming an absolute monarch,” he said. “And we must put a stop to that right now, if we don’t want to become an empire instead of a republic … I think that the nation’s credibility, that is to say its promise to go to war as backed by the president, not by the Congress, ought to be damaged … We have to put our foot down and say no. And if foreign countries learn that they cannot depend on American military intervention unless Congress is aboard for the ride, good. That’s a good thing.”
-Rep. Jerrold Nadler
Rep. Jerrold Nadler represents New York’s 8th Congressional District. It includes Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, SoHo, Greenwich Village, TriBeCa, the Financial District and Battery Park City. In Brooklyn, the 8th District includes parts of Borough Park, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Seagate.