“We Don’t Need No Stinking Constitution”

“We don’t need no stinking Constitution. And we sure don’t need no advice and consent from Congress. National sovereignty? Oh, please! That’s so twentieth-century.” At least that seems to be Barack Obama’s position today.


Obama thumbed his nose at Congress and the American people when he authorized the use of American military assets to invoke a no-fly zone over Libya. If news reports are accurate, Obama called Congressional leaders to the White House Saturday, not to discuss with them the pros and cons of U.S. involvement in the Libyan civil war. No, he called them over to inform them of the decision he had already made to commit U.S. forces to enforce a no-fly zone for the United Nations.

Now, there is no question that Muammar el-Qaddafi is a bad guy. Undoubtedly, the Libyan people will suffer greatly if he remains in power after the recent rebellion against his dictatorial rule. He promised to kill his opponents, and we know his ruthlessness in the past. Many innocent civilians have and will die unless he is removed.

Nonetheless, the United Nations’ resolution to order a no-fly zone over Libya to protect the rebels is a dangerous precedent. Our involvement is militarily unwise, financially disastrous, a threat to our national sovereignty, and constitutionally questionable.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich declared Obama’s decision an "impeachable offense” because of his failure to consult with Congress or get Congressional authorization beforehand. The Constitution in Article I, Section 8.11 is clear: Congress, not the President, holds the power “to declare war.”

Because of presidential abuses during the Vietnam era, Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973 to rein in the President. Under it, the President may engage U.S. troops only if the U.S. or its territories are under imminent threat of invasion by a foreign power or if U.S. citizens need to be extracted from an imminent threat in a foreign nation. Otherwise, the President must go to Congress to seek a declaration of war or a Congressional mandate prior to any military action involving U.S. troops. In no case, can the President use the U.S. military if “imminent hostilities” are expected to last for sixty days or more. Some exceptions allow the timeframe to be extended an additional thirty days.

Thus, technically, the President may have the right to engage U.S. forces without any Congressional consultation first under the War Powers Act. It should be noted, though, that many legal scholars consider the War Powers Act itself to be unconstitutional. It has yet to be fully tested in a Supreme Court case.

Obama is the first President to take military action without any consultation with Congress. Every other President, including the Left’s hated George W. Bush, has made his case to Congress and sought advice or a Congressional resolution before sending our military forces into harm’s way.

The irony is that Obama’s previous position was that it is unconstitutional for a President to go to war without Congressional approval. For example, in a December, 20, 2007 interview with Charlie Savage, a Boston Globe reporter, Obama said: “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”

Savage asked his question specifically in regards to bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities, if needed to stop their development of nuclear weapons. Then-Senator Obama elaborated, “As for the specific question about bombing suspected nuclear sites, I recently introduced S.J. Res. 23, which states in part that ‘any offensive military action taken by the United States against Iran must be explicitly authorized by Congress.’”

Today, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden enthusiastically support the sending of U.S. fighter pilots on the mission to ground Libya’s air defenses under the War Powers Act. They surely did not believe in it when Bush was President.

Savage asked Clinton the same question during her presidential campaign. Then-Senator Clinton gave a very similar answer to Obama’s regarding the War Powers Act. She supported Obama’s S.J. Res. 23 against bombing Iran without Congressional approval.

In 1998, then-Senator Joe Biden gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor in opposition to “monarchist” Presidents who sent troops into military actions without Congressional approval. He fully outlined the history and intent of the Founding Fathers regarding the Constitution’s restrictions on presidential powers to make war. In this speech, Biden criticized fellow Democrats President Harry S. Truman for his “police action” in Korea and President Bill Clinton for bombing Iraq under United Nations resolutions.