Comment by Terry Bressi

Entered on: 12/1/2007 11:35:17 PM

The first time I ever paid any real attention to Hyde was when Congressman Ron Paul demanded that Congress either follow the Constitution and declare war in Iraq or not authorize the president to invade the country.

Hyde, who was the ranking member of the International Relations Committee at the time, responded on the record by stating:

**QQ**There are things in the Constitution that have been overtaken by events, by time. Declaration of war is one of them. There are things no longer relevant to a modern society. Why declare war if you don**Q**t have to? We are saying to the President, use your judgment. So, to demand that we declare war is to strengthen something to death. You have got a hammerlock on this situation, and it is not called for. Inappropriate, anachronistic, it isn**Q**t done anymore.**QQ**

Besides the obvious contempt he showed for the founding document he swore an oath to 16 times while in public office, Hyde also supported many a gun control bill during his 32 years as a Congressman.

In other words, Hyde enjoyed a long career doing to the Constitution and Bill of Rights what is displayed in the graphic associated with this article.