Rand Paul: Obama’s Actions in Syria ‘Unconstitutional’

[rush transcript]

PAUL: "The first thing I would do is to obey the Constitution. What President Obama is doing is unconstitutional, and our founding fathers were clear that the initiation of war, and the beginning of war and the declaration of war should be from the people's house, from Congress. And so even President Obama agreed with this when he ran for office in 2007 saying that no president should unilaterally go to war without the approval of congress, and he doesn't believe that much anymore, but I believe that it should be a debate and approval in Congress."
BLITZER: "Would you seek such authorization?"
PAUL: "I am against sending boots on the ground and daughters of Americans. I am against sending the sons there. And the last war was more chaotic, and less safe. If we want to be safer as a country and people, I don't back into there is a good idea believe sending 500,000 troops nor 50 is. So if you are going to war, sending 50 people to war at a time is a recipe for being surrounded and somehow having a disaster on your hands. so i would never put underwhelming force if we went to war, and there was a declaration of war, I would put overwhelming force and not mess around."
BLITZER: "And now, President Obama says he is going to order federal employers to ban the boxes, which is the box that the asks job applicants if they have a felony job application, because he says it makes it too difficult for prisoners who have served their time, and want to the start over to get a job with the federal government. are you with him on that?"
PAUL: "I'm with him on a lot of of the criminal justice reform, and on individual companies advising them the do it voluntarily, and yes, i'm for that, but for the federal government doing it, mostly yes. There can always be an exception to the rule, but obviously, federal child care and things like that, and there have to be more stringent rules on who has to be hired, but a guy who smoked pot or sold marijuana when they were 20 years old deserve a second chance and I'm a big believer in is second chances, so if we want to allow them to be employed and let them go away and particularly in non-violent crime."