Fitzpatrick Talks National Security with Ann's Choice Residents

The death of Moammar Qadhafi was good news for the future of Libya, but the United States needs to be ever-vigilant on the Middle East nation's post-Qadhafi progress, Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick told a group of 50 members of the Ann's Choice Political Interest Group last week.

Appearing before the non-partisan group of residents just days after Qadhafi's death, Fitzpatrick used the recent event, as well as the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki to illustrate that the Middle East is going through major changes.

"These are transformational times," said Fitzpatrick. "We want people to have freedom and liberty and empower citizens to take responsibility for their country's future, but we also have to question how involved the U.S. should be."

The discussion soon moved to more general topics and current events, mainly the U.S. economy and the gridlock in Washington. The retirement community's political interest group is advertised as a non-partisan gathering to discuss the issues of the day, but defenders and detractors or President Obama took turns making their point.

Fitzpatrick brought up the environment of the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan took office to a crumbling economy, but managed to reform the tax code by working with Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill and a Democratically controlled House of Representatives. The reverse was later true for President Bill Clinton, who worked with Speaker Newt Gingrich to enact welfare reform and create a budget surplus, Fitzpatrick said.

"When our government was most divided," said Fitzpatrick, "that's when we did great things."

Following the discussion, Fitzpatrick met with several members of the Ann's Choice Veterans' Group and presented them with a U.S. flag that he had flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. After the presentation, the flag was raised in the Liberty Commons Clubhouse Courtyard.