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Barbara Lee

News: Self-described 'Army brat' Barbara Lee = explains=20 why she cast Congress' only vote against giving the president a free = hand to=20 attack suspected terrorists.

By Bill Hogan

September 20, 2001 =

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"It was a vote of conscience," says California Democratic = Representative=20 Barbara Lee.=20

On September 15, the US Congress approved a resolution authorizing = President=20 Bush to use "all necessary and appropriate force" against anyone = associated with=20 the terrorist attacks of September 11. The measure passed 98-0 in the = Senate and=20 420-1 in the House. The lone dissenting vote was a colonel's daughter = and=20 longtime maverick from California -- Democrat Barbara Lee.=20

"I am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of = international terrorism against the United States," Lee said on the House floor on Sept. 15. "There must = be some=20 of us who say, 'Let's step back for a moment and think through the = implications=20 of our actions today -- let us more fully understand the consequences.'" =

In the emotionally charged aftermath of the terrorist attacks, Lee's = lone=20 vote of dissent brought gridlock to the telephone system in her Capitol = Hill=20 office and threats against her life. In the wake of the vote, the = Capitol Police=20 assigned a detail of plainclothes officers to guard Lee 24 hours a day.=20

Lee, whose congressional district includes the liberal bastions of = Berkeley=20 and Oakland, is a former social worker who got her start in politics as = an aide=20 to legendary progressive Rep. Ron Dellums. When Dellums retired in 1998, = Lee won=20 his seat; she was reelected last year with 85 percent of the vote.=20

Lee, the daughter of a retired lieutenant colonel in the US Army, = insists=20 that she isn't a pacifist. Inevitably, however, she has been compared to = Jeanette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, who in 1917 voted = against=20 the United States's entry into World War I and, later in her career, = voted=20 against declaring war on Japan in the wake of the bombing of Pearl = Harbor.=20

This is not the first time Lee has taken a lonely stand against = military=20 action. In 1998, she was one of only five members of the House to vote = against=20 authorizing the bombing of Iraq over its refusal to allow weapons = inspections by=20 the United Nations. In 1999, she was the only member of the House to = vote=20 against sending US forces into Yugoslavia. Lee spoke with = MotherJones.com on=20 Sept. 19.=20

Mother Jones: I read that you made up your mind as you were = sitting in=20 the National Cathedral during the prayer service for the victims. You = listened,=20 as so many Americans did, to the dean of the National Cathedral as he = prayed=20 that "as we act, we not become the evil we deplore." At that moment, you = said,=20 you knew what you had to do.=20

Barbara Lee: Well, the vote was a very agonizing vote. Like = the=20 nation, I'm grieving and searching, in mourning, angry, trying to sort = through=20 all my feelings. I think everyone is doing that. And of course the = memorial=20 service was a time to really stop and reflect on all those who so = tragically=20 died, the victims and their families, and what an appropriate = testimonial to=20 them would be. ... And so in that context I was listening to the members = of the=20 clergy, searching to try and see if I could find some direction and = clarity. You=20 know, in moments like these -- when you're agonizing, when you're = uncertain in=20 terms of the ramifications of any very serious actions that you're going = to take=20 -- you have to go within, and use your head and your heart, and all the=20 faculties that you have, to try to make decisions. And so, as I thought = about=20 that one line in the prayer, I said, "You know, this is the right vote = -- you've=20 got to vote no."=20

MJ: Did you know before casting your vote that you were likely = to be=20 the only dissenting member of Congress?=20

Lee: Oh, no -- I did not know that. Many members have these = same=20 concerns. The use of restraint is of concern to a lot of them. We don't = want to=20 see this spiral out of control; we don't want to see the cycle of = violence=20 continue.=20

We all agree that we've got to bring these terrorists to justice and = to make=20 sure that they're never allowed to perpetrate such an evil act as they = did. And=20 so all of us are dealing with that. We know that the President has the = authority=20 to go to war under the War Powers Act. The Congress has a responsibility = to=20 provide the checks and balances and to exercise some oversight. I don't = believe=20 that we should disenfranchise the people of America in the war-making=20 decision-making process. At least minimally, we should be able to know = which=20 nation we're planning to attack and have some input into that. We should = know=20 what the exit strategy is. I'm not talking about all the details of a = war plan,=20 but certainly we should have more than a five-hour debate. To me, that's = just=20 not the best way to make public policy.=20

I'm convinced that Congress's role in this is to look at every = dimension of=20 international terrorism and to help develop a strategy to combat it, to = stamp it=20 out, and ensure the safety of our country. That's why I voted for the = $40=20 billion [disaster recovery and antiterrorism package]. You know, some = people=20 don't think I should have voted for that. But I'm convinced that we've = got to=20 secure our airports, finance anti-terrorism programs, and provide the = resources=20 needed to deal with this -- as well as to help the communities recover, = and the=20 families of the victims.=20

Some people were calling me un-American and all that. I know that I'm = unified=20 with our country. I feel and I know that my actions are as American as = anyone=20 else's. I'm trying to preserve the people's right to have some kind of = oversight=20 and some say in the cycle of violence that could occur if we go into war = without=20 an end in sight.=20

MJ: Were you prepared, coming off the floor of the House, for = what was=20 to follow? I read, for example, that you have been assigned bodyguards.=20

Lee: I knew when I realized that I was the only "no" vote that = there'd=20 be a lot of attention. But it wasn't a calculated vote. It was a vote of = conscience. So I had not planned what the consequences were. You know, = people=20 are angry, they're frustrated. I try to explain my position, but there = are some=20 people who are just angry, and that's understandable. But I believe that = many=20 people in our country -- in the way the e-mails, the faxes, and letters = are=20 coming in -- are beginning to understand what the use of restraint = means. And=20 believe me, they understand when you explain that this resolution gives = up a=20 congressional role in declaring war against a sovereign nation. And = that's a=20 fact, that's what this does. ... And that does not mean that you don't = want=20 these terrorists to come to justice, that you don't want to stamp out = terrorism.=20 That's not even a question.=20

I believe that the fervor and the pain of the moment have caused = people,=20 understandably, to react emotionally. And all I'm saying is that = Congress should=20 step back. Congress has got to be the body of government that does that. = We are=20 not the CIA, we are not the FBI, we are not the White House, we are not = the=20 Defense Department. We are the United States Congress; we have our role. = And we=20 can't give up that role during a national-security crisis. The President = already=20 has his role and his authority to do what he needs to do. We do have a = unique=20 position, and our Constitution demands it. And for those of us who love = America=20 and consider ourselves good Americans, pro-Americans, waving the flag, = we want=20 to preserve that democracy, especially in times of crisis, and we want = to=20 preserve civil liberties, and we know and understand that it's got to be = balanced with public safety. Because we've got to secure the country, = make sure=20 that lives are not lost, and ensure that none of our actions create a = spiral=20 that could get out of control.=20

MJ: Do you feel, after the initial blast of anger, that you're = hearing=20 more from people who are in support of your position?=20

Lee: I think it's changed. We're keeping really good tabs on = e-mails=20 and calls. We haven't, of course, sorted through all of them, but = nationally=20 they're running, I think, 60, 70 percent support, and in my district = we're up to=20 80 percent.=20

MJ: Do you think that our civil liberties are in danger in the = aftermath of this tragedy? There's talk, for example, of changing the = wiretap=20 laws.=20

Lee: I think that there's going to be a rush to judgment on = civil=20 liberties, and a clamping down, a suspension of our democratic rights. = And I=20 believe that those who are good Americans would want to see this not = happen and=20 that we debate how to find a balance between the public safety and the=20 protection of civil liberties. But if you have a five-hour debate, a = rush to=20 judgment, on a bill that Attorney General [John] Ashcroft puts forward, = and you=20 don't give the Congress any political support to oppose that or to = provide ways=20 to ensure this balance, you're in for a very scary period. We've got to = be=20 vigilant.=20

MJ: Do you think there are enough members of Congress who are=20 concerned about the civil-liberties issues?=20

Lee: I hope so. ... Somehow the public -- once we bury our = dead and=20 get out of this mourning period -- has got to be on the Congress = consistently=20 with regard to their input into this. We gave away that franchise in the = resolution on war-making powers. But on civil liberties, it's not too = late.=20

MJ: Have any of your colleagues been angry with you?=20

Lee: Oh, no. Even Republicans with whom I disagree = ideologically have=20 told me that even though they really disagree with my vote they at least = know=20 that I believe in something. Many very conservative members have been = quite=20 respectful. I think that they all are struggling through this. This was = not any=20 vote I cast to demonstrate any hostility toward any person or party or = the=20 Administration.=20

MJ: Last Friday night, on the House floor, you cited Wayne = Morse, one=20 of two senators who voted against the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin resolution, = which gave=20 President Lyndon Johnson the power to wage war in Vietnam. You quoted = Morse as=20 saying, "I believe that history will record that we have made a grave = mistake in=20 subverting and circumventing the Constitution of the United States." = Then you=20 added: "Senator Morse was correct, and I fear we make the same mistake = today."=20 But don't you think that there's a loss of institutional memory on = Capitol Hill,=20 that there are Members of Congress who would say, "Wayne who?"=20

Lee: Oh, yes. So much today is poll-driven. You know, we need = people=20 to become empowered at this moment, now that our civil liberties are = being=20 eroded. We need people to become more involved in the political process. = I=20 believe that firmly.=20

I wish the press were paying more attention to the erosion of the=20 Constitution and the slippery slope that we're getting into, by giving = up the=20 right of the Congress to talk about when and how and where we go to war. = I don't=20 think that's been covered enough, and it should be. That's an important = right to=20 preserve in a state of national crisis such as this.

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Comments:

Talk about softball questions. How about = asking her=20 "what is the most effective way to stop terrorists from attacking our = country?"=20 Read what the terroirsts say. They are not rational people who just want = a=20 redress of grievances. They have an irrational, pathological hatred of = the West,=20 particlularly the US and Israel--and they let their hatred blind them = from=20 improving their own lives. I'm against the Iraq War, but I think that=20 Congresswoman Lee's argument is incomplete and takes away credibility = from the=20 anti-Iraq War movement.

Posted by:Brady01June 18, 2007 4:19:13 PMRespond=20 ^

I FEEL Barbara Lee is the ONLY real person of = leadership=20 in this country--what a beautiful, courageous, and prove-to-be-right-on = lady she=20 is!! (thanks for letting me comment)

Posted by:Jeannie = JacksonJune 23, 2007 5:38:01 = PMRespond=20 ^

Hey Barbara, The money you loaned to the Black = Muslim=20 Bakery never paid it back. They bought a new Cadallic, the fools. You = were also=20 a fool along with Dellums for backing them.

Posted by:Ron=20 DavisOctober 10, 2007 6:58:20 = AMRespond=20 ^

She was right to vote against a war which was = foolhardy=20 and rash in its nature, im not against aggressive opperations in = 'terrorist'=20 centres, but i belive if the US and the UK for that matter had thought = more=20 about the implications of there actions many soilders lives would have = been=20 saved.

Posted by:Pete = Scholes=20 (England)October 15, 2007 12:49:44=20 PMRespond=20 ^

California Democratic Representative Barbara = Lee seems=20 to have been the only one in the House that day to vote both with her = heart and=20 with her head. All the rest are responsible for making Bush a true war = criminal=20 that day. Cowards, shame on them all!

Posted by:James=20 CreedenDecember 6, 2007 7:09:09 = AMRespond=20 ^

I agree with James Creden 100% - How many more = families=20 will suffer next year because we have a voluntarily deaf president? (not = to=20 mention dumb as well).

Posted by:Jeannie = JacksonDecember 11, 2007 8:38:22 = PMRespond=20 ^

Exemplifies the teachings of = Christ:
"Blessed are the=20 peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God"

Posted by:Jaiboy=20 JosephMarch 5, 2008 8:39:21 = PMRespond=20 ^

This congresswoman could only be elected in = California.=20 I can not believe that she would vote against this after what had just = happened=20 on 9/11. Shame on you Congresswoman Lee, Shame on you!

Posted by:RCDLMarch 24, 2008 8:09:09 AMRespond=20 ^

Could not have said it better RCDL!

Posted by:CALFORMCCAINMarch 24, 2008=20 8:10:20 AMRespond=20 ^


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