Thank you Barbara Lee

[senseandsensibility]

Last edited Thu Mar 7, 2024, 03:17 PM - Edit history (2)

I will disclose off the bat that I did not vote for her in the CA senate race. I have mixed feelings about that, but politics is about choosing and I had to choose.
Nevertheless, I love Barbara Lee. I think she is a giant figure and a moral leader who does not receive nearly enough credit for her contributions.

It bothered me that she seemed to be receiving less attention from the beginning than either Schiff or Porter. She deserved as much, and of course they are all wonderful. But Barbara Lee is special.

She is black and a woman. I know that on DU that does not need to be explained. It stands on its own. And, she was the only member, of any race or sex, who voted against the use of force in Afghanistan. Talk about courage.

Thank you, Barbara Lee.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Your points are well-made, my dear senseandsensibility!

I applaud your courage in your posting this.

[senseandsensibility]

2. Thanks CP!

It was quite the embarrassment of riches that we Dems had in the Senate race, wasn't it?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. That is for sure! nt

[multigraincracker]

3. One of my favorites has always

been Auntie Maxxine. (Sp).

[wryter2000]

5. She's my congresswoman

We love her in Oaktown. i voted for her, knowing full well she wouldn't win. Adam Schiff will be excellent. I hope to make phone calls for him (and for Colin Allred).

[elleng]

6. She truly IS a giant figure.

I'll never forget:

She "warned her colleagues to be 'careful not to embark on an open-ended war with neither an exit strategy nor a focused target'".[42] Lee has said:

It was a blank check to the president to attack anyone involved in the September 11 events—anywhere, in any country, without regard to our nation's long-term foreign policy, economic and national security interests, and without time limit. In granting these overly broad powers, the Congress failed its responsibility to understand the dimensions of its declaration. I could not support such a grant of war-making authority to the president; I believe it would put more innocent lives at risk. The president has the constitutional authority to protect the nation from further attack, and he has mobilized the armed forces to do just that. The Congress should have waited for the facts to be presented and then acted with fuller knowledge of the consequences of our action.[43]' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Lee

[senseandsensibility]

7. Yes, even after all these years

her words give me chills.

[obamanut2012]

8. I wanted to, but voted for Porter hoping the two candidates could both be Dems

Barbara Lee is a classy lady with guts.

[lastlib]

9. I was truly glad I don't live in CA, and have to make that choice!

Lee, Schiff, and Porter are all GREAT members of our party! I salute their leadership and courage in taking on the opposition to what they all stand for. I think that of the three, Schiff would make the better Senator, but the difference is a hair's breadth--any one of them would make excellent Senators. And, as you said, Barbara Lee is truly an EXCEPTIONAL woman. She has truly done yeoman's work in Congress, and broken down many barriers for those who follow her. I know we will greatly miss her voice in Congress, and I hope she continues to find ways to serve, whether again in the House, or elsewhere. Same with Katie--we REALLY need her voice and her passion.

[senseandsensibility]

11. Yes, absolutely.

She may be ready for a less stressful life since she is 77, I believe. But that should be her choice.

[lastlib]

12. She was willing to go another six years of a Senate term--

so I think she still had the energy to go for a longer ride. And she doesn't strike me as a lady who would ever give up her passion to fight for justice. It's too strong in her. That's why we still need her.

[senseandsensibility]

13. You have a point.

[mcar]

10. I second this

[Demobrat]

14. I voted for her

I didn’t think she would win, but I wanted her to make a strong showing.

[senseandsensibility]

15. Good. I did see that she had a stronger showing in Alameda County

where she's from.

[Demobrat]

16. I'm in San Francisco and worked in Oakland for years.

Those who know, know.

[Mz Pip]

17. She's my Congresswoman

I remember volunteering for her on her first campaign, She worked for her constituents. I remember when my son had a little t-shirt business and ran into some tax or permit issue. He called her office and she took care of it. He wasn’t anyone important, just a student selling t-shirts on Telegraph Avenue during the holidays. She could have ignored him, but she didn’t.

[senseandsensibility]

20. Thank you for sharing that

story.

[hlthe2b]

18. I agree with you. Barbara Lee exiting the House depresses me. So, too Katie Porter, but..

Barbara Lee had so much history there in her years of dedicated service. I hope she reappears in some prominent role soon. Ditto Porter. We can little afford to lose their talents in Congress but perhaps they can be beneficial to the WH or...?

I'm not unhappy that Schiff won that strange primary, but it was always going to be a loss to Dems no matter what happened.

[senseandsensibility]

19. Yup

My thoughts exactly!

[raging moderate]

28. Why can't Lee and Porter stay in the House somehow?

There should be some office for each of these outstanding members of Congress. If that is not possible, then it should be possible to hire both of them in some similar capacity.

[Retrograde]

33. State law

In California, candidates can only run for one office at a time. To run for Senate, Lee, Porter, and Schiff all had to give up their chance to be on the ballot for Congress.

Yes, other states do it differently, but this is the election law here. Anyway, Lee and Porter get to keep their current seats until Jan. 3. If Schiff wins the election for the partial term, he would become senator after the Nov. 5 votes are counted and certified, leaving his Congressional seat. If Schiff wins the election for the full term, that term starts on Jan. 3.

[Deep State Witch]

21. California Dems

Have a deep bench. Barbara, Katie, or Adam could have won it. I think Adam did because he's got the name recognition from his work on the impeachments and J6 Committee.

[Demobrat]

25. People I know voted for him for that reason.

I might have also, had the field been different.

[orwell]

22. Our Congresswoman for many years...

...when we lived in Oakland.

She is a Bay Area/National treasure.

[deurbano]

23. Barbara Lee is a national treasure... and also a caring, normal person.

My older daughter is quadriplegic, and while she can eat on her own with a fork or spoon, her left hand is more limited, so she can't handle a knife. Barbara Lee was sitting next to her at some Democratic dinner (my daughter is a Pelosi-appointed delegate to the CA Democratic Party), and she offered to cut up her meat. (Which was much appreciated!) After that, I (naturally) have teased my daughter with, "Barbara Lee cuts for me."

Also, Lee's husband, Rev. Dr. Clyde Oden Jr., spoke at our college graduation in 2023. (My older daughter and I returned to Berkeley to finish our undergrad degrees in 2022.) He was quite entertaining and inspiring, in stark contrast to Wozniak, the keynote. (Yikes! I guess Woz didn't have anyone to provide honest feedback... or a reality check... before going live.)

I just wish we still had both Barbara Lee and Katie Porter returning to the House in January.

[senseandsensibility]

39. Thank you for that story!

Fits in perfectly with my image of Barbara Lee.

[thebigidea]

24. Bullshit. She was NOT the only one who voted against force in Iraq

In the House, the vote was 296 to 133. 215 Republicans and 81 Democrats voted for it. 126 Democrats, 6 Republicans, and 1 Independent (Sanders) voted against it.

It's embarrassing that no one who has posted thus far seems to remember how that shameful period went down.

[hlthe2b]

31. Congresswoman Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force

You are conflating two things: Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)* versus the Iraq War Resolution (Who voted for the Iraq war resolution? 215 (96.4%) of 223 Republican Representatives voted for the resolution. 81 (39.2%) of 208 Democratic Representatives voted for the resolution)

*Congresswoman Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) on September 14th, 2001. In the ensuing years, she has led Congressional efforts to repeal this blank check for endless war.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_of_2001

I know you were confused on this and I see why, but I'd urge you to stop lashing out at other DUers as you did.

[senseandsensibility]

32. Thank you

I actually checked before I posted this, hence the word force in my OP. Did not think it was necessary to spell out AUMF, but thank you for doing so.

[tritsofme]

34. No, it is OP who made the incorrect point.

The 2001 AUMF was not about Iraq, that was the 2003 AUMF.

Lee voted against both, but was the only representative to vote against the 2001 AUMF.

[hlthe2b]

36. What I posted to correct the person to whom I responded was absolutely accurate.

Kindly address your issues to the specific person who posted info with which you disagree. Nothing I posted was inaccurate.

[tritsofme]

38. Post 24 is accurate, I'm not sure what you were trying to correct?

It was the OP who conflated the two resolutions, not that poster.

And, she was the only member, of any race or sex, who voted against the use of force in Iraq. Talk about courage.

The 2001 AUMF had nothing to do with authorizing military action in Iraq, that is the resolution she stood alone voting against.

The 2002 AUMF authorized military action in Iraq, she and many members of Congress opposed it.

[hlthe2b]

40. You directed your comment to ME. My post was correct. So I'm done with you.

Google is your friend. Go argue with it and then direct your comment(s) to the appropriate poster. That is really not so hard.

[tritsofme]

41. You tried to correct someone for making an accurate point.

That’s what I don’t understand. I have nothing to google, the OP simply confused the two AUMFs. Perhaps you are as well?

[hlthe2b]

42. Go reread my last post. Bye

[tritsofme]

43. Still curious what you think #24 was confused about?

That is you know, something you asserted, that’s why the comment was directed at…you.

The tone on that post 24 may have been a bit rude, but it was completely accurate. Guess you’re not going to answer.

[Oopsie Daisy]

26. I'll click "Recommend" for this post. Well done.

[sheshe2]

27. Kick and Recommend!

[NoMoreRepugs]

29. Floridian here and I thought any of the three would be an excellent candidate.

[paulkienitz]

30. I voted for her

[Camaromjr]

35. Thank You

Senseandsensibility, I thank you and I thank Barbara Lee. I am a Porter fan, but your points on Lee are very much on point. While we all want the world to be DU, it isn't. Rep. Lee's is a profile in courage.

[senseandsensibility]

37. Thank you for your kind words

Welcome to DU!

[BittyJenkins]

44. She is an amazing soul. I was

lucky to hear her speak at my graduation from Mills College in Oakland. That was a wonderful day.

[Trueblue Texan]

45. But all of those House members basically gave up their seats!

I hate losing them in the House!

[mountain grammy]

46. She won my heart

as the only vote against Bush's war.

[dsc]

47. You mean Afghanistan

not Iraq. Many Democrats opposed Iraq. I think even one Republican did.

[senseandsensibility]

49. Thanks

I did realize this late last night when I saw one of her campaign ads online in which she stated that. Meant to correct, but was too exhausted. Thanks again for the reminder. Fixing now.

[independent think]

48. Schiff, Porter, and Barbara Lee

Many spoke out but Barbara Lee was the only person in the house that did against those wars. Money was the name of the game in this election. Adam Schiff had much money support from the Jewish community and many others. Adam Schiff finally got around to calling for a cease fire at the end of the campaign. I saw many Adam Schiff’s advertisements. It is interesting that we have had three US senators who have been Jewish despite being a small portion of the population. Adam Schiff also was on the House Impeachment Committee so he had a lot of name recognition. Katy Porter and Barbara Lee didn’t have much money. I only saw one Barbara Lee advertisement. There was a hit job on Katy Porter by some bankers. I saw many commercials against Katy Porter sponsored by this group more advertisements than she put out. She and Barbara Lee didn’t stand a chance. The three democrats were all good candidates but one had more money.
l

[senseandsensibility]

50. Welcome to DU!

I wish that BL and KP could have kept their house seats. All three candidates were exceptional.