Why was Barbara Lee the only member of the U.S. Congress to vote against authorizing President George W. Bush to wage war on terrorism?
Because her congressional district is the sort of place where, for a while, it was illegal to drape a U.S. flag on a fire truck.
Ms. Lee assured herself a place in the history books when, on Sept. 15, she cast the sole vote of dissent in the House of Representatives on a resolution permitting the President to use "all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks."
The Senate's support was unanimous.
For her defiance, the California Democrat has been vilified in newspaper columns and in thousands of letters from angry Americans. So many people phoned to complain that her voice-mail system broke down. Police provided an escort after some citizens threatened to make the disagreement personal. But she has also been the focus of rallies where thousands turned out to show their support. People like actor Danny Glover and writer Alice Walker have celebrated her courage. And, according to news media in her district, she will almost certainly be re-elected in 2002.
The 55-year-old represents Berkeley and Oakland, perhaps the most liberal constituency in the United States. In most other cities, Americans fly Old Glory from their cars and trucks, celebrate the unqualified heroism of simply being a firefighter and offer their President record levels of support for the military campaign in Afghanistan. But things are different in Ms. Lee's part of California.
Berkeley City Council was the first municipal government in the country to pass a resolution criticizing the military campaign against Afghanistan. At one point, city officials refused to permit U.S. flags to be draped from fire trucks, for fear of inflaming peace protesters. (They have reversed the decision.)
At one event, 3,000 people attended a rally carrying signs reading "America, use your brains, not your bombs" and "Barbara Lee for Prez." They sang, read poems and paid tribute to her act of defiance in the House. Mr. Glover escorted Ms. Lee to the stage, calling her a hero for standing up to Congress and the White House.
Ms. Lee has been extremely reticent, refusing most requests for interviews (though she did appear on Oprah Winfrey's television show). In an article she wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle, however, she explained:
"I could not support such a grant of war-making authority to the President; I believe it would put more innocent lives at risk. We have a chance to demonstrate to the world that great powers can choose to fight on the fronts of their choosing, and that we can choose to avoid needless military action when other avenues to redress our rightful grievances and to protect our nation are available to us."
This is not her only dissenting vote. Ms. Lee was similarly alone in the House when she opposed the U.S. bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. She arrived in Congress the year before, having previously served as executive assistant to her predecessor, Ron Dellums, a famous peace activist in Congress.
Her friend Barbara Lubin, executive director of the non-profit Middle East Children's Alliance, said she never doubted Ms. Lee would stand against the latest war.
"I called her office and spoke to her aide a few minutes before the vote," Ms. Lubin recalled in an interview, "and just said, 'I know Barbara's going to do the right thing. Tell her we love her.' "
Outsiders who might think Ms. Lee will pay electorally for her anti-war stand misunderstand the peace fervour of Berkeley and Oakland, still home to many of the hippies who turned it into a focus of dissent during the Vietnam War.
California's Ninth District is among the safest Democrat seats in the United States. The only real threat to Ms. Lee in next year's congressional elections comes from former state assembly member Audie Bock, who is challenging her for the Democratic nomination. Ms. Bock was first elected as a member of the Green Party, and has aroused strong criticism for attacking Ms. Lee on a Web site showing the burning World Trade Center towers and an unflattering portrait of the congresswoman.
Ms. Lubin believes that many who now castigate Ms. Lee will come to see the wisdom of her stand.
"As this goes on and more and more civilians, more innocent children and women and men are killed by our indiscriminate, despicable bombing, I do think people will begin to understand what we are doing," she said.
John Ibbitson