Politics

February 1, 2024

Barbara Lee’s Senate Bid: The Absolute Clarity

On matters of war and peace, the representative is prepared to tell presidents that they must follow the Constitution—even Democratic presidents

Barbara Lee is running for the United States Senate in a California primary that will take place in barely a month. Usually, when an election approaches, candidates tailor their remarks to avoid controversy in general, and in particular to avoid making statements that might put them at odds with their own party’s sitting president. Even where there are disagreements, typical politicians tend to go silent rather than risk conflict with the top of the ticket.

A Passionate Progressive

But Lee has never been a typical politician. She is a passionate progressive, who refuses to go silent on matters of war and peace. Throughout her congressional career, Lee has challenged presidents of both parties on issues of war-making, military strikes, and Pentagon budgets. Sometimes, she has done so on her own, as was the case in the fall of 2001 when, after the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, she cast the sole vote in either branch of Congress against what she correctly warned was “a blank check” for President George W. Bush—and every president since—to wage endless and ill-defined war across the far reaches of the planet.

Lee is not quite so alone now, as she argues that President Biden must obtain congressional approval for retaliatory military strikes in response to a drone attack that killed three American service members last weekend on the border between Jordan and Syria. But the clarity of her call for caution when it comes to acting in ways that might lead to a wider war in the Middle East is notable—especially coming from a member of the president’s own party who is a serious contender for a Senate seat representing the most populous state in the country.

A Demand for Clarity and Congressional Approval

The demand that President Biden seek congressional approval before responding to a deadly attack on US forces is not unprecedented. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood that he could not respond without authorization from the legislative branch. He asked for, and received, a congressional declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941.

Presidents of both parties who have served since FDR have routinely failed to obtain clearly defined declarations of war before launching offensive missions, often with disastrous consequences. Debates about war and peace have, again and again, been mired in partisanship—with Republicans making anti-war sounds when Democrats are in charge and Democrats doing the same when Republicans are in charge.

A Historical Perspective

Just as Morse and Gruening feared, Democratic President Lyndon Johnson and Republican President Richard Nixon used the Gulf of Tonkin resolution as an illegitimate excuse for waging a long war in Southeast Asia. The Vietnam imbroglio led to the passage of the 1973 War Powers Act, which was meant to constrain presidential war-making but has, all too frequently, been used as just another excuse to get around the mandates of the Constitution.

Lee made her integrity when it comes to matters of war and peace clear back in 2001, and she is building on that legacy in this year’s Senate race. She faces credible and better-financed Democratic rivals, including fellow US Representatives Katie Porter and Adam Schiff. But it is Lee who has maintained a steady focus on avoiding a wider conflict in the Middle East: as an early and outspoken supporter of a cease-fire to end the assault on Gaza that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched after the October 7 Hamas attack.

Lee recognizes violence in the region is not going to be ended by more violence. As she says: “The path forward to peace and security throughout the region is dependent on a cessation of hostilities in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and a return to diplomacy. We saw the efficacy of this in November’s brief pause in hostilities. I urge a redoubling of efforts to achieve rapid de-escalation through a permanent ceasefire and robust, regional engagement that includes international humanitarian organizations.”

She also warns, “For far too long, Congress has been missing in action on matters of war and peace.”

One of Lee’s most ardent supporters in California’s March 5 primary, US Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), argues that Lee’s “unique voice” on matters of war and peace is needed now more than ever in a Senate where there are no more La Follettes, Morses, or Gruenings.