Congress’ One Vote for Restraint

One by one, members of the House--virtually all wearing red, white and blue ribbons--stood up Friday night to voice their full support for granting President Bush authority to use “all necessary and appropriate force” against those responsible for the deadliest terrorist assault in U.S. history.

Except for Rep. Barbara Lee, a liberal Democrat from Oakland, who opposed the resolution. The Senate passed the measure unanimously, and the House approved it 420 to 1.

“Let’s step back for a moment and think through the implications of our action today so that it does not spiral out of control,” Lee told her colleagues.

“This is a very complex issue,” she explained in an interview. “Military action is a one-dimensional reaction to a multidimensional problem.”

It was not the first time Lee, a protege of former Rep. Ronald V. Dellums, has swum against the tide. She was the lone dissenter in the 424-1 House vote in 1999 to authorize bombing Serbia.

Lee, 55, daughter of a retired Army officer, said she hopes her constituents understand.

“Only the most foolish or the most callous would not understand the grief that has gripped our people and millions across the world,” she said in her House speech. But she added: “Some of us must urge the use of restraint.”