The Only Real Choice in '08

On September 15th, just four days after the terrorist attacks, America was still reeling from the horrors it had witnessed on their soil. While both congressional Republicans and Democrats stood in lockstep formation behind the President fearing being branded unpatriotic. While the Administration cunningly played the tragedy of that day to expand its political powers by placing before the Congress a resolution authorizing President Bush to use "all necessary and appropriate force" against anyone associated with the terrorist attacks of September 11. There was only one elected official who kept a cool head and stood alone against abrogating the rights granted by our Constitution.

This person wasn't named Clinton or McCain. It was Lee. Barbara Lee, Representative from California.

She voted 'no' to granting the use of unrestrained force for an administration which has clearly demonstrated it can not handle the responsibility. She said no to writing a blank check to a government which promised to reign in spending, but has now created deficits so large our grandchildren will be paying it off. And she said no to lies which brought us to war, which covered up the death toll of countless Iraqi, emboldened our enemies, isolated us from our traditional allies and sent our troops, underprotected and without an exit strategy, into the jaws of an unimaginable hell.

I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican, but surely by now every American has to realize that dismantling the Congressional oversight of a President is not only wrong, it's stupid. The nature of power is to expand, which is why our constitutional framers created checks and balances. Once you remove that, it is inevitable executive power will be abused. And it has.

I am neither a Democrat or a Republican. I am a realist. And the only person who stood up for their beliefs and voted, on principle, to retain the powers of their office and by extension to preserve the greatest democracy on Earth, was Barbara Lee. Can you imagine Hillary Clinton taking that courageous stand? Can you imagine John McCain? No, nor can I. And yet we think of them as 'serious contenders' when they lack the conviction to maintain the very government they purport to uphold.

So I say let's vote for someone who cares about preserving our democracy and give me a "Lee in 08" button!