Few rise to this level
Indulge me for a moment, if you will.
Leadership. Take just a moment a think about the word and what it means.
After last night’s historic moment in presidential speeches and recognizing today is the sixth anniversary of passing the Authorization for Use of Military Force, it would be hard to argue the significance of what is demonstrated in this video — leadership.
Jane Hamsher posted this video of Barbara Lee’s incredible demonstration of courage and leadership.
Jane describes it perfectly:
Today is the 6th anniversary of Barbara Lee’s sole “no†vote on the AUMF. I watched her speech again this morning and it still gave me chills. I was in Tennessee at the time of 9/11 and even my wingy relatives who thought she should be shot for her vote had to admit that at the time it took real guts. You can hear her voice shaking when she gives her statement but also hear the stirring sound of conviction. I can’t remember another moment in recent history you could point to in which someone showed such leadership and courage. Everything around her was pointing her toward the easy out, and nobody would have blamed her if she’d taken it. The only thing she was guaranteed to receive as the result of her vote was right wing vilification, which she most certainly did.
People want real leadership in the Democratic Party, true conviction, not just vote pandering. Barbara Lee has demonstrated under really tough circumstances that she is a leader of conscience and strength. She deserves our thanks, our respect and our support.
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