Commentary

OPINION: Once Again, Barbara Lee Shows the Way in Vote to Expel Rep. George Santos

“George Santos lied about everything—from 9/11 and the Holocaust to his own name,” Lee tweeted. “He defrauded voters, stole money, and faces criminal charges in two countries. I voted to expel him from Congress today.” Lee, who is running for the Senate seat vacated by the death of Dianne Feinstein, noted how her opponents in the Senate race chose to give Santos a pass. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) did. And Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) didn’t even vote. Travel delay, Schiff said later.

Published

5 months ago

December 10, 2023

Emil Guillermo

George Santos. Official portraits.

By Emil Guillermo

Disgraced former New York Representative George Santos didn’t last a term in office before he made history as the sixth person ever to be expelled from Congress recently.

You want to know how to make history?

Just look at Barbara Lee, a member of Congress since 1998, who, in 2001, was the only member of the House to vote against giving a blank check to attack any country involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Voting against Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF) took guts and courage. She was the only one to take that stand.

To this day, whenever I mention Lee’s name to someone outside of her Alameda County district, people never fail to mention how they recall how she was the lone person in Congress to stand for her principles and values on that key vote.

Compare that to Santos, who has 23 federal indictments for lying and fraud related to campaign finance laws. He’s never once refuted the charges despite given opportunities by reporters.

And then there’s the House Ethics Committee investigation that found Santos’ conduct brought such “severe disrepute to the House” that it jeopardized public trust.

But it surely must have made you appreciate being represented by Barbara Lee even more.

That Santos could even be in the same legislative body as Lee insults our democracy.

Lee knew the right action was to vote for Santos’ expulsion the first time they tried on Nov. 2

She joined other Republicans who were ready to throw out Santos then, but the vote failed because most Democrats chose to play politics. Some said it would set a dangerous precedent since Santos hadn’t been convicted yet.

But Lee knew the violations to the institution were serious enough already. She voted Santos out. In doing so, she again cast a vote that set her apart from your average self-serving politico.

Lee, who is running for the Senate seat vacated by the death of Dianne Feinstein, noted how her opponents in the Senate race chose to give Santos a pass. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) did. And Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) didn’t even vote. Travel delay, Schiff said later.

That’s not a good excuse when the people depend on your vote to whittle away at a slim GOP majority in the House.

Then came the vote last week, a month later. On Dec. 1, when the House voted again on Santos’ expulsion, Porter and Schiff joined Lee.

Who’s the leader, and who are the followers? Regarding the integrity of Congress, it would have to be Barbara Lee, Alameda County’s member of the House.

That’s why the nation needs someone like Barbara Lee representing California in the Senate. And yet, who is trailing in campaign donations at this stage in the process? Schiff, the impeachment chair, and Porter have raised millions of dollars. Lee is far behind.

Lee’s a pol with integrity who can use all the help she can get. You can trust her to do the right thing.

She helped put Santos where he belongs: Making cameo videos to his Gawker groupies online while he waits for a call from “Dancing with the Stars.”

Lee, on the other hand, deserves to be where she belongs— as the fourth Black woman in the U.S. Senate.

She should have been the third. But Gov. Gavin Newsom played politics and picked Laphonza Butler to fill the vacancy caused by Feinstein’s passing.

Butler has said she will not run once the term is done, but people can change their minds.

In the meantime, Lee’s ready to do the hard work. She deserves broad support throughout the state for what she’s accomplished in the House.

As of this week, she’s officially on the ballot for Feinstein’s spot next March. Tell your friends throughout the state that Lee doesn’t play politics.

She just does the right thing. And isn’t that what you’d want from a House stalwart seeking to take the next step up to the U.S. Senate?

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a micro-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1

Emil Guillermo

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a micro-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1

Posts by Emil Guillermo

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Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a micro-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1

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Commentary

Opinion: Lessons for Current Student Protesters From a San Francisco State Strike Veteran

How the nation’s first College of Ethnic studies came about, bringing together Latino, African American and Asian American disciplines may offer some clues as to how to ease the current turmoil on American college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war. After the deadline passed to end the Columbia University encampment by 2 p.m. Monday, student protesters blockaded and occupied Hamilton Hall in a symbolic move early Tuesday morning. Protesters did the same in 1968.

Published

3 days ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock Photo

By Emil Guillermo

After the deadline passed to end the Columbia University encampment by 2 p.m. Monday, student protesters blockaded and occupied Hamilton Hall in a symbolic move early Tuesday morning.

Protesters did the same in 1968.

That made me think of San Francisco State University, 1968.

The news was filled with call backs to practically every student protest in the past six decades as arrests mounted into hundreds on nearly two dozen campuses around the country.

In 1970, the protests at Kent State were over the Vietnam War. Ohio National Guardsmen came in, opened fire, and killed four students.

Less than two weeks later that year, civil rights activists outside a dormitory at Jackson State were confronted by armed police. Two African American students were killed, twelve injured.

But again, I didn’t hear anyone mention San Francisco State University, 1968.

That protest addressed all the issues of the day and more. The student strike at SFSU was against the Vietnam war.

That final goal was eventually achieved, but there was violence, sparked mostly by “outside agitators,” who were confronted by police.

“People used the term ‘off the pigs’ but it was more rally rhetoric than a call to action (to actually kill police),” said Daniel Phil Gonzales, who was one of the strikers in 1968.

Gonzales, known as the go-to resource among Filipino American scholars for decades, went on to teach at what was the positive outcome of the strike, San Francisco State University’s College of Ethnic Studies. It’s believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. Gonzales recently retired after more than 50 years as professor.

As for today’s protests, Gonzales is dismayed that the students have constantly dealt with charges of antisemitism.

“It stymies conversation and encourages further polarization and the possibility of violent confrontation,” he said. “You’re going to be labeled pro-Hamas or pro-terrorist.”

That’s happening now. But we forget we are dealing not with Hamas proxies. We are dealing with students.

Gonzales said that was a key lesson at SF State’s strike. The main coalition driving the strike was aided by self-policing from inside of the movement. “That’s very difficult to maintain. Once you start this kind of activity, you don’t know who’s going to join,” he said.

Gonzales believes that in the current situation, there is a patch of humanity, common ground, where one can be both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel. He said it’s made difficult if you stand against the belligerent policies of Benjamin Netanyahu. In that case, you’re likely to be labeled antisemitic.

Despite that, Gonzales is in solidarity with the protesters and the people of Gaza, generally. Not Hamas. And he sees how most of the young people protesting are in shock at what he called the “duration of the absolute inhumane kind of persecution and prosecution of the Palestinians carried out by the Israeli government.”

As a survivor of campus protest decades ago, Gonzales offered some advice to the student protesters of 2024.

“You have to have a definable goal, but right now the path to that goal is unclear,” he said.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. A veteran newsman in TV and print, he is a former host of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”