McKinney ponders her political future

[SoCalDem]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0903/14mckinney.html


< The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 9/14/03 >

McKinney ponders her political future

By MELANIE EVERSLEY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


NEW YORK -- Cynthia McKinney isn't ready to share publicly whether she'll run for Congress again or for president on the Green Party ticket, but she does say she's in a good place now.

"I do have some big decisions to make, and I recognize that whatever I decide to do impacts a lot of people," McKinney, 48, said Friday during an interview in New York, where she was appearing at a conference exploring questions about the 2001 terror attacks.

Sitting down with a Journal-Constitution reporter for the first time since her re-election defeat in 2002, she repeatedly declined to answer questions about whether she was considering running in 2004 for her old 4th District congressional seat in and around DeKalb County. She also wouldn't address rumors that she instead was considering running for the east Georgia congressional seat now held by Republican Max Burns, or that she may be a potential presidential candidate on the Green Party ticket.

"I have not said no to anyone yet," said McKinney, a Democrat who served four terms in Congress. But, she added with a grin, "Politics is in my blood." In the meantime, McKinney said, she has found fulfillment since she's been out of office.

She has literally been traveling the globe speaking out against the war with Iraq and raising questions about what the White House knew beforehand about the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. That issue has become a trademark of McKinney's since she raised questions during a March 2002 radio show about whether President Bush had prior knowledge of the terror attacks

...snip

[bpilgrim]

1. McKinney Speaks Out Against Bush Militarism, BBV, 911, etc...

She has literally been traveling the globe speaking out against the war with Iraq and raising questions about what the White House knew beforehand about the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

...

She showed that same outspokenness Friday during a speech at the conference in which she again criticized what she views as the White House's untoward aggression directed at other countries.

...

"As the families of the victims correctly point out, the thanks of a grateful nation can't include a generation of war," she said. "It can't include the use of depleted uranium or nuclear weapons."

...

She added, "The thanks of a grateful nation must include universal health care, full funding for quality education for all our children, especially the children of our reservations, barrios and ghettos. The thanks of a grateful nation must include tackling issues like poverty, unemployment, urban sprawl, transportation, protecting Mother Earth, civil rights, the glass ceiling, affirmative action, race relations, drug abuse, the death penalty, prison reform, the way we treat our veterans, social justice, U.S. standing in the world, protecting civil liberties, ending war and promoting peace."

...

"I'm working with several local coalitions, looking at the integrity of the voting process," she said, declining to discuss details.

more...
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0903/14mckinney.html?urac=n&urvf=10635454108610.2078087508380001

peace

[Mairead]

3. Damn! She should be DK's VP pick

"The thanks of a grateful nation must include universal health care, full funding for quality education for all our children, especially the children of our reservations, barrios and ghettos. The thanks of a grateful nation must include tackling issues like poverty, unemployment, urban sprawl, transportation, protecting Mother Earth, civil rights, the glass ceiling, affirmative action, race relations, drug abuse, the death penalty, prison reform, the way we treat our veterans, social justice, U.S. standing in the world, protecting civil liberties, ending war and promoting peace."

[JohnKleeb]

4. sounds good I dont mind that

I have others on my list though like Congressman Lewis also from GA.

[tinanator]

8. either her or Mosely-Braun

I think those are very likely choices.

[jiacinto]

10. A ticket that would lose 49 states

but enjoy your fantasies.

[tinanator]

15. you must make a fortune off your political acumen

which party do you work for?

[jiacinto]

20. I think McKinney would be a good candidate for her old seat

nt

[loudnclear]

37. It wouldn't be the first Dem ticket to lose 49 states...

Hmmmmm...

[KG]

2. keep up the good fight, CM.

goddammit, if the dem. party had a few more fighters like her, and a few less appeasers, we could take back this country, no problem.

[Benhurst]

5. I'm in total agreement with you on this.

We desperately need people Sylvia McKinney in government.

I would like to see her elected to Zel Miller's seat in the U.S. Senate.

But I'm afraid Andrew Young, who sits on the board of Archer Daniels Midland and of Barrick Gold (see http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=207&row=1 for a good rundown on Barrick its George Herbert Walker Bush connection) is going to be put up as the Bush Crime Family's Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Young is a leader of the Atlanta "Black Establishment" which turned its back on McKinney during the last election, ostensibly over comments she made about 9/11 (which were twisted beyond recognition by our "free" press), but more probably over her work in Congress exposing what Barrick Gold is doing in the Congo.

See what Greg Palast has to say http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=210&row=1
and http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=229&row=1

I know there are a lot of DUers out there who will be enthusiastic about a Young run for the Senate (I would have been before I heard Palast talking about him last night -- sorry no link.); but we need a better candidate. McKinney is my first choice. Anybody out there with a better suggestion?

[JohnKleeb]

6. John Lewis another congressman but McKinney is good

[jiacinto]

9. McKinney would not be able to win a statewide race in GA

period.

[ButterflyBlood]

18. you think McKinney could win statewide in GEORGIA?

if the Repukes were able to call Max Cleland unpatriotic and compare him to bin Laden succesfully, can you imagine what they'd do to her?

She should run and try to retake her old House seat from DINO Majette, but there is no way she could ever get elected to higher office.

[Benhurst]

7. I'm in total agreement with you on this.

We desperately need people like Sylvia McKinney in government.

I would like to see her elected to Zell Miller's seat in the U.S. Senate.

But I'm afraid Andrew Young, who sits on the board of Archer Daniels Midland and that of Barrick Gold (see http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=207&row=1 for a good rundown on Barrack and its George Herbert Walker Bush connection) is going to be put up as the Bush Crime Family's Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and will be the man to beat in the Democratic primary. Young is a leader of the Atlanta "Black Establishment" which turned its back on McKinney during the last election, ostensibly over comments she made about 9/11 (which were twisted beyond recognition by our "free" press), but more probably over her work in Congress exposing what Barrick Gold is doing in the Congo.

See what Greg Palast has to say http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=210&row=1
and http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=229&row=1

I know there are a lot of DUers out there who will be enthusiastic about a Young run for the Senate (I would have been before I heard Palast talking about him last night -- sorry no link, but the ones I've provided pretty well tell the tale); but we need a better candidate. McKinney is my first choice. Anybody out there with a better suggestion?

edited for the usual typing mistakes :spank:

[jiacinto]

11. In hindsight I want to say that I was too harsh on McKinney

I do think she would be better suited to run for her old House Seat. While I don't agree with everything she did/does I think that hers is a presence that is needed in the House. The Same for Bob Barr.

[salin]

12. ya had me.... until you suggested House Manager Bob Barr

was good in the house. Since when, Carlos, have you ever supported a far right wing/Clinton bashing /fearmongering (he is of the 'democrats = commies" ilk) republican?

[jiacinto]

13. The house is much more quieter without them

Theirs were voices that needed to be in the debate. I don't like Barr, but I miss his antics.

[salin]

14. hehe... well it looks like Dan Burton is stepping up his antics

as embarassing that is for most Hoosiers.

[goobergunch]

29. I'm actually not hating Burton so much now...

because he's a big proponent of drug reimportation.

[Benhurst]

32. And Barr was at least against the "Patriot" Act --

I doubt if his otherwise equally right-wing Republican replacement is. I think Barr's failure to go along with the "Patriot" Act cost him his seat.

[goobergunch]

23. Note his opposition to the Patriot Act

I'd rather have Bob Barr than John Linder (Repuke leadership stooge) any day.

[Enraged American]

16. McKinney had good intentions but no tact.

Her blaming of the J-E-W-S was insulting. I have no problem with politicians who want to challenge the crooked lobbying group AIPAC whose enormous political influences only make America a bigger target for terrorists, but those people are called Zionists, not Jews. There are plenty of secular, socialist Jews that don't whine about "Yislaeell" all day long. I don't use the phrase "anti-Semitic" often, but McKinney just might exemplify such a person.

[Mairead]

17. I believe you're thinking of her dad's analysis, not hers

If I'm not mistaken, she ascribed it to Republican crossovers...among whom were many right-wing Zionist Jews.

[Enraged American]

19. Oh.

Well still. I don't put all Jews into the category of Zionists.

But the way that Zionists can sabotage people's political careers (see: Wolf Blitzer's repeated questions about Dean's Israel remarks) disgusts me.

[Eloriel]

27. WHOAA!!!!

When she was blaming Republican crossovers, it was by NO MEANS code word for rightwing Zionist Jews. Please. There's quite enough misinformation about McKinney floating around.

When she blamed Rpublican crossovers, she was blaming the residents of Gwinnett County, Georgia who were specifically exhorted by Rush Limbaugh the day before the primary to cross over and vote McKinney out. I heard him myself as I was running errands that afternoon.

You're right about the other -- her father is, unfortunately, both a loose cannon and apparently an anti-Semite. That said, there WAS a strong AIPAC presence in both her primary defeat AND that of Earl Hilliard in Alabama who lost just about the very same way McKinney did. He too dared to speak up for human rights for Palestinians while in office.

There's not a divisive or bigoted bone in Cynthia's body. I know her personally (though somewhat distantly), and have for more than a decade, and have followed her career and on one occasion (when I still lived in her district) worked on her campaign (volunteer). She IS one of America's true heroes, a Truth Teller par excellence, and one of the strongest, fiercest fighters you can name. A warrioress. As a result she has numerous powerful enemies.

Eloriel

[Tinoire]

22. Not everyone AIPAC says is an anti-Semite is one

All it takes for AIPAC to call someone an anti-Semite is to not kow-tow to them and/or to flat out state that the Palestinians have been gravely wronged. That was McKinney's only crime.

Peace

Deconstructing Cynthia McKinney
A passionate legislator and her complex relationship with the Jewish community
Bill Nigut Special to the Jewish Times

In 1981, Billy McKinney made a difficult decision. It was a mayoral election year in the city of Atlanta, and the race was shaping up as a showdown between Andrew Young and Sidney Marcus, one of the city's best-known Jewish leaders. McKinney threw his support behind fellow state legislator Marcus, and became co-chairman of the Marcus campaign. Throughout his public career McKinney had always delighted in taking contrarian positions. In this case he was excoriated for choosing Marcus over Young. McKinney was one of the black Marcus supporters whom Maynard Jackson sneeringly referred to as "shuffling, grinning Negroes." Marcus lost the race, but 18 years later, McKinney's relationships with some local black leaders remains strained because of the choice he made in that long-ago mayor's contest. Atlanta businessman Jules Stine remembers the story well. "Billy was very much out front in the Marcus campaign," Stine told the Atlanta Jewish Times. "A black man taking on Andy Young!"

<snip>

Tensions with AIPAC

Frank blames the tenuous relationship between McKinney and Atlanta Jews on the Mitnick-McKinney contest. "It was a terrible election that left scars that aren't healing."


But the first signs of estrangement pre-date the stormy 1996 campaign.
In 1992, in her first race for Congress in what was then Georgia's 11th District, McKinney made it clear she wouldn't be beholden to the
American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Stine said McKinney
thought AIPAC was heavy-handed in demanding her endorsement of their
positions in return for its support. McKinney refused to play ball.


"Here was a young woman who had not yet been elected to Congress and AIPAC was saying 'This is our point of view, sign off on this.' Cynthia being Cynthia was not going to do that. Had it been a Catholic group, had it been the Pope, she wasn't going to do this. I think Cynthia was taken aback by the aggressiveness that is how AIPAC does business."

McKinney's relationship with AIPAC continued to deteriorate after she won the 1992 race. An AIPAC source, who insisted on anonymity, said that tension grew to the extent that, "for the next few years, AIPAC saw Congress as having 434 members. We didn't send her the information we sent to every other member. We didn't talk to her. She didn't ask us not to. We were told to leave her alone by other members of the Georgia delegation." To this day McKinney has never been to an AIPAC convention, an event that annually draws up to 200 U.S. senators and representatives.

http://www.atljewishtimes.com/archives/1999/110599cs.htm

--------------

"Despite the strong criticism expressed by many of the Jews who were interviewed for this article, none accuses McKinney of being anti-Semitic, although some believe her father is. At the same time, many believe she uses the politics of divisiveness as a weapon," Nigut wrote.

Nigut's rundown of strife between Jews and McKinney included a contentious 1996 primary contest against a Jew and McKinney's refusal on free speech grounds to condemn an associate of Louis Farrakhan who made alleged anti- Semitic statements. Her foreign policy stances earned her the enmity of the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In the article, a Jewish businessman from Atlanta and a longtime friend of McKinney, Jules Stine, said that the AIPAC made some "heavy-handed" demands but "McKinney refused to play ball." Stine called himself a "strong supporter of AIPAC" who defends McKinney for "refusing to placate an organization which thinks plays a disproportionate role in defining how Jews view elected officials." McKinney has also voted to reduce U.S. aid to Israel during her tenure in Congress, according to the article.

As a result, McKinney was targeted by the AIPAC and other Jewish groups angered by her perceived pro-Palestinian position on the Middle East, according to an Aug. 23, 2002 article in the Baltimore Jewish Times, also included in Olpadwala's file responding to Martin's questions. The article stated that McKinney's primary opponent "received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Jewish supporters around the country." The first sentence said, "The score is now Jewish activists 2, anti-Israel members of Congress 0. "One thorny issue the article mentioned was a request by McKinney for a Saudi prince to donate $10 million to African-American causes in her district -- after Rudolph Giuliani, as administrator of the Sept. 11 relief fund, rejected the same.

<snip>

http://www.cornelldailysun.com/articles/8956/

[Terwilliger]

26. Where did she blame the J-E-W-S?

Are you referring to her father's comment?

By the way, I thought Zionists were opposed to the idea of the "state" of Israel

[NewJerseyDem]

21. I'm not a fan of Cythia McKinney

I don't really like her. She has made some really stupid statements and is generally an embarrassment to the party. Her father is clearly an anti-semite and she didn't seem to want to condemn his statements. She would be a disaster for the Green Party but she could potentially take some black votes away from the Democrats more that Ralph Nader would.

I find the criticism of Denise Majette outrageous. I would like to see some votes that people here have a problem with. She has had a solidly liberal voting record from what I can tell.

[Terwilliger]

30. stupid statements...like what?

George Bush may have financial interest in the wars he started?

[ulysses]

34. It's in what we now lack.

Majette has been quiet - solid as far as it goes, but quiet. We can do better than "solid but quiet" here.

[Isome]

36. What stupid statements?

WHAT...

[goobergunch]

24. McKinney should rechallenge Majette

We need her back in the House.

I'd love a Senator McKinney, but I don't think it's possible.

[Pastiche423]

25. Whatever Cynthia decides to do

I will support her 100%. Although it has been 27 years since I lived in GA and could not vote for her, I cried when her run in the 2002 mid-terms was thwarted.

She will be back! Our country needs her voice.

[goobergunch]

28. What if she runs for president as a Green? (n/t)

[Pastiche423]

31. See my #25 post

[ulysses]

33. I want her back in her old seat

dammit.

[Isome]

35. Why do people make false claims

... and then never respond to the corrections? Geeezus!