In-Your-Face Crusader
For years, a photograph of Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) was pinned to a wall in a basement office of the Capitol Police.
Much like a "wanted" poster, the photograph was a warning to Capitol security officers: Thick braids and all, learn this woman’s face. More important, know that she is, indeed, a member of Congress. McKinney is one of the few members who brazenly refuses to wear her member’s pin, and instead lets it dangle on a chain where security can barely spot it.
Known for her combative nature, McKinney has never been mistaken for a shy woman, though members who know her well say her outward controversial persona hides an inner loneliness. Her pro-Palestinian stance has prompted some Jews in her district to favor a redistricting plan that moved many of them into the district of another black Georgian, Rep. John Lewis (D).
Even though McKinney angered Lewis by choosing Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for House whip over him, he had no formal reaction to what many of the Jewish voters wanted, as their neighboring districts prompted him to err on the side of political caution. "There’s no doubt that she has alienated the Jewish community," said state Rep. Doug Teper (D-Ga.), a Jewish lawmaker who threatened to withhold his vote for the redistricting map last year unless relief was found for Jews in his district. "She has a way of using race as a political tactic. If you don’t agree with her, she sometimes calls you a racist."
But Rep. Earl Hilliard (D-Ala.) says McKinney may be feeling "black pressure" to maintain a pro-Palestinian stance.
"I see more and more blacks identifying with Arabs and Muslims than I do with Jews," Hilliard said. "They see Arabs being treated differently from other people. They identify with them on their history of discrimination."
When asked if Jews haven’t been treated similarly, Hilliard explained, "But you don’t see it now, particularly when you see Arabs profiled like we are."
Anything but politically cautious, McKinney recently scalded herself in hot water that could ultimately land her in trouble with the Justice Department for allegedly violating state and federal election law.
In December, she and her father, state Rep. Billy McKinney (D), came before the Georgia State Elections Board. The board — in a vote of 4-0 — found probable cause that the McKinneys violated state elections law by going to a precinct on election night 2000 and attempting to interfere with the duties of poll officers. They also found that the McKinneys campaigned within the 150-foot limit of a polling venue. An administrative law judge is expected to address the matter early this year at a hearing in which the McKinneys will be required to testify under oath. McKinney and her dad could face fines of up to $5,000 per violation for six to 10 violations. The case could wind up at the Justice Department, which would review the case as a violation of federal election law.
"Oh, I think Cynthia McKinney is a disgrace," said Phil Kent, president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a 25-year-old Atlanta-based conservative public interest law firm that calls itself "nonpartisan," but works closely with former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. "The word in the legal community is it’s a slam dunk against the McKinneys."
But McKinney’s lawyer, J.M. Raffauf, insists his client will be "completely vindicated" by the time it’s over.
"No, she didn’t break any laws in the cases," said Raffauf from his office in Decatur, Ga., on Monday. "It’s purely political."
Raffauf blames three white Republican officials who were at the precinct that night with "interfering with the black people’s right to vote" and for the allegations raised against his client. They include DeKalb County Republican Party Chairman Jill Chambers, who filed the charges against the McKinneys to the State Board of Elections, poll volunteer Adrienne Susong and DeKalb County Election Board member Nancy Quan Sellers.
Raffauf’s account of the evening: Approximately 500 people were standing in line to vote at Stoneview Elementary School. The time was 7 p.m. when voters began being turned away. Voters called McKinney’s headquarters. She came over to find out why they didn’t have enough machines to handle the voters.
"The Republicans got there and tried to claim all these people were illegally in line, and when that didn’t stick, they went after Cynthia McKinney," Raffauf said. "She did take a bullhorn over there to urge people to stay and have their vote counted, and she did not exhort anyone to vote for her."
McKinney failed to return several phone calls asking for comment.
Few are surprised she isn’t honoring media requests.
"She’s someone who thumbs her nose at the establishment," said Chuck Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia. "My understanding is that the press can’t get ahold of her."
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who served with McKinney in the state Legislature, said she is calculated.
"Listen, she is not dumb," Kingston said. "She is a savvy politician … is a little more Clintonesque, and knows who will vote for her and who won’t, and will offend those who won’t to ingratiate herself with those that will."
Kingston explained, "I think she kind of wakes up in the morning and says, ‘You have to be tough.’"
Nonetheless, the Southeastern Law Foundation’s Kent called McKinney’s tactics the "in-your-face" brand of politics she and her father have utilized for years. He wasn’t surprised to learn that McKinney is a guest columnist for "The Final Call," a Web site published by Louis Farrakhan which serves as the official communications organ of the Nation of Islam. He said McKinney has long been aligned with the Black Muslim organization.
"She has played footsy with those radicals for years," Kent remarked.
Dr. Merle Black, a political science professor at Emory University, said the charges against McKinney aren’t likely to damage her.
"She’s very important in terms of producing statewide Democratic votes," said Black. "She’s one of the main reasons [Roy] Barnes (D) is governor of the state. He certainly has an interest in not criticizing her."
One lawmaker who requested anonymity spoke of McKinney’s loneliness, describing her as someone alienated from both Republicans and Democrats in state politics. "I feel really sorry for her," the lawmaker said. "She lives from spitting contest to spitting contest. Under that bravado is a lost little girl."
With bulging eyes, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) explained, "She’s just sort of her own person."
In 1996, when McKinney’s Republican opponent was John Mitnick, who is Jewish, McKinney’s father accused him of being a "racist Jew." McKinney asked her father to apologize, and he withdrew from her campaign. She won the race with 58 percent of the vote.
Thompson noted that McKinney’s controversial brand of politics plays well in a safe district that has voted her back to Congress for five consecutive terms, and is more than 50 percent African American. "She sees it as something positive," he said. "I’m not clear on how it would play out in other places."
In the latest example of her aggressive politics, she criticized ex-New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for turning down a $10 million donation from a Saudi prince for terrorist victims. She pleaded with the prince to instead give her constituents the money that Giuliani refused.
Hilliard explained that McKinney’s boldness is exactly why her constituents adore her. "I wish he had given it to her," he said of the prince. "The only thing wrong with it was that he didn’t give it to her."
Hilliard called McKinney "easy" to deal with.
He added, "You’re going to find she’s an easy person to talk to."
Reprinted with permission from Featurewell.com.
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