Congresswoman (McKinney) Sues 'Atlanta Journal-Constitution' for Libel

[sabra]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002916090

Congresswoman Sues 'Atlanta Journal-Constitution' for Libel

<snip>
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney filed charges against the newspaper's editor Cynthia Tucker and publisher John Mellott for an editorial column that ran in the Sunday July 30 paper about McKinney’s alleged altercation with police, according to All Headline News.

McKinney’s attorney, J.M. Raffauf, said the column describes McKinney whacking a police officer with her cell phone, a charge McKinney denies.

The suit says that other facts were misstated including a reported suggestion by McKinney that President Bush had known about the September 11 terror attacks in advance, and had allowed the plot to unfold so that he and his friends could profit from the resulting wars.

The suits says that McKinney wants an "immediate retraction in writing these false and libelous statements" and "demands that your retraction and correction be accompanied by an editorial in which you specifically repudiate your libelous statements."

[TroglodyteScholar]

1. Not sure if AJC is where I read them...

...but these "false and libelous statements" aren't unfamiliar to me at all. I thought her theory on 9/11 was well-documented, but guess I never did the research myself.

Even if she's right sometimes (where others have no spine), McKinney is an attention-whore of the highest order. I'm pretty sick of hearing about her...and of having her connected to the Democratic party.

[Gully Foyle]

2. But

Thankfully we have this insightful article to clear the stagnant stinky air here
http://www.blackcommentator.com/193/193_cover_mckinney.html
"Cynthia McKinney is a unique presence in the Congressional Black Caucus: a genuine “movement” activist. For that reason, she is hated and feared by white racists, for whom she is the epitome of the uppity Black; by corporate America and its vicious media, whose power she does not respect; by Democratic House leadership, which abhors activist Black lawmakers more than it does Republicans; and by cowardly African Americans who feel threatened by her example of principled speech and action for social justice and world peace. That’s why it is imperative that all people of good will assist McKinney in keeping her seat from Georgia’s 4th district, just outside Atlanta.

The racists and cowards smell blood. McKinney was forced into a runoff election, set for August 8, after failing to win a clear majority in this month’s Democratic primary. Turnout was abysmal – only 60,000 voters showed up, versus 95,000 in 2004 when she took back her seat after a two year absence.

McKinney garnered 47 percent of the vote in a three-way race, only 1,500 votes ahead of second place Hank Johnson, a compliant Black Dekalb County commissioner who brags that he is a “pothole” politician who will not stir up controversy. A white businessman got more than eight percent of the vote. His share will undoubtedly wind up in Hank(erchief head) Johnson’s column, on August 8. Clearly, McKinney must bring out her troops – which takes money. Her opponent’s surprise showing has invigorated those who backed Denise Majette with tons of cash to oust McKinney in 2002, and now see another chance to rid themselves of their nemesis.
McKinney, who unfailingly acts in solidarity with progressives, cannot expect to be treated in kind by many of her Black Democratic colleagues. According to The Hill, the Washington newspaper that covers Capitol Hill issues:

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) predicted that most of her congressional colleagues would not rally to her aid.

“Some will, but a great majority will distance themselves. It’s called ‘avoidingitis,’” he said. “We avoid her. Cynthia won’t approach people beyond her real friends.”"

Read the rest for yourselves.

Oh and this
http://gnn.tv/videos/63/The_Last_Plantation

[rinsd]

6. Black Commentator arbiter of one's "blackness". Fuck them.

[MrPrax]

9. Good article...

Even notes allegations of vote fraud against McKinney in primary campaign. The usual problem of pressing McKinney, but having the screen flash Johnson.

I was also interested in the Report Card...McKinney, Conyers and a few never vote in favor of Republic bills. It was a respectful piece that touched on why she is getting the hard time she does. McKinney is far more consistently democratic in her voting than a lot of democrats.

[MGKrebs]

34. While I agree with much of that article,

the implication that 60,000 votes is low is misleading.

In 2004, CM was running to take back her seat against 5 opponents, 3 of whom were well known, experienced politicians. Voter turnout was high.

In 2002, CM lost to Denise Majette. I have posted the historical vote totals before, but suffice it to say that 50,000 more people voted in this Dem primary than had at least since 1996.

In 2000 and 1998, approx. 40,000 voted in the Dem primary. In 1996, 62,000.

[flyingobject]

40. AIPAC is funding McKinney's opponent

A Jewish newspaper has reported that again the pro-Israel lobby is supporting her opponent.
http://www.forward.com/articles/8183

Similar news is given in Black Commentator. .
http://www.blackcommentator.com/193/193_cover_mckinney.html

Her opponent is funded by lobbyist for another country.

[GAPeace]

45. The entire conservative base supports Johnson; Civil Rights supports McKin

A lot of hoopla about how many Georgia Democrats like the former Governor support Johnson. Yes, lots of rich white Republican-lite Democrats outside of her district support him. They don't want a fiery leftist in that spot.

[Just Me]

100. SEE POST 73 - APPARENTLY A FALSE RUMOR SPREAD by,...

:evilgrin:

FYI

[LA lady]

5. She better get ready to sue LOTS of papers

McKinney in Washington Post:

Democrat Implies Sept. 11 Administration Plot

Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) is calling for an investigation into whether President Bush and other government officials had advance notice of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 but did nothing to prevent them. She added that "persons close to this administration are poised to make huge profits off America's new war."

In a recent interview with a Berkeley, Calif., radio station, McKinney said: "We know there were numerous warnings of the events to come on September 11th. . . . What did this administration know and when did it know it, about the events of September 11th? Who else knew, and why did they not warn the innocent people of New York who were needlessly murdered? . . . What do they have to hide?"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A34565-2002Apr11


The September 11 X-Files

On March 25, during a Pacifica radio interview, Representative Cynthia McKinney, a Georgia Democrat, said, "We know there were numerous warnings of the events to come on September 11.... What did this Administration know, and when did it know it about the events of September 11? Who else knew and why did they not warn the innocent people of New York who were needlessly murdered?" McKinney was not merely asking if there had been an intelligence failure. She was suggesting--though not asserting--that the US government had foreknowledge of the specific attacks and either did not do enough to prevent them or, much worse, permitted them to occur for some foul reason.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=66

[creeksneakers2]

15. I think those statements are far different

from what McKinney alleges the the Atlanta Journal Constitution published. She says the AJC misquoted her as saying Bush allowed 9/11 to happen because he and his friends would profit from it.

One of the comparison quotes you gave just quotes just McKinney saying Bush didn't do enough to prevent the attacks, which is true.

The last paragraph says almost nothing....

"She was suggesting--though not asserting--that the US government had foreknowledge of the specific attacks and either did not do enough to prevent them or, much worse, permitted them to occur for some foul reason."

or

almost said but didn't quite say that something widely agreed upon OR something incriminating but vague.

[MrBenchley]

20. McKinney's whoopsters have been waving those statements around

for years as proof of how brave and noble she was...and now she's going to deny under oath she made them.

You might enjoy this alternate version:

"The suit alleges that other misstatements were made, including the statement that Congresswoman McKinney "suggested that President Bush had known in advance about the Sept. 11 attacks but did nothing to stop them so his friends could profit from the ensuing war," and "She doesn't have the power or prestige to pass a resolution in support of sweetened ice tea."

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004389056

Don't you wonder how she's going to prove the "sweetened ice tea" remark false? I know I am.

[illumn8d]

22. Not a McKinney whoopster

But she never stated that "Bush's friends would profit in a war" and although that is not the main crux of her suit, it's the only one that has merit.

[MrBenchley]

24. But many of those who are

have been waving the "Bush knew it was going to happen" statement around for years...and now McKinney';s denying under oath she ever said it.

[LA lady]

72. Uh, yes she did.

(quote)But she never stated that "Bush's friends would profit in a war" and although that is not the main crux of her suit, it's the only one that has merit.

Did you read the link?

She added that "persons close to this administration are poised to make huge profits off America's new war."

[brer cat]

10. and connected to GA

She and her father cry "racism" at the drop of a hat, and she has accomplished very little during her terms in Congress. I respected her when she first ran, but the chip on her shoulder has reached boulder size. She needs to go and let someone in who will represent the people, not feed her ego. Cynthia Tucker, the black AJC editor she is suing, has done far more good for Democratic causes than McKinney.

Flame away, but most progressive Dems in GA support liberal Blacks, but McKinney can't be supported JUST BECAUSE she's black or JUST BECAUSE she supports conspiracy theory. She just a loser and an embarrassment period.

[TroglodyteScholar]

12. Agreed...

I heard a story on GPB this morning...she's only indroduced 14 bills, and only one passed...and that was to rename a library or something. It's nice to have someone who sometimes voices opinions that aren't otherwise heard...but not if she's so offputting that she can't actually ACCOMPLISH anything. What good is that?

[brer cat]

17. I'm with you, and I'm also a very "Concerned GA Voter"...

we progressive dems are in SUCH a minority here, we can't waste our time, energy, or money on losers such as McKinney. She doesn't represent any group here or in GA.

[KoKo]

68. And what bills by Dems have passed since Repugs took over Congress

since 1994? And have you checked to see how many of the "Amendments" that McKinney has supported put forth by her fellow Democrats that have bitten the dust?

Truth is...most who've been following Congress know that Dems can't get ANY bills passed because of the Repuglicans changing the rules and the "midnight votes." 14 Bills took time to put together and Good on her for trying. Until we take back the House there aren't going to be any Dem bills that get passed.

[Tsiyu]

73. People bitch when Dem leaders do nothing

and can't take their knives out fast enough to disembowel a Dem who has courage.


I am PROUD to be a McKinney Democrat. She has more guts than all of the male Democratic Reps combined.

Some day you will wish for more like her.

I could say more, but your post disgusted me so much I'm giving up for now.

But mark my words: it will be the women who save this sorry ass excuse for a nation, not the cowardly males who kiss each other's asses.

[OKNancy]

3. Poll: Johnson Leads McKinney by 15

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=82752

Web Editor: Michael King
Last Modified: 8/1/2006 5:05:19 PM

Poll: Johnson Leads McKinney by 15

A new InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion poll for the Democratic primary runoff in Georgia’s 4th Congressional district shows challenger Hank Johnson maintaining his lead over incumbent U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney by a full 15 percentage points as the runoff election looms closer.

McKinney’s totals moved up from the last poll late last week, but she still sat well behind former DeKalb County Commissioner Johnson.

Hank Johnson – 49 percent
Cynthia McKinney – 34 percent
Undecided – 17 percent.

[stepnw1f]

14. Lot's of Negative PR to Fight Against

It doesn't look good for her.

[DumpDavisHogg]

43. Another decent politician unfairly tried by the media

If McKinney loses, media outlets need to be prosecuted for interfering with the election.

I wish my district had a congressperson as decent as McKinney.

[GAPeace]

46. How much BS is this poll exactly?

Last week it was showing a much larger gap between McKinney and Johnson. People don't just change with the wind here. How is this polling done?

[rinsd]

4. Oh man the Battle of the Cynthias just escalated.

There's a saying about not getting into an an agrument with a man(in this case a woman) who buys ink by the barrel.

[MasonJar]

7. According to an article on DU yesterday, black capitol officers

say that McKinney ran into some of the white bigots who work for the capitol police. Sounded possible to me. I say go, girl!

[johnfunk]

11. It's about time someone brought some redass to the "Crackerbarrel"

It's NO secret on the Hill that the Capitol Police has harbored a timy handful of bullying bigots, who'd be more suited to wearing white sheets than police uniforms.

McKinney's a polarizing figuire -- but I hope she nails both the AJC and the Aryan Nations wing of the Capitol Police.

[LostinVA]

8. And here come the McKinney slaggers.....

[TroglodyteScholar]

13. Wow, what substance in your post...

Sometimes criticism is earned. We don't "slag" her because we enjoy it. We slag her because she's been next to useless as a legislator (see her record), and any press she gets is negative press. If she's so very concerned about the progressive causes she talks about, maybe she should quit just whining about them and actually take some kind of action.

We don't need anyone who's going to help heap more of the public's scorn on legitimate progressive causes.

[MGKrebs]

16. And how do you judge "useful"?

Is your selection of "useful legislator" qualities the only ones that matter? Can some not have different criteria?

Are the standards you choose the same for McKinney as they are for, say, Dennis Kucinich? John Lewis?

[TroglodyteScholar]

18. Yes, I hold those two to the same standards as McKinney...

I don't know if you live in Georgia...but if you don't, read me here. For every national news story in which McKinney makes a big fuss over nothing, or otherwise draws NEGATIVE attention to progressives...there are probably 5 stories of the same nature that make news in Georgia. She is a liability.

I never said my criteria were the only criteria. I responded to a post that accused myself and others of simply "slagging" her, as though we had nothing to back it up.

I can't recall even one instance where Kucinich or Lewis made news in a way that reflected poorly on the entire progressive community. Care to share one with me?

Or would you rather just call me a racist because I don't like her? SHE probably would.

On edit: To answer your question, I would define "useful" (as applied to a legislator) as at LEAST being able to draw attention to progressive causes by casting them in a positive light. Sure, maybe she hasn't actually accomplished much in the last 2 years because the legislature is controlled by Republicans. What of her previous stint in the state house? Ms. McKinney has the uncanny ability to emphasize her unappealing personality in connection with good causes, rather than putting her ego aside and taking a practical approach to affecting positive change.

[MGKrebs]

26. Just asking the questions, friend.

They are for you to contemplate. You have no need to answer to me.

FWIW: Yes I am in Georgia, but not in McKinney's district. I am fortunate enough to have John Lewis as a Rep.

You say that McKinney is a liability because she makes a big fuss over nothing and draws negative attention? I will take issue with those assertions.

McKinney is a stalwart advocate for voting rights, individual rights against oppression from government and business, and support for the most disadvantaged among us. These things are not "nothing". If they draw "negative" attention, it is because we who agree with those positions are being out-maneuvered by the opposition at the moment.

I may agree that she is a liability to the Democratic Party at this time. That, however, is not MY only criteria for a useful public servant, and it doesn't have to be that way anyway. The Dem party is struggling to find it's "source" or "muse". It may well end up centered on a C. McKinney type platform.

[TroglodyteScholar]

30. I'd have no problem with a platform representing Ms. McKinney's views...

I'm all for voting rights, keeping checks on big business, etc...

The problem with her is that the only thing she's good at is being outspoken. Granted, sometimes she really hits the mark. But it's all for nought if the views she expresses become associated (in the view of the public) with her personality, which is unarguably offputting. The attention she draws isn't negative simply because the other party is better at playing politics. She does not have a constructive attitude. She enjoys playing victim at every opportunity. How can anyone of any political affiliation or ideology hold any respect for that? She draws the kind of attention that we, as a state AND as a party, do not benefit from.

It's a matter of practicality, really. Okay, so she has stood up for some great things. But has she advanced them? In my opinion, the answer is no.

And, again...14 bills introduced and only ONE passed...to rename a library? Some asset she is! :eyes:

[MGKrebs]

36. Cindy Sheehan and Medea Benjamin were at her election night party.

If their opinions count less than Cynthia Tucker's or John Mellott's, we might want to think about what exactly it is we are fighting for, and maybe work a little harder to sell the message rather than destroy the messenger.

Personally, I am tired of the "practicality" or "pragmatic" argumnent. There is no objective deifintion of that, so eveybody gets to choose their own, which may have no relation to practicality. Sounds a lot like "centrist".

[TroglodyteScholar]

39. Pragmatism and politics are inseperable

And just because Cindy's son died at war doesn't make her every opinion and endorsement any more valid. (Hyperbole alert) Even Hitler probably said one or two reasonable things in his lifetime. Should I subscribe to the entirity of his ideology?

Why the tendency to cling to personalities? I don't follow personalities, I follow ideas coupled with action. :)

[MGKrebs]

41. I will challenge that.

I think you follow "whatever it takes to win". That's what "practicality" means, doesn't it? I am sure there are plenty of ideas with action that you would disagree with. You basically just dismissed Cindy Sheehan even though she is a strong example of that.

Rather than follow the middle, wherever it drifts, some choose to try to lead the middle to a place for a reason.

[TroglodyteScholar]

49. You've put words in my my mouth one time too many.

You go on fantasizing about a perfect world where everyone's a liberal. I'll continue seeing reality for what it is -- a place where, to get a message out, it is NECESSARY to appeal to those who don't always agree with you.

Your post is a borderline ad hominem, and I won't continue with your style of discourse. Thanks anyway.

[GAPeace]

51. How do we get progressive views out there? Someone has to speak out

Every good idea was extremely controversial at one time. McKinney's awesome pro-labor antiwar work is never covered by the media; only personal mishaps are. The elite media is to blame. When did it paint any antiwar people in a good light exactly?

[TroglodyteScholar]

55. Her ideas are not what's so terribly controversial

Her behavior is what's cotroversial, and unnecessarily so. If you have a good message, don't entrust it to a bad messenger.

Blame the "elite media" all you want, but don't try to tell me with a straight face that there's an organized media-wide smear on McKinney for no reason except that she's progressive. Otherwise, the media would portray all the other liberals named by MGKrebs in the same light. And, surprise, they don't.

[GAPeace]

56. She's more than a decent messenger

Having met her and seen her speak many times I've found she's a very warm and caring Congresswoman. I don't know why the big-media and israel lobby are always after her, trying to turn every one of her personal mishaps once every few years into an election-breaker. I guess that's what you do to rebels.

[LostinVA]

64. Damn that UPPITY black woman!

Don't she ne knowin' she should just be going, "Yes Massa, Yes Massa... I's sorry I talked back! I's be a good slave from now on, Massa George!"

And yeah, there is a media-wide agenda to paint McKinney as nutso... it's because she doesn't toe the line and she is female and black.

[MGKrebs]

67. You have misinterpreted my position.

I welcome various voices, moderate included. I am not the one claiming there is no room in the Party for diverse voices.

It is others who are apparently dreaming of a world in which all voices are moderate.

[TroglodyteScholar]

97. Amazing how you know I'm a moderate simply because I don't like McKinney.

I'm not a moderate. You're so busy drawing hasty conclusions that you can't let any ideas in from outside your own noggin.

"I'm so open minded...now let me tell you what you think so that I can argue against the position I've created for you."

Blow me.

[Tsiyu]

74. You are comparing her to Hitler?

Talk about an attention whore!

People like you disgust me.....

[GAPeace]

59. She's wildly popular among the 4th district; which is her only job

She doesn't need to be an icon for the rest of the Democrats, even if the media wants to make her one. She's just a 4th district representative, in the most racially diverse district in the Southeast, and she represents the strong antiwar prolabor views well.

[illumn8d]

81. If she was wildly popular

She wouldn't be in a run-off.

[Alacrat]

29. a

a

[TroglodyteScholar]

31. ...is for awesome! n/t

[Alacrat]

35. She is a liability to progressives, and democrats in general

I'm new to DU, but not to progressive ideals. IMO progressives should try to show how our ideas will help society, and work to bring as many on board as possible, otherwise we are preaching to the choir. Cynthia McKinney is a divisive, attention wh**e, who has done little to advance the progressive movement. I hope the upcoming elections will once and for all end her infamous political career.

[LostinVA]

65. No she isn't

Hey, and thanks for proving my point! AWESOME job!!!

[brer cat]

23. If you are now the "decider"...you decide

She has done nothing to benefit her constituents, she has introduced no laws that were passed, she has made herself an embarrassment to her constituents for her own ego...are we just to support her because she is Black and has been discriminated against at some point in her life? I have been discriminated against because I am a woman, I have been discriminated against since I am a single parent, I have been discriminated against because I am poor...do I deserve "special" privilege in Congress because of that?? I think not.

[MGKrebs]

28. I think it is possible that CM could be more effective in a different job.

But I don't know what that job is, and apparently she doesn't either.

There are presumably at least 30,000 people who actually live in her district who disagree with your conclusion regarding her "benefits".

I would ask you too: What is your criteria for a "beneficial representative"? Does a Rep suddenly have to bring home the pork to qualify? Is there room for only "middle of the road" legislators? Shouldn't SOMEONE ask the tough questions, even if they turn out to be wrong sometimes?

Is McKinney so different from Barney Frank, or John Conyers, or Dennis Kucinich?

[TroglodyteScholar]

50. YES, she IS different from those 3 individuals.

Her behavior repeatedly embarrasses and alienates even people who agree with many of her views. She has absolutely no tact.

Frank, Conyers, and Kucinich...however far outside the "mainstream" they may be, these three always conduct themselves with dignity. This is much more than can be said for Ms. McKinney.

[flyingobject]

42. how many democrats have gotten anything passed?

unless it was republican lite?

I mean, sure, if Cynthia wrote up a bill to benefit the drug
companies, or to go to war, you can bet that would get passed.

[TroglodyteScholar]

52. I don't know, why don't you ask Russ Feingold...

Whose name is on the McCain-Feingold legislation for reforming campaign finance.

And he is much more liberal than your average democrat.

Your point is superficial and based on defeatist stereotypes.

[GAPeace]

60. The BS campaign finance reform

More superficial than productive.

[TroglodyteScholar]

61. Is there no such thing as a step in the right direction?

Would you preferr that political candidates still be allowed to take unlimited contributions from individuals and corporatoins?

[LostinVA]

63. Wow, what lack of substance in YOUR post

I am 100% correct. Whenever ANYTHING comes up about McKIinney, they come out of the woodwork.

McKinney is one of the few in Congress who has the balls to stand up to the Cabal.

[Tsiyu]

88. Amazing that these same types piss and moan about Dems who

won't stand up to TPTB, yet as soon as someone not male and/or not caucasian does stand up, they are ready to eviscerate that person.

You know, it's really all about their comfort, I believe. They don't want to show any soldarity with the GLBT folks or for women's rights or even for a strong woman leader because all of their good christan friends might call them radicals. Woooo!!!! Scary stuff for all the big talkers!

Just keep them safe in their warm little womb of white maleness. Poor babies, don't you feel sorry for the way that mean Cynthia and that mean Sheehan lady SCARE the big bad white men?

What a pack of sniveling cowards.

[MrBenchley]

19. I think its hilarious

that the anti-Semitic loony is now going to deny under oath the statement that the far elft has been cheering her for....

[illumn8d]

21. Not exactly

This is what she said:

The whole statement from 3/25/2002, Flashpoints, Pacifica Radio, KPFA:

"Now is the time for our elected officials to be held accountable. Now is the time for the media to be held accountable. Why aren't the hard questions being asked? We know there were numerous warnings of the events to come on September 11. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, delivered one such warning. Those engaged in unusual stock trades immediately before September 11 knew enough to make millions of dollars from United and American airlines, certain insurance and brokerage firms' stocks. What did this Administration know, and when did it know it about the events of September 11? Who else knew and why did they not warn the innocent people of New York who were needlessly murdered?"

This isn't the main thrust of her suit, but this statement is often mischaracterized.

[MrBenchley]

25. Geeze, how desperate does someone have to be

to pretend that she isn't saying there that Chimpy knew and that some of his friends profited?

[GAPeace]

47. A Georgian proud of the "antisemitic loony"

Please take the Limbaugh/Boortz talking points away and let us Georgians resolve this.

[TroglodyteScholar]

53. I think you misread the post...

That was not a RW talking point. She has repeatedly represented herself as believing Bush at VERY least LIHOP. The poster seems to think it's an act of desperation to reneg on that bold opinion (which is shared by many of us on DU, including myself).

Why do people interested in McKinney seem to be so very knee-jerk and reactionary in their responses? Taking a cue from the woman herself?

[MrBenchley]

95. And you're also a self-admitted sock puppet....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2750649&mesg_id=2751029

[ronnie624]

80. Post #33 contains a link

to an interesting article. Perhaps you could find the time to read it.

The CIA also knew about a meeting in Paris, prior to September 11, involving a Saudi prince, arms dealers, and al Qaeda. Although the information was in hand, the investigation was stymied by Bush’s intelligence chiefs. This is what McKinney wanted investigated.

Why were the Saudis, the bin Ladens (except Osama), and this organization (the World Assembly of Muslim Youth) off the investigation list prior to September 11, despite evidence that they were reasonable targets for inquiry? The BBC thought it worth asking; the Guardian thought it worth asking -- and so did Congresswoman McKinney. Why no pre-September 11 investigations of these characters?

And what was the reason for the block? According to the experts we broadcast on British television, it was the Bush Administration’s fanatic desire to protect their relations with Saudi Arabia -- a deadly policy prejudice which, according to the respected Center for Public Integrity of Washington, DC, seems influenced by the Bush family ties, and Republican donors’ ties, to Saudi royalty. McKinney, a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, thought the BBC/Guardian/Observer investigation worth a follow-up Congressional review.

According to NPR, her “loony” statement was made on the radio news show Counterspin. (Not incidentally, Counterspin is produced by an NPR competitor, the nonprofit Pacifica Radio Network.) I have the transcript; it’s on the web. Her charge that Bush knew about the September 11 attacks in advance and deliberately covered it up can’t be found.

But, if your belief is that Greg Palast is one of those on the "loony left" that you so frequently decry, I understand perfectly where you're coming from.

[MrBenchley]

94. LOL!

"Her charge that Bush knew about the September 11 attacks in advance and deliberately covered it up can’t be found."
That Is hilarious...especially considering how often her whoopsters have pointed to that staement to ululate about howe "brave" she is.

[ronnie624]

101. Please produce this statement.

If it exists, you should have no problem finding it.

[praeclarus]

27. Palast has some interesting commentary on how...

... she has been, essentially, tarred and feathered, by the media for
being an uppity black. You can check it out at Democracy Now.

In any case, if we are measuring effective by number of bills and she
only has 14, well that's all well and good I say. I reckon we have
enough bills and laws to share around amongst a couple dozen civilizations.

All I want my government to do is build the goddam roads and STFU.
More-or-less. ;)

[Judi Lynn]

32. Thanks for the information Palast has written about this.Didn't know.

I'm looking forward to checking it A.S.A.P. I'm so glad to hear it.
Welcome to D.U., praeclarus!

[praeclarus]

33. sorry, it is alternet...

Thank you.

I made a mistake on the site (didn't think anybody would care
to go read it given the "tone" of the responses on this thread).

Here is the link. "The Screwing of Cynthia McKinney"

http://www.alternet.org/story/16172

[TroglodyteScholar]

54. the "uppity black" argument

If a black person is lazy or unintelligent, is it wrong to call them such because those things are age-old stereotypes?

Are black people immune to being "uppity?" The woman has a terrible attitude and does whatever she can to get a spotlight on her. Uppity isn't exactly the word I'd use (I've heard it's got a connotation even more negative than its actual meaning...)

I'd say she's a self-righteous egomaniac who enjoys playing the victim. Again, nothing against her views, many of which I agree with. She is simply a bad messenger. She's too self-obsessed to effectively influence people to share her beliefs. This is worse than useless -- it's counterproductive.

[praeclarus]

57. ok. but...

... what of Palast's story? Did you read it and
you disagree?

He suggests that she was brought down by a concerted
media assasination due to her being an irritation to
the administration and that she is being characterized
incorrectly in many ways including made out to be a
lunatic. A lot like the way you describe her, incidentally.

[GAPeace]

58. The media around her is the problem

These are rich white media outlets that continue to barrage her. They want her gone. Trust me here in Georgia many of the Republicans in OFFICE are very racist and sexist, fundamentalist -- they are much more of a turnoff than McKinney ever has been.

I've MET her. I've seen her speak many times. I've seen American Blackout, the Sundance award winning film about her. She is a proud voice for the underprivileged and downtrodden.

The kind of attacks against her are like those against Cindy Sheehan: character asssassination.

Johnson's already been appearing at pro-Israel rallies, and continues to make sure the coalition of conservative Democrats and hardline Republicans and polluters and developers pour all their money into taking down the most progressive voice in Georgia.

We'll see if Big Money's hate cult can work.

[Codeine]

103. Hi, Sockpuppet! nt

[TroglodyteScholar]

62. Why are so many people putting words in my mouth?

I never called her a lunatic or crazy or anything like that. I simply said she was a bad messenger and a liability to the party.

I think I'm done with this thread.

[ronnie624]

77. In a post above you asked:

"Why do people interested in McKinney seem to be so very knee-jerk and reactionary in their responses?"

Those who engage in knee jerk attacks against her do so because her convictions and her willingness to speak out are viewed by many as a threat to the corporate-political establishment. Anyone who deviates from the framework for debate that is maintained by the corporate media is a threat to the corporate empire and must be destroyed. This task is often accomplished by repetitive ad hominem labels and other personal attacks against the targets and their supporters such as:

-"attention-whore"
-"McKinney's whoopsters"
-"She just a loser and an embarrassment period."
-"offputting"
-"losers such as McKinney"
-"reflects poorly on the entire progressive community"
-"liability to progressives"
-"herself an embarrassment to her constituents"
-"anti-Semitic loony"
-"lazy or unintelligent"
-"terrible attitude and does whatever she can to get a spotlight on her"

You may not have called her "a lunatic or crazy or anything like that" but I believe you included just about every other slur one could possibly think of, and this is just a small sample of the empty, baseless personal attacks that are repeated ad nauseam against Cynthia Mckinney every time she is the subject of a thread here on DU. I have no doubt all of these slurs were absorbed from the corporate media only to be regurgitated here.

Cynthia Mckinney is not the first to be targeted by the corporate media for questioning the intent and activities of the government. Anyone capable of thinking independently of pop media guidance should have no problem seeing through this.

[Judi Lynn]

83. You're right, it IS damned easy to see right through it.

They imagine they are simply outwitting others, or overwhelming them with their "reasoning" abilities. God help us.

It's the SMELL that gives them away the moment you read their raving, and the rancid, uncut hatred. They attempt to flatter themselves with the belief they are skillful and worthy opponents of the people they attempt to malign.

Not the case.

[TroglodyteScholar]

98. Judgmental much? n/t

[ronnie624]

102. All humans are judgmental.

We go through life assessing and judging. Complex judgments are the result of a very large cerebral cortex which all humans possess. It would be nice if we all based our judgments on logic, reason and accurate information, however, in many instances, such is not the case.

It is my opinion that Judi Lynn's judgments are quite solid and well founded.

[LostinVA]

66. This white Chickie believes that

Many people don't like UPPITY women... especially if they are MINORITY UPPITY women.

[Ken Burch]

104. It was her dad who was antisemitic, not Cynthia...

Unless you're going to argue that ANY criticism of the Israeli regime is now antisemitic.

[onehandle]

37. Goodbye, Cynthia. She's done in our district. nt

[flyingobject]

38. McKinney Loss = Morale Boost for Bush and AIPAC

Israeli veteran of IDF, relative of holocaust survivors, says, "all who truly support peace based on justice and human rights for all peoples ought to support Cynthia McKinney now"

McKinney Loss = Morale Boost for AIPAC, Israeli Hawks, Cheney, and Bush

In 2002, large out-of-state contributions to their primary opponents led to the defeats of the two sharpest critics of US policies in the Middle East,African-American Congressmembers Earl Hilliard of Alabama and Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. During this period when the US is giving unqualified support to Israel's massive military strikes in Gaza and Lebanon with weapons accumulated from about $3 billion annually in US military aid, our attention should be given to Cynthia McKinney's current primary run-off election on August 8. A Jewish newspaper has reported that again the pro-Israel lobby is supporting her opponent. Similar news is given in Black Commentator. .

Before unsheathing the reflex accusations of anti-Semitism, note that I am Jewish and an Israeli citizen and that I served in Israel Defense Forces. I have dozens of cousins in Israel, the oldest generation of whom are survivors of the holocaust from a Polish shtetl, almost all of whose inhabitants perished in Treblinka. Information that most out of state contributors to Hilliard's and McKinney's opponents in 2002 were organized by AIPAC, the Jewish lobbying organization, was carried in a 2002 article in HaAretz, Israel's leading newspaper, quoted here

I believe that Israel's colonization of Palestinian territories and its policies of ruling over the inhabitants with extreme brutality doom Israel to perpetual conflict and insecurity. It has been my opinion, since Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 war, that the Palestinians, our neighbors, should be our friends, and that they certainly would be if Israel had not built Jews-only settlements on lands taken from them, had supported their economic and political advancement, and had recognized Palestinians as human beings with rights to life and property equal to those of Jews. I have supported changes in US foreign policy as advocated by Cynthia McKinney because of my conviction that such changes constitute the only hope of influencing Israel to abandon the suicidal madness of war and occupation, and to allow a chance for peace and security in the Mideast....

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_andrew_s_060801_mckinney_loss_3dmorale.htm

[GAPeace]

44. Her no-name opponent is already attending pro-Israel rallies

You can be sure this would signify a tremendous tempering down of progressive Atlanta if Johnson wins. Can enough Republicans crossover vote for him?

[BooScout]

71. Hell most of his campaign funds come from Pro-Israel groups...

Not to mention that the AJC & WSB (her biggest critics) are owned by Cox Enterprises.

[Name removed]

48. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[warrens]

69. Dumb

There were more than enough reports of her behavior that they could be reasonably believed. She has zero chance of winning this, and a REAL good chance of making herself look ridiculous.

[Gully Foyle]

70. Prove it

How about some links?
Why the attacks on a progressive Black woman Democrat?
Could be it her attempt at fairness for Palestinians?
I know Hillary had her people posting at Eschaton/Atrios. I wonder if the DLC doesn't have paid posters here.
Or maybe it is just subtle racism.

[rinsd]

85. So sayeth the newbie posting in favor of McKinney.....

[Tsiyu]

87. The "newbie" is making more sense

than a lot of 'old timers' so your insult is rather amusing.

[rinsd]

90. The newbie is making sense by calling those who disagree plants?

Why am I shocked you would agree with that.

[Tsiyu]

92. Didn't see the 'plant' reference

but other thoughts posted.

Shocked? Whatever. I'm sick of the McKinney bashing. If a newbie stands by her I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

And there are a lot of posers here, even with high post counts, so the 'newbie' isn't entirely off base.

Seems some Dems would rather attack McKinney than support her, and that sickens me. She is not part of the power elite, so yes, people who are against her should be suspect.

Sorry if that disturbs you.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

75. I think she's already accomplished making herself look ridiculous. n/t

[Sven77]

76. moles and trolls

McKinney fought the Bush power grab from the beginning, she questioned Rumsfeld on the Pentagon losing over a trillion dollars and the contractor Dyncorp using slave labor. she led an investigation into 9/11. i want to know why people call her "racist". what proof can you come up with ? quotes, video, etc ? i am amazed how fast she was attacked here for being targeted by a police state provocateur.

[Tsiyu]

78. Don't be surprised

Too many DUers are all erect when bitching at cowardly Dems, but throw a strong, outspoken Dem at them and they suddenly grow flaccid.

There are more cowards in this party than I ever imagined, but mostly when it involves a black female. Too easy of a target.


They eat their own if they aren't white, straight, Christian males.

It is absolutely disgusting to witness, and proof that woman-hating racists exist in BOTH parties.

[bainz]

79. UPDATE: 'Atlanta Journal-Constitution' Not Sued by Congresswoman

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002949290

NEW YORK A Democratic congresswoman from Georgia is not suing The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for libel, contrary to a report in E&P yesterday.

U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney has not filed suit against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, according to attorney Tom Clyde, who is representing the paper.

Yesterday, it was erroneously reported that the congresswoman filed charges against the paper’s Editorial Page Editor Cynthia Tucker and Publisher John Mellott for an editorial column that ran in the Sunday July 30 edition about McKinney’s alleged altercation with police.

[lpbk2713]

93. Where is Emily Latella when you need her?

[MrBenchley]

96. So her claim of libel was the sheerest horseshit

and she knows it.

[MGKrebs]

82. Regarding McKinney's effectiveness.

"Congress.org confirmed that McKinney was the only member of the Georgia delegation to get legislation passed"

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/0802metfourth.html

Also, I think many people attribute comments made by her father as if they came from her. When challenged about that, the common response is "well, she doesn't distance herself from him" or something similar. But he is her FATHER. It's possible she values the relationship more than entering into some stupid denial of something she didn't even say in the first place just because a newspapaer wants to make an issue out of it. Just the fact that the newspapers keep going to Billy to get a comment should reveal that they are fishing for a controversy.

I can't vote for her, but all congresspeople affect all of us. We need diverse voices, and even if McKinney didn't do much bringin' home the bacon for her district, I would thank her district for supporting her anyway so that we all can benefit from her voice on the national stage. She may not be the most polished product we can imagine, but what she says often needs to be said, and stimulates (or should) dialogue on important issues.

[rinsd]

84. She has campaigned with Farrakan

Who is not known for his love of the Jewish people.

Also she wanted to accept the Saudi prince's money that Guiliani rejected after the prince blamed the jews for 9-11. That is wha touched off the first firestrom that ended up with her losing her candidacy in the primaries.

Oh and her candiacy against a Jewish republican in the mid-90's got very very nasty.

Its not one thing. Its actually quite a few.

[Gully Foyle]

89. Ok

"Its not one thing. Its actually quite a few. "

Post some links baby, post the links.
So the Minister is bad, but Jesse who used "Hymietown" is good?
The minister is BLACK and does have pull in the black community.
I say it is a smart move for her a BLACK female candidate to associate herself with the BLACK powers that be.
The fact is Jewish money from outside her community was pumped to her opponents campaign. The money came from a number of different jewish groups. Other than her balanced approach to palestine why would she be targeted by those specific groups?
The stink of racism is heavy in this thread. And it isn't the antisemetic kind. Nice buzzword to use.
Here some links a mixed bag for fairness.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/079tehyf.asp
"The actual reason why Cynthia McKinney left Congress in 2002 was that, for once, she couldn't outrun her mouth. She had walked along the cutting edge of progressive politics for years--appearing with Louis Farrakhan, calling globalization a "cruel hoax," advocating for Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe--but then, in a March 25, 2002, interview on KPFA Pacifica radio, she suddenly fell off.

"We know there were numerous warnings of the events to
come on September 11," McKinney said that day. "What did this administration know and when did it know it, about the events of September 11? Who else knew, and why did they not warn the innocent people of New York who were needlessly murdered? What do they have to hide?" McKinney thought she knew the answer. "What is undeniable," she explained, "is that corporations close to the administration have directly benefited from the increased defense spending arising from the aftermath of September 11th."

It was all downhill from there. On April 12, 2002, a synopsis of the interview appeared in the Washington Post. Democrats began distancing themselves from McKinney. She released a statement admitting she was "not aware of any evidence" proving "President Bush or members of his administration have personally profited from the attacks of 9/11," but "a complete investigation might reveal that to be the case." Then again, it might not. For that matter, McKinney might have had no idea what she was talking about.

Appearing in print just months after the September 11 attacks, McKinney's charges couldn't be excused. Nor could her list of campaign donors, which included both terrorist sympathizers like Abdurahman Alamoudi, the former executive director of the American Muslim Council, and apparent actual terrorists like former college professor Sami Al-Arian. Nor could her October 12, 2001, letter to Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, in which she rebuked New York mayor Rudy Giuliani for returning the prince's post-9/11 "gift" of $10 million and urged bin Talal to donate the funds to "charities outside the mayor's control," especially those that dealt with "poor blacks who sleep on the street in the shadows of our nation's Capitol." Giuliani had returned the Saudi's money because it came with the implicit condition that America "address some of the issues that led to such a criminal <9/11> attack," among them "its policies in the Middle East," where "our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of Israelis while the world turns the other cheek." To Giuliani, such a statement made excuses for terrorism. This wasn't a problem for McKinney."

http://www.atljewishtimes.com/archives/1999/110599cs.htm
"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.
Stine calls himself a strong supporter of AIPAC, but he defends McKinney
for refusing to placate an organization which Stine thinks plays a
disproportionate role in defining how Jews view elected officials. "We have
been known on occasion to get turned off if the list AIPAC
hands out isn't checked off properly.""
.....
"A visionary
To be sure, McKinney has forged close alliances with some Jews.
Stephanie Davis, head of the Atlanta Women's Foundation, has known McKinney
since her days in the state legislature, where Davis was a legislative
researcher. "I think she's a visionary in many ways," Davis said. "She is
so strong on issues of equality and equal rights for women and people of
color." Davis is frustrated by what she sees as the Jewish community's
unwillingness to forgive McKinney for the harsh tone of the 1996 election:
"We cannot disregard her or pretend she's not important to our future or
try to discount her for past actions that I think she's reversed."
Gary Edelman, a Decatur surgeon, credits McKinney with winning him a
position on Gov. Barnes' newly created Community Health Board. He has risen
to vice-chair and become an adviser to McKinney on health care and other
issues. "She's a good lady," Edelman told me. "I think she's misunderstood
in the Jewish community."
Frank agrees. "We like to hate Cynthia," Frank said of Atlanta Jews."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_mckinney
"Anti-war, human rights, and impeachment efforts

Until 2000, McKinney served on the House International Relations Committee, where she was the highest-ranking Democrat on the Human Rights Subcommittee. McKinney felt that it was important that US policy reflect a deep respect for human rights, so she worked on legislation to stop conventional weapons transfers to governments which are undemocratic or fail to respect human rights. Her legislation to end the mining of coltan in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was mentioned in the United Nations Security Council's "Special Report on Ituri," January 2002-December 2003.

On November 18, 2005, McKinney was one of only 3 (out of 406) to vote for H.R. 571, introduced by House Armed Services Committee chairman Duncan Hunter, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, on which McKinney sits. Hunter, a Republican, offered this resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq in place of John Murtha's H.J.Res. 73, which called for redeployment "at the earliest possible date." In her prepared statement, McKinney accused the Republicans of "trying to set a trap for the Democrats. A 'no' vote for this Resolution will obscure the fact that there is strong support for withdrawal of US forces from Iraq ... In voting for this bill, let me be perfectly clear that I am not saying the United States should exit Iraq without a plan. I agree with Mr. Murtha that security and stability in Iraq should be pursued through diplomacy. I simply want to vote yes to an orderly withdrawal from Iraq."

Rep. McKinney is a co-sponsor of Rep. John Conyers's H.R. 635, which would create a Select Committee to look into potential grounds for the impeachment of President Bush. On January 20th, 2006, she also signed a statement by the group The World Can't Wait called Drive Out the Bush Regime."

http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn0821.html
"Don't you think that if Arab-American groups or African-American groups targeted an incumbent white liberal, maybe Jewish, congressperson, and shipped in money by the truckload to oust the incumbent, the rafters would shake with bellows of outrage.

Yet when a torrent of money from out of state American Jewish organizations smashed Earl Hilliard, first elected black congressperson in Alabama since Reconstruction, you could have heard a mouse cough. Hilliard had made the fatal error of calling for some measure of even-handedness in the Middle East. So he was targeted by AIPAC and the others. Down he went, defeated in the Democratic primary by Artur Davis, a black lawyer who obediently sang for his supper of the topic of Israel.

Then it was McKinney's turn. A terrific liberal black congresswoman. Like Hilliard she wasn't cowed by the Israel right-or-wrong lobby and called for real debate on the Middle East. And she called for a real examination of the lead-up to 9/11. So the sky fell in on her. Torrents of American Jewish money showered her opponent, a black woman judge called Majette. Buckets of sewage were poured over McKinney's head in the Washington Post and the Atlanta Constitution.

Here's how it worked. McKinney saw what happened to Hilliard, and that American Jewish money was pumping up Majette's challenge. So she went to Arab-American groups to try to raise money to fight back. This allowed Tom Edsall to attack her in the Washington Post as being in receipt of money from pro-terror Muslims. Lots of nasty looking Arab/Muslim names suddenly filled Edsall's stories."

So it goes.

[MrBenchley]

99. The attack on Jesse Jackson is SUCH a nice touch....

[Judi Lynn]

86. Helpful information.It's good to see the truth about this often used

bogus racists' talking point. Absolutely.

[unda cova brutha]

91. you go girl!

[yurbud]

105. what she was accused of saying about Bush looks truer every day