Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney threw her hat into the presidential race this week – as a Green Partier!
Most of you probably remember the Georgia-native from her run in with a Capital Hill copper last year, but others may recall McKinney’s pro-LGBT work. She fought for binational gay couples’ rights and joined her progressive peers in fighting “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. Though she once sided with the Democrats, McKinney says she and the Green Party will pave a new way:
The Democrats, no different than their Republican counterpart, eat out of the hands of corrupt lobbyists and feed at the same corporate trough. I am proud to say the Green Party is my new political home.
…
The Republicans have deceived us, the Democrats have failed us. But we cannot deceive ourselves and we must not fail in our struggle for peace because the world still looks to America for leadership. Now, we must be those leaders.”
McKinney says that those who believe in “social justice” and believe in Martin Luther King’s dream should come together to support her. That sounds good in theory, but is it politically pragmatic?
hephaestion
Yes let us support a an anti semite, who believes 911 was an inside job, supports Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe and racist Louis Farakhan
Let us not forget her taking donations from terrorist sympathizers like Abdurahman Alamoudi of the American Muslim Council.
Yes lets all embrace her.
TGman
this is a joke and doesn’t deserve any attention. CM is an ignorant bigot who seeks only attention. this certainly says a lot about the Green party doesn’t it?
hells kitchen guy
She’s also a virulent anti-Semite. Do your homework.
Matt
If she’s nominated, it certainly will take the Green Party out of the equation in November, which is good news; it’s bad news for the credibility of the environmentalist movement in general, though, which ultimately is bad news for us all. But maybe she and Ron “I-never-met-a-white-supremacist-I-couldn’t-take-money-from” Paul(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22331091/)would make a wonderful team, in terms of sheer crazy-power alone.
Scott Berwitz
Agree, agree, agree and agree. Cynthia McKinney is everything we should NOT be supporting…a racist anti-semite who is reflexively anti-American at every turn. The way she handled herself after hitting the cop was just a shameful disaster, her comments on Jews and Israel, bigots. She has taken money from “charities” closely linked with terrorism.
She has aligned herself with some of the most virulent anti-semites and anti-gay ideologies this country has to offer.
She’s no friend. And gays should be the first to say so.
ProfessorVP
McKinney doesn’t act crazy, she is crazy.
hisurfer
The poor Greens.
HemlockEcho
What makes you think Cynthia McKinney is anti-semitic? I’ve heard this before, but not associated with any direct quotes or specific references. Is there other than allegations and guilt-by-association?
hells kitchen guy
Helock: do the most elemental research on the web. anti-semite isn’t something I toss around but her comments were repulsive. her father’s were worse- blaming jews for her daughter’s loss, a jewish conspiracy, etc. She refused to repudiate the remarks.
Bill Perdue
My politics are to the left of Cynthia Mckinney‘s so I did quite a bit of research and found that she’s a ‘progressive’ whose amorphous politics are not exactly cutting edge or well thought out. But to be fair, I also discovered that most of the stories about her from right wing sources are, simply put, lies. What angers prowar Democrats islamophobes are her statement that “The Democrats, no different than their Republican counterpart, eat out of the hands of corrupt lobbyists and feed at the same corporate trough†and “”It is time for peace….time to break the vicious cycle where the poor go to war and veterans come home wounded and ignored.”
For those interested in the truth begin by linking to the BBC and search for Tutu, apartheid, and Israeli apartheid. Tutu’s a leading critic of gay bashing and all forms of racism and his politics are close to Cynthia Mckinney‘s. Is Tutu an anti-Semite too? (Come on hellskitcheyguy, you know you want to scream YES!)
The New York Times ran a story about Cynthia Mckinney that’s typical of their pro-Democrat , pro-zionist party line slanted journalism. The demolition of the NYTimes story can be found by linking to www dot alternet dot org for story 16172
Or refer to www dot alternet dot org for story 62618 which describes the growing Jewish anti -zionist movement and how zionists try to smear opponents the war in Iraq, it extension to a US nuclear holocaust in Iran and the apartheid treatment of Palestinians. Lieberman, Bush and the other chickenhawks defend their ultraright politics by calling their opponents anti-Semites. That doesn’t work anymore because people know what’s going on and that.
Those who need help in their efforts to become recovering rightwing pro-war chickenhawks or former ex. right wing zionists might find help at www dot jewishvoiceforpeace dot org, www dot electronicintifada net , www dot merip dot org. Chickenhawk war supporters might also be interested in www dot antiwar dot com for story 11452 which details the intersection of utltrightist and anti-Palestinian activities. Lastly they might want to examine www dot couragetorefuse dot org fwdslash English for the story of the reufiniks who resfuese to serve in the apartheid Israeli armed forces.
Or refer to www dot bilerico dot com for a Dec. 20, 2007 attacking Cynthia Mckinney‘s critics as liars. The article is by Steve Ralls, who currently serves as director of communications for SLDN, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
David Hauslaib, Queerty
Interesting article about McKinney and the Jewish community here:
http://www.atljewishtimes.com/archives/1999/110599cs.htm
Of note: ” Even her friends acknowledge that McKinney is abrasive, that her world is made up of stark contrasts and of friends and enemies, to whom she reacts with deeply felt passion. It may therefore be Jewish hyper-sensitivity which assumes that her treatment of Jews is somehow different from the way she deals with others. To some extent, it’s simply how McKinney does business.”
andrew
In my opinion as a somewhat tenuous Jew: McKinney’s politics are less important and relevant than her presence. First of all, she’s a woman – a black woman – leading the Green Party, one of the only viable/notable/visible third parties in our unfortunately bipartisan government. And, on a related note, the implications of a Green Party candidate are certainly noteworthy. While I would personally laud a right wing third party – they split the conservative vote – a left wing third party may spell disaster for some of the Democrats. I love the idea of a multiparty democracy, but it’s unrealistic at the moment. McKinney’s candidacy may have larger implications than some would like to acknowledge.
Scott Berwitz
Andrew –
I am sorry – but I can’t stress how distasteful I find that argument. I don’t care if she’s a black woman or a green transvestite. What I care about is the fact that she takes money from organizations with known terrorist links, and she aligns herself with groups like the New Black Panthers who, after she lost, told reporters that she lost because of Israel and to put their Yarmulkes on. Or that her father said she lost, point blank, because of J-E-W-S. True, it wasn’t HER saying those things, but she chooses to take money from organizations, hire security detail from groups that are blatantly anti-semitic. I don’t think it’s “hypersensitive” to blow the whistle on this nonsense.
Do you remember that she attempted to smack down a policeman on the hill? Did you see her on TV, evading questions, throwing the race card all over the place, and at some points, bordering on threatening reporters? Perhaps that doesn’t bother you, so long as it takes votes away from Republicans. Or maybe it’s because she’s a black woman – a fact that means nothing to me either way.
Condoleeza Rice is a black woman and is the most powerful female in the world at the moment…but because her politics don’t square with those who care most about skin color, somehow, she gets glossed over. It’s shameful, to say the least.
I’ll say it again. Cynthia McKinney is no friend. I think we should be the first to say so.
todd
Just yell anti-Semite at someone who doesn’t advance the corporate agenda of mainstream america. She’s no more a loon, an anti-semite or a terrorist than election spoiler Ralph Nader.
Scott Berwitz
Todd –
You’re ridiculous. Re-read my post or do some research yourself (one or two minute check) before reflexively dismissing anyone who calls this woman an anti-semite.
You don’t know enough about me or anyone else on this page to suggest that the term anti-semite is one I use loosely or frequently.
What the hell it has to do with a “corporate agenda” or “Ralph Nader” I have no idea.
hells kitchen guy
“Abrasive” is not a great term for anyone in the public eye, let alone a democratically elected representative.
the use of Bill Purdue’s word “zionist” smacks of “zog.” McKinney’s father made what by any standards are patently anti-Semitic – not anti-“zionist’ or anti-Israel, but anti-Jewish – comments. To blame the messenger is a copout.
Bill Perdue
“hells kitchen twit†– ‘Zog’, ‘Gog’, ‘Magog’? WTF? Are these clues for a NY Times crossword? Try to stay on topic. It makes it easier for the rest of us.
Now answer the question, hells kitchen twit. The question is not what Cynthia McKinney’s dad, high school sweetheart or manicurist said but what Cynthia McKinney said about the Palestinina struggle against colonialism. Which reiterates Desmond Tutu’s claim that the zionist apartheid state oppresses Palestinians like the neo-Nazis of the RSA Nationalist Party oppressed Africans? Tutu is an expert on the evils of colonialism and apartheid systems. Is he an anti-Semite?
The Kahuna
I don’t wish to wade into the name calling. But I suggest, rather than concentrate on the (alleged) failings of Cynthia McKinney, that all of you take a look at the ONLY political party that, as part of its platform, advocates for full and equal rights for LBGT’s (and every other American).
Put another way, Green Party is saying: you all are just like the rest of us. Period. No strings attached.
The Democrats equivocate with half-assed nonsense like “civil unions” and “partnership agreements”. And they’re going to dangle the “full citizenship” carrot in front of you forever. They’re not going to change anything so long as LBGT’s have nowhere else to go: they’re perfectly happy knowing that as long as the issue stays “alive”, you vote Donkey every time.
Of course, the GOP leadership is doing the same thing: using LBGT’s to scare their robotic followers into supporting their fascist agenda.
I will grant that McKinney’s father is an ass. Then again: elderly black man, raised in Georgia believes the anti-semite nonsense handed to him all his life! News at 11.
McKinney isn’t a perfect human being. But at least she is a Green. If your LGBT, then you should be too.
Gregg Jocoy
Well, I am a straight man, white, middle aged and middle class. So, why do I support Cynthia McKinney? Because she has many of the same values I do, including a belief that all people must be treated equally and with respect.
I also want to address the “assault” on a Capitol Hill police officer and her alleged anti-Jewish bias.
The HUGE majority of congresspeople are white men. A few are female, and a few are Black. VERY few are both.
Every Capitol Hill police officer is required to learn to recognize every member of Congress by looking at their face. Congresswoman McKinney felt a hand on her elbow, and pulled back. When the police officer persisted she smacked him in the chest, or so it seems.
The police officer filed a complaint DAYS afterward…AND Congresswoman McKinney apologized. WHAT MORE do you need from her?
As to the assertion that she is anti-Jewish, (Semites can be Jewish, but can also belong to other faith traditions, I can only say that a LOT of folks confuse opposition to things the Israeli government does, like building nuclear weapons and forcing Palestinians and others to live in squalor behind fences, with being anti-Jewish.
Her father did say that the Jews were responsible for her defeat, but a cursory look at the list of folks who donated to her opponent would show that many are active in the pro-Israeli government camp. Is it not fair to tell the truth? The truth is, some pro-Israeli government folks in the US did target McKinney for defeat because she stands for justice for all, not domination of one group by another.
Don’t blindly believe what you read, whether written by me or anyone else. Do your own research, and don’t do the easy thing by reading that which just confirms your own prejudices, but look for the things that folks you don’t often agree with have to say…sometimes they are right.
Finally, if McKinney is not your cup of tea, but you *do* believe in equal rights for all, there are six other folks seeking the GP nomination, so somewhere inside the most consistently pro-equality political party there must be someone who’s positions you agree with more broadly. Perhaps instead of attacking McKinney your time could be better spent supporting another Green with whom you do agree.
The Kahuna
More to the point, even if you support Clinton or Obama (or whomever) for President: register to vote as a Green.
Alternatively: vote in the Democratic primary, and then register as a Green.
If your politics are progressive, then you are already aware that the Democrats are really not doing one heck of a lot for you. The give the wink and nod to progressive issues and then they move toward, or outright pander to, the “American Middle”. (my own term: the notion being that the typical American conservative would be considered a fascist – or a Nazi – in Europe and South America so the middle here is well to the right there).
My points: the Green Party is really the only American Left left and the simple act of your voter registration (as Green) says a thing in and of itself: “I am Progressive and I vote”.
Maybe it doesn’t seem to be much, but “all of us taken together” is sort of the whole idea of politics is it not?
In any case, the political parties, the candidates, pollsters, and Secretarys of State, all count these registrations when making decisions. And if 15-20% of the electorate is registered “progressive” (meaning Green), then attention will be paid – both seeking and in retaining office.
The step after that is getting real progressives into high (and low) office.
Scott Berwitz
Gregg – I don’t know if you are willfully ignorant or simply gullible, but McKinney, apologized for the incident and the escalation thereof, not for her disgusting behavior. Nor did that happen right away. It was only after she went on a whirlwind media tour tossing the race card all over the place – and in the process suggesting that this was a racial incident (meaning, the officer was a racist)…that she even offered this non-apology. It was also after a meeting with the CBC…which heavily suggested it was them forcing her to do it that got her to apologize for ANYTHING. So let’s put this apology thing to rest. If that’s an apology, I wonder what an attack is.
McKinney’s father didn’t say pro-Israeli. He said “Jews.†And for those of you who don’t get it, he spelled it out clearly. “J-E-W-S.†Imagine if someone said something in the reverse. “We lost because of Blacks. B-L-A-C-K-S.†Just take a moment to think of what the response would be. And it SHOULD be bad. It would be an awful, terribly ignorant thing to say. It’s no less terrible and ignorant when it’s Jews we’re talking about.
I agree with Gregg. Don’t blindly believe ANYTHING. Do the research. Find the truth. And call a spade a spade. Enough of the nonsense already.
Skeffington
How many of you are reponsible or want to be responsible for what your fathers said or will say in the future? Look up the archives in congress and you will see the many times that she voted in support of Israel and Jewish issues.
RebBoy
Cynthia McKinney is the right choice. Pro-LGBT, pro-Immigrants, pro-Workers, pro-Human Rights for all. And the only candidate who can realistically claim to be ANTI-WAR in every analytical sense of the term!!
Anti-Semite? How so? She loves the Palestinians, some of the original semites of the Israel-Palestine region. She is anti-Israel military occupation, and so are many Israelis these days. Don’t get it twisted by the right-wing RACIST/ZIONIST occupation Israeli lobby machine. Cynthia McKinney is against ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, and so they twistedly think that she hates jews? That is so bogus. Being in support of the struggle of Palestinians (look at the many UN resolutions against Israeli illegal occupation, please) is not the same as hating Jews.
http://endtheoccupation.org/article.php?list=type&type=208
Cynthia McKinney = Revolution. Y’all ready!?
Gina
The Green Party must really be confused and desperate. After watching Cynthia McKinney’s behavior, hitting the Capitol Hill police officer, in 2006, I couldn’t imagine her running for dog catcher. Why would anybody in their right mind elect McKinney to anything … let alone the Presidency of the United States?
Susan
Amazing how many people have bought into the lies perpetrated by propagandists about how evil Israel is, & that, therefore, anyone *else* who buys those lies must be, somehow, not hateful *either*.
RebBoy – look up the difference between “non-binding” UN resolution & binding one. Also look up the word “illegal”. Then again, someone as twisted as you into pretending that Zionism is racism (even the racist UN had to drop that one) isn’t really going to listen to reason.
Perdue – look up the word “colonialism”, but try to do so without blinders on. No, I’m not expecting you to be honest, either.