The Return of McKinney

Cynthia McKinney, the former congresswoman, is one step closer to returning to Congress after winning the Democratic primary in Georgia’s fourth congressional district on Tuesday.Ms. McKinney lost her seat two years ago after making racially divisive and anti-Israel comments and accusing the Bush administration of profiting from the September 11 attacks. This year’s Democratic primary drew about 20,000 fewer voters than the last one. There are several possible explanations, including an exciting Republican Senate primary that may have lowered the number of Republican crossover voters. Polls that indicated Ms. McKinney was likely to face a runoff election may also have bred complacency among some voters.What helped Ms. McKinney most of all was the lack of public attention paid to her campaign, especially the silence from Democratic Party elites. Many Democrats welcomed Ms. McKinney’s defeat in 2002. The founder of the Democratic Leadership Council, Al From, described her as one of “the most partisan, polarizing members of Congress.” The New Republic called Ms. McKinney “clownish and divisive” and “deranged.”This time around, the Democratic Party is apparently making room for the likes of Ms. McKinney. Rep. Barbara Lee of California traveled to Georgia during the primary campaign to say, “My constituents in Oakland and Berkley are anxiously waiting for Cynthia McKinney’s return to Congress.” Ohio’s Rep. Marcy Kaptur also campaigned for Ms. McKinney. “Congress needs a person like Cynthia,” she said.In the past two years, the Democratic Party has flirted with a radical activist base that agrees with Ms. McKinney that “the American people might have a criminal syndicate running their government.”We’re waiting for a Democratic officeholder who finds Ms. McKinney’s record and comments so odious that the politician would cross party lines to endorse Catherine Davis, the Republican businesswoman running for the congressional seat.

The Return of McKinney

The Return of McKinney

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