McKinney challenger drawing GOP support, but will it be enough?

Macon.com ^ | Aug 18 - 02 | KRISTEN WYATT

[scratchgolfer]

McKinney challenger drawing GOP support, but will it be enough?

KRISTEN WYATT

Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA - Albert Still has always voted Republican, but when he met conservative Rep. Bob Barr recently at a restaurant, he hid his head behind his hands and apologized. The Tucker man plans to ask for the Democratic ballot in Tuesday's primary.

Barr only laughed.

"You're doing the Lord's work when you do that," the congressman assured him.

The response would be unusual for any race except one - Tuesday's Democratic primary in the 4th District, where political firebrand Rep. Cynthia McKinney faces the fight of her career against a virtual unknown, former state judge Denise Majette.

The district is decidedly liberal and probably will elect a Democrat, leaving many Republicans in the district divided whether they should stick with their own party ballot or vote for Majette simply to help her beat McKinney.

McKinney infuriated conservatives for criticizing President Bush and other prominent Republicans after Sept. 11. She suggested Bush ignored warnings of terrorist attack because he has friends in the defense industry who would benefit from a war on terrorism. She scolded former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for returning a Saudi prince's donation for terrorism victims after the prince made comments about U.S. policy in the Mideast.

Still said he's so tired of McKinney's remarks that he doesn't mind voting for a Democrat as long as it isn't her.

"I just feel that I have to get a representative in Congress I'm proud of, not embarrassed of," he said.

Political watchers say Tuesday's primary could be the biggest challenge yet for McKinney, a four-term incumbent. Majette has raised more money than McKinney, and some polls show Majette with a slight lead.

Hoping to make that lead count on election day is a group of unhappy Republicans and moderate Democrats, who have created a Web site urging conservatives to vote in the Democratic primary.

The site, goodbyecynthia.com, calls McKinney a "loose cannon" and a "disgrace."

"If Republicans don't cross over and Cynthia wins, it's our fault," said William Head, an attorney who helped create the site. Head is a Democrat but said it's easy to convince Republicans they should ignore the GOP ballot and support Majette.

"A Republican couldn't win in that district unless they were reincarnated and came down from heaven. Maybe not even then," he said.

Almost half of the adults in the district are black, and McKinney won each of her last two races with 61 percent of the vote.

The congresswoman's campaign paints Majette as too conservative in mass mailings. One McKinney supporter, Democratic state Rep. Karla Drenner, said Majette is using "smoke and mirrors" to appear liberal.

"She sounds very similar to me not as even a moderate Democrat, but a true Republican," said Drenner, who lives in the district.

Majette's volunteers insist they're not seeking GOP support. Her press secretary, Elizabeth Wilson, called Majette a "die-hard Democrat" who can win without Republican crossover votes.

"We're welcoming support from across the board," Wilson said. "There is no concerted effort at all to go after Republican voters. She's a Democrat and always has been."

Indeed, many Republicans aren't cheering for Majette. The state party has taken no position on the matter, but some local Republicans are telling voters the Majette fight is hopeless.

"I'm afraid there are not enough Republicans planning to cross over to offset the extremely powerful machine the McKinney family has built," said state Rep. Paul Jennings, R-Atlanta, who is unopposed in his primary but still thinks Republicans should stay on their side.

Another local GOP official, Rep. Fran Millar, said it's useless to try to defeat a Democratic incumbent in such a liberal district.

"It's not gonna happen. Sorry," he said.

Majette supporters said they're tired of Republican nay-sayers who complain about McKinney but claim she can't be beat. Tuesday's election could very well end the controversial congresswoman's career, said Head, who runs the anti-McKinney Web site.

"People aren't voting for parties anymore, they're voting for the person," he said.

[mhking]

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[tndarlin]

I have a number of Republican friends in this district as well as my in-laws. They are all voting for Majette.

[backhoe]

Let me mention a couple of things-- first, an appeal--

- my email's been off-and-on dead or unreliable for the last 5 days-- server problems-- and I can't reliably relay this info to the usual letters to editors and opinion-makers.

... anyone else interested in online activism, go here:

Ignorance Making You Ill? Cure It!

for links, tools, & instructions about how to contact a pile of different people, and how to send a link to this story right here ( or anywhere else ) to a "mass email" using Outlook Express.

---

What I do is open a "new mail" window in OE, and then troll this board for links with a title & pithy summary where possible, until I get 6-12 or more, then mail it in. The search engine is useful in harvesting links for that as well.

---

And plenty of info on McKinney, her thuggish father, and Majette are here:

The McKinney Files....

[Tacis]

From our Republican perspective, is it better to have an unknown liberal black congressman who will vote and speak just as Head Gephardt, Qweezie and the DNC order him to or to have absolute proof of the idiocy of democrats in Congress? If I can't have an honest, conservative to middle of the road Republican, than I certainly want McKinney back in office. She is a major embarrassment to the dems (and to other blacks) in Congress and, to that extent, is well worth keeping. Where else would the Arabs spend their money to try to influence dems?

[billhilly]

Embarassment? Democrats? Yugoddabekiddin.

[GmbyMan]

>>> If I can't have an honest, conservative to middle of the road Republican, than I certainly want McKinney back in office. She is a major embarrassment to the dems (and to other blacks) in Congress and, to that extent, is well worth keeping <<<

Come on. We need to defeat these jokers whenever and wherever we can. There will always be McKinney-esque people in the House (Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, etc...) but at least in Majette, we have someone who will probably be supportive of Israel and opposed to reparations. She is worth electing if ONLY for that. Otherwise, we will continue to extend power to the most sickening person possible.

Defeat McKinney Now!!!

[Gopher Broke]

I agree...ALL 4th district Republicans should vote TOMORROW to kick out McKinney.....she is an embarassement to the human race

[ozzymandus]

You want McKinney?? get real! She's an embarrasment to the nation, not just the RATs. I suppose you'd vote for Al Sharpton for prez, just to embarras the RATs. Problem is, they have no shame. Remember clinton?

[Koblenz]

McKinney in the house can influence other races. If Majette is going to vote the exact same way as McKinney, then why do we want Majette? As long as someone from that district is going to vote liberal all the time, why not have them be an obnoxious loudmouth to make the Democratic party look like a bunch of nutcakes?

Also, the fear that she become Chairman of a committee could strike fear in people across the nation. Look at Dingell: he won mainly because people in that district thought that if he lost, and the Republicans lost the house, Waxman would be chairman of the Energy committee, and Detroit would have a difficult time if Waxman were head of that Committee.

[afuturegovernor]

The GOP will never get a sizable percent of the black vote as long as race pimps like McKinney are the "voice of blacks everywhere" in Congress. I whole-heartly welcome her defeat.