Posted on 04/23/2012 7:57:57 AM PDT by Prov1322
Former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is preparing to run for her old 4th Congressional district seat on the Green Party ticket.
Andy Manis, AP Cynthia McKinney, a former congresswoman, ran for president as the Green Party candidate in 2008.
McKinney was defeated by 4th district incumbent Hank Johnson in 2006 after serving six terms in Congress and has kept a low profile since returning to Atlanta from the San Francisco area where she moved in 2007.
Since February she has made a few public appearances in her old district but stayed low key with her plans. She filed paperwork April 2 with the Federal Elections Commission declaring her intention to run.
Tracked down at her mother’s home Thursday by a reporter from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, McKinney declined to comment and ordered the reporter off the property.
Last week she was recruiting volunteers to collect the 18,860 signatures of registered voters she’ll need by August 6 to get on the newly redrawn 4th district ballot, according the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
A lightning-rod political figure, McKinney, 55, was defeated in 2006 by Johnson after a much-publicized run-in with a U.S. Capitol police officer and her accusations that the Bush administration may have known beforehand about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In 2008 she won the Green Party nomination and ran for president. McKinney and running mate Rosa Clemente were on the ballot in 31 states, but not Georgia.
The party had hoped with McKinney's name recognition to get at least 5% of the vote so the party would automatically be on the 2012 ballot in all 50 states. She got less than 1 percent of the vote.
In the summer of 2009, McKinney made international news for her involvement in the Free Gaza Movement, during which she was detained after a ship she was aboard carrying humanitarian supplies was stopped by the Israeli Navy for allegedly running a blockade.
Back in Atlanta, McKinney’s associates in the Green Party – which she joined in 2007 after quitting the Democratic Party – have closed ranks in support.
Her former Green Party campaign manager, Hugh Esco, said Wednesday he could not confirm McKinney plans to run, as first reported by the Atlanta Progressive News. “I would call that report a wild rumor,” said Esco.
Frank Redding, a friend of McKinney’s late father, former state legislator Billy McKinney, who has known Cynthia since childhood, said Thursday he’s not surprised to hear she’s back in her old district and making the rounds for a political rebirth.
“She’s been around and been more visible and I believe she’s going to make a run, though I’ve not had a personal conversation with her,” said Redding. “But anywhere she runs in South Dekalb County she’s going to be viable.”
The new District 4 contains about two-thirds of DeKalb County including the cities of Stone Mountain and Scottdale, and portions of Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale counties.
Other former supporters question whether McKinney has the resources or enough remaining clout and presence in the district she left six years ago to get the signatures needed to get on the ballot.
“That’s going to be the real challenge for her,” said John Evans, who handled McKinney’s last congressional campaign, in 2006.
Jan Selman, a Decatur political consultant and former McKinney supporter who backed Hank Johnson in 2006, said she still supports Johnson, and doubts most voters will "get off the rail" and vote Green Party, no matter the candidate.
She said she would never underestimate McKinney. "She's a very determined person," said Selman. “But we need someone in the 4th district with tenure. Hank’s been in there three terms. I can’t see that changing right now.”
If Buh-wheat polls 25% or more, Chris could win.
If Cynthia McKinney is elected, she shouldn’t be seated.
It was Cynthia, you’ll remember, who punched a congressional security guard who attempted to stop her because she lacked the requisite lapel ID, and she was furious that the guard did not recognize her royal highness.
It was Cynthia, too, who said, “A complete investigation might reveal” that “President Bush or members of his administration have personally profited from the attacks of 9-11.”
Every decent member of Congress should vote not to seat this unworthy jerk.
"I got a solution, you're a d--k, South Carolina, what's up?"
Be right at home in congress with the rest of the room-temp IQ idiots!!
I think that’s the problem with the whole administration. Not very bright, poorly educated, but mean brother, mean.
Oh, just damn.
Some of us in the DeKalb delegation were talking about this wench at the 6th District Republican convention, wondering what had become of her. Little did we suspect that she would soon be returning to haunt us.
I read somewhere that she has the Mars delegation all wrapped up! You go girl!
They both represent the majority of the 4th district voters pretty well. Stupid, arrogant, loudmouthed, racist lunatics. Actually Johnson is an improvement of McKinney - he's not quite as crazy. She needs to find something she's qualified for other than Democrat in Kongress - like cleaning the bathrooms at MacDonald's or holding an "I will work for food." sign at an interstate ramp.
North DeKalb is in the GA 6th Congressional District, and has been again for some time. There was only about a 4 year period that it was not.
With the 2010 census redistricting, even more is in the 6th this year than two years ago. Thank Fran Millar, among others, for that.
I think you’re confusing Cynthia with her currrsin, Shelia Jackson Lee.
“...Stupid, arrogant, loudmouthed, racist lunatics....”
Damn, you just pretty much described the Democrat Party in general...sums ‘em up nicely.
Ya know, I used to bash the 10th CD Texas voters for returning Queen Shelia to orfice, but her district is not all po angry black folk-and the people in those district are not all stupid like her. I think what we have here is entrenched corruption—machine politics as bad as 19th century New York or pre-1960s in the south. As long as we can’t touch the machine, we can’t shake them.
No, they're both nuts!
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