One of the most controversial members of Congress is Georgia’s Cynthia McKinney. McKinney was the first black woman ever to be elected to Congress from Georgia. After serving in Congress for a decade, McKinney lost her seat in 2002 to Judge Denise Majette. Majette raked in a tremendous amount of money from New Yorkers, many of whom were upset by McKinney’s comments suggesting President Bush had foreknowledge of September 11, as well as McKinney’s criticisms of America’s role in Middle East affairs. After two years in Congress, Majette vacated her seat to run (unsuccessfully) for the Senate.
McKinney has made countless controversial statements: “Most notable were her suggestions that former Democratic Vice President Al Gore had a low “Negro tolerance level” and that White House officials had prior knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks but kept quiet, allowing allies to profit.”
TheStateOf…the future of the black liberal. When I was in college, I admired McKinney for what I interpreted as her willingness to speak up for the poor. I still do admire her for that. Last week, I saw a very impressive speech she gave on Hurricane Katrina, and I enjoyed the way she didn’t parse her words (as so many Democrats do). Still, McKinney and her constituents would be better-served if she stayed away from the conspiracy theories and investigations into the murder of Tupac. (Not that I think 9.11 couldn’t have been a conspiracy. I don’t, but it wouldn’t surprise me.) She makes herself look foolish, and she’s quite ineffective as a politician. Have politicians like Maxine Waters and Cynthia McKinney outlived their usefulness?
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Open the debates! First one is Friday!
I’m not a bot, I know you care about the democracy of our government, so we need to get this done. There are 6 Presidential candidates this year all of which are qualified and capable of winning, so why are there only 2 people on the debate! Bigotry, two party bias! Let’s flood the email inbox and the phone lines with: Open the Debates.
It takes 5 mins. Please help me make a difference . Below is a script but please feel free to appropriately modify it to support your candidate .
Step one:
Call Barack Obama at 866-675-2008.
Hit 6 to speak with a campaign volunteer.
Once connected, politely deliver the following message:
Hi, my name is …
I was wondering if Senator Obama, being a believer in equal opportunity and equal rights, could insist that Cynthia Mckinney and other ballot qualified third party candidates be included in the upcoming Presidential debates?
After all, Cynthia Mckinney is on 34 state ballots.
And she’s polling well nationwide. And he could help Senator Obama challenge the corporate Republicans.
True, Cynthia Mckinney would critique Senator Obama for his corporate ties also. But isn’t that what democracy is about? Could you please leave this message for the campaign manager? Thank you.
Step two:
E-mail Janet Brown jb@debates.org, the executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Here’s a sample e-mail:
Dear Janet Brown:
Greetings. You must be busy. Preparing for the first Presidential debate this Friday. So, I won’t take much of your time. Just wanted to let you know that the American people were not born yesterday. We know the deal. Take that little private corporation that you run. Controlled by the two corporate parties. And funded by big business. For the purpose of excluding independent minded candidates. Friday, two Wall Street candidates are scheduled to be in the ring. Barack Obama and John McCain. The one candidate who represents the American people, Main Street, if you will, will be on the outside looking in. So, here’s a simple request. Drop your exclusionary restrictions. And let Cynthia Mckinney into the debates.
It will be good for your conscience. Good for the American people. (I believe it was The League of Women Voters that called your corporatized debates “campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity, and honest answers to tough questions.”) And good for democracy. Let the American people have a real debate for once. Main Street vs. Wall Street.
Thank you.
Signed
your name.