Green Party Candidate Cynthia McKinney
The Other Black Candidate
The Other Black Candidate
City Hues when she was in Madison September 6. “I still am. So the Democrats would use that popularity to ensure their continued political viability in the state.
And we would encourage Black people to go to the polls and vote for the better Democratic candidate so that we would have less malignant leadership given
the circumstances. It’s Georgia after all.”
It is McKinney’s contention that the Georgia Democratic leadership looked the other way while the Republicans organized a cross-over vote in the
Democratic Party’s open primary to defeat her.
“A lawsuit was filed alleging that the cross-over that took place in 2002 against me was a malicious cross-over, which in 1919 in California v Jones, the U.S.
Supreme Court has suggested that a malicious cross-over could be a violation of the First Amendment, Freedom of Association,” McKinney said. “We were trying
to test that, but the courts in Georgia are so bad that we were never able to get up to the Supreme Court aside from the fact we didn’t have money either.”
McKinney ran for her seat again in 2004 and won it. But the Republican Party mounted another cross-over vote drive in 2006 and ousted her once again. “They
recruited 48,000 Republicans to cross over,” McKinney said. “Through a very organized effort, they did direct voter contact; they showed the Republican voters
how to cross over en masse. It was implemented effectively. The film ‘American Blackout,’ spells out the whole story. The Republicans who orchestrated it show
how they did it. It shows the literature and e-mails they sent out letting Republican voters know that this is what they needed to do to get rid of Cynthia. In 2006,
we had compounded problems because we had the electronic voting machines that broke down on election night. We had the situation with redistricting
because Georgia was one of those states that had done a mid-decennial redistricting after Tom DeLay had sort of done that in Texas and said ‘Okay, everyone
do that.’ I was basically running in a new district that had about 30 percent new population as well. So the Republicans knew exactly what was going to happen.
Then because of the participation of special interests to work the Democrat side, the Republicans knew that the Democrats would stand down and allow their
plan to succeed. What the Democrats didn’t realize — or maybe it didn’t really matter to them — was that when they did what they did in 2002, they did it to
both me and my dad. My dad was in the legislature at the time. They inflamed the Black population. In 2002, that’s when the Republicans took over the state
because I wasn’t on the ballot in November. So I wasn’t going to be out there. They asked me to take one for the party and go out there and campaign and make
sure the party won. I told them that I would help them like they helped me. Then the Republicans took over the state of Georgia. And they’ve been in control
ever since.”
After her second defeat, McKinney left the Democratic Party in September 2007. She had been approached by the Green Party to run as its presidential
candidate in 2000 and 2004, but she declined. In December 2007, she announced her intentions to seek the Green Party nomination and was nominated at the
Green Party convention in July 2008.
McKinney is no friend of the Pentagon and is virulently against American militarism. “First of all, we wouldn’t spend $720 million a day for war,” McKinney
said of what would change if she were President. “We wouldn’t provide a half trillion dollars a year to the Pentagon. We would force the Pentagon to audit its
books in such a way that we understood who got all of the contracts, where the contracts went and whether or nor those contracts were fulfilled. The government
can’t balance its books because the Pentagon doesn’t balance its books. It’s like a domino effect. That would be in terms of spending and budget priorities. Out
of every discretionary dollar spent, 51 cents goes to the Pentagon. Then on the other side, you have a situation where every dollar that is printed represents debt.
The former comptroller general, David Walker, estimates that the U.S. is $53 trillion in debt. And if all of the debts and obligations were called in, this country
would not be able to pay them. So something must be done.”
Next issue: What would change
And we would encourage Black people to go to the polls and vote for the better Democratic candidate so that we would have less malignant leadership given
the circumstances. It’s Georgia after all.”
It is McKinney’s contention that the Georgia Democratic leadership looked the other way while the Republicans organized a cross-over vote in the
Democratic Party’s open primary to defeat her.
“A lawsuit was filed alleging that the cross-over that took place in 2002 against me was a malicious cross-over, which in 1919 in California v Jones, the U.S.
Supreme Court has suggested that a malicious cross-over could be a violation of the First Amendment, Freedom of Association,” McKinney said. “We were trying
to test that, but the courts in Georgia are so bad that we were never able to get up to the Supreme Court aside from the fact we didn’t have money either.”
McKinney ran for her seat again in 2004 and won it. But the Republican Party mounted another cross-over vote drive in 2006 and ousted her once again. “They
recruited 48,000 Republicans to cross over,” McKinney said. “Through a very organized effort, they did direct voter contact; they showed the Republican voters
how to cross over en masse. It was implemented effectively. The film ‘American Blackout,’ spells out the whole story. The Republicans who orchestrated it show
how they did it. It shows the literature and e-mails they sent out letting Republican voters know that this is what they needed to do to get rid of Cynthia. In 2006,
we had compounded problems because we had the electronic voting machines that broke down on election night. We had the situation with redistricting
because Georgia was one of those states that had done a mid-decennial redistricting after Tom DeLay had sort of done that in Texas and said ‘Okay, everyone
do that.’ I was basically running in a new district that had about 30 percent new population as well. So the Republicans knew exactly what was going to happen.
Then because of the participation of special interests to work the Democrat side, the Republicans knew that the Democrats would stand down and allow their
plan to succeed. What the Democrats didn’t realize — or maybe it didn’t really matter to them — was that when they did what they did in 2002, they did it to
both me and my dad. My dad was in the legislature at the time. They inflamed the Black population. In 2002, that’s when the Republicans took over the state
because I wasn’t on the ballot in November. So I wasn’t going to be out there. They asked me to take one for the party and go out there and campaign and make
sure the party won. I told them that I would help them like they helped me. Then the Republicans took over the state of Georgia. And they’ve been in control
ever since.”
After her second defeat, McKinney left the Democratic Party in September 2007. She had been approached by the Green Party to run as its presidential
candidate in 2000 and 2004, but she declined. In December 2007, she announced her intentions to seek the Green Party nomination and was nominated at the
Green Party convention in July 2008.
McKinney is no friend of the Pentagon and is virulently against American militarism. “First of all, we wouldn’t spend $720 million a day for war,” McKinney
said of what would change if she were President. “We wouldn’t provide a half trillion dollars a year to the Pentagon. We would force the Pentagon to audit its
books in such a way that we understood who got all of the contracts, where the contracts went and whether or nor those contracts were fulfilled. The government
can’t balance its books because the Pentagon doesn’t balance its books. It’s like a domino effect. That would be in terms of spending and budget priorities. Out
of every discretionary dollar spent, 51 cents goes to the Pentagon. Then on the other side, you have a situation where every dollar that is printed represents debt.
The former comptroller general, David Walker, estimates that the U.S. is $53 trillion in debt. And if all of the debts and obligations were called in, this country
would not be able to pay them. So something must be done.”
Next issue: What would change
| Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) is now the Green Party’s presidentail candidate. |
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 1 of 2
Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate for President, grew up in the Jim Crow
South that was Georgia in the 1950s and 1960s. Her father was a Republican because of
the “All-White” primaries that effectively kept African Americans from participating in the
Democratic Party — the party that ruled the South until the election of Richard Nixon as
President in 1968. With the end of the “All-White” primaries in the 1960s, McKinney’s
father was elected to the Georgia legislature
McKinney followed in her father’s footsteps and was elected to Congress in 1992. Her
father had told her that she would always be an outsider and although she was embraced
when she first arrived in Washington, it eventually changed because of McKinney’s
uncompromising nature and tendency to speak exactly what was on her mind. As a
member of the House Armed Services Committee, McKinney perennially voted ‘No’ for
the Pentagon budget. And in the wake of 9/11, McKinney was a lone voice in expressing
her opinion that the Bush Administration was responsible for the events of 9/11.
The next year, McKinney was voted out of office. “I was very popular with the Black
community in the state of Georgia,” McKinney said during an interview with The Capital
Part 1 of 2
Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate for President, grew up in the Jim Crow
South that was Georgia in the 1950s and 1960s. Her father was a Republican because of
the “All-White” primaries that effectively kept African Americans from participating in the
Democratic Party — the party that ruled the South until the election of Richard Nixon as
President in 1968. With the end of the “All-White” primaries in the 1960s, McKinney’s
father was elected to the Georgia legislature
McKinney followed in her father’s footsteps and was elected to Congress in 1992. Her
father had told her that she would always be an outsider and although she was embraced
when she first arrived in Washington, it eventually changed because of McKinney’s
uncompromising nature and tendency to speak exactly what was on her mind. As a
member of the House Armed Services Committee, McKinney perennially voted ‘No’ for
the Pentagon budget. And in the wake of 9/11, McKinney was a lone voice in expressing
her opinion that the Bush Administration was responsible for the events of 9/11.
The next year, McKinney was voted out of office. “I was very popular with the Black
community in the state of Georgia,” McKinney said during an interview with The Capital