How can Democrats neutralize or even make McKinney story backfire?

[yurbud]

Anyone who thinks this isn't PR story to counterbalance Tom Delay should have put that to bed as soon as there was talk of an indictment against her.

The only question the Democrats should have now is how to neutralize this or make it blow up in the GOP's face.

For once, I can see the Democrats leadership's point about keeping quiet since McKinney's celeb press conference didn't do the trick, but Democrats distancing themselves from her, an early outspoken and accurate critic of the Bushies is just rewarding the terrorists (I mean Bushies).

What's a creative way to turn this around?

McKinney publicly hug the guy and offer to pay the medical bills for any treatment for his injuries?

Has any news crew gone in there and looked for security cameras to force that issue?

One way this might backfire: I read elsewhere that Fox is replaying some of the things she said about the war and 9/11. While that will enrage the hard righties, those in the middle might see it and think, "Shit, she's right. Why aren't my congressman and senators saying that?"

[jedicord]

1. How about...

The GOP is loaded with corrupt politicians such as DeLay, Frist, et al, the * Admin is full of people being indicted, the Resident is lying about an ill-conceived war, etc. etc. etc., but all they can get on the Dems is that one of them lost her temper?

Try that one on for size.

[wryter2000]

2. Just let it die

There's really not much there, no matter what happened. It'll go away. It may affect her campaign, but I doubt it'll be a serious problem for Dems in general. Of course, I'm almost always wrong in my predictions. :)

[yurbud]

6. the do nothing approach may limit tactical damage, but shows

cowardice in defending Dems with spine.

What the Democratic leadership may not realize is McKinney is a hero to those of us don't just see the party as business networking by other means.

Many of them are spineless, worthless ass weasels who failed to stand up to the Bushies and often even voted with them.

[bryant69]

3. I think we need to take our lumps

And burn through it. What else is there to do?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[yurbud]

21. if they actually take it to a grand jury, it's hard to ignore

[KurtNYC]

4. They can manufacture this BS faster than anyone could shut it down

When this broke, I gave it almost no attention at all. She was not arrested at the scene. He did not seek medical attention. There was no tape of the incident so it is "He said - She said." School yard finger pointing nonsense...but today I heard the phrase grand jury.

This is un-frickin believable. This is the most over-played, much ado about nada "news" item since Terri Schiavo.

Even if Barbara eden were not blink this away, the GOP machine would crank out 2 or 3 more to fill up cable news time.

[yurbud]

19. in other news, Henry Waxman sneezed without covering his nose

[yurbud]

20. Congressman Conyers, is it true you farted in the elevator and failed

to warn those who got on the elevator after that?

[yurbud]

27. "If you compare these two photos, Sen. Boxers is less gray in the second

even though it was taken AFTER the first. Could she be dying her hair?"

[IsItJustMe]

5. I think it already has. Seeing Tom Delay criticize her for being

arrogant is hypocrisy in the most dense of mind.

[Ian David]

7. Turn it around and make it about Cheney...

She should have just gotten drunk and shot him in the face.

They would have given her 16 hours to sober-up before the cops could talk to her, and then the whole thing would have gone away.

She could have said she thought he was a quail.

And then the cop would have apologized.

[sojourner]

11. lol - good one!

:spray: :rofl:

[yurbud]

18. *****that's a winner--and it would show good humor******

Fax that one to her office.

[Ian David]

28. You know, she was attacked because she's a christian...

Call today: Resolution commedning Dick Cheney's Secret Service Detail

I just called Rep. Stephen Lynch to suggest a resolution to commend Dick Cheney's Secret Service detail for keeping local authorities from interviewing him for 16 hours after getting drunk and shooting a man in the face.

I suggest we all call our various Congress-critters and do the same:

Congress:

202-224-3121
888-818-6641
800-426-8073

Cynthia McKinney should have just gotten drunk and shot the guy in the face.

They would have given her 16 hours to sober-up before the cops could talk to her, and then the whole thing would have gone away.

She could have said she thought he was a quail.

And then the cop would have apologized.

And she would be making jokes about it at the Grid Iron Club.

Almost as funny as, "Those WMDs have gotta be somewhere..."

More:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=860036&mesg_id=860036

[Vinnie From Indy]

8. McKinney is doing her best to keep this alive

She has appeared on several shows to discuss this incident in way that makes her look foolish. She seems a bit gleeful to have the spotlight on her.

[whododayis]

10. i agree. shut up and move on.

[whododayis]

9. new candidate

how about supporting a candidate to run against her with similar positions but without the arrogance and anti semetic attitude. she has become a distraction for our side.

[sojourner]

12. hmm... nice way to reward a dem who has stood up to the powers that be.

maybe she should make nice like joe or difi - people with a spine aren't always gonna toe the party line.

[yurbud]

14. yeah, she could say "Saddam was a threat to the free world, the Katrina

victims were looting, raping, and shooting at their would-be rescuers, tax cuts for the rich help everyone, Terri Schiavo was alive..." Then someone would brush back the hair on her forehead and see the lobotomy scar.

[sojourner]

15. nuh-huh! they would NOT look for the lobotomy scar. they'd make her a

spokeswoman for the party! --- well, okay, maybe not exactly a spokesperson

[yurbud]

17. they'd put her on the stage at their convention

[sojourner]

23. and she would kiss * on the cheek when she went to oval office -- eeewwww!

[yurbud]

25. like McCain's stepford photo op

[yurbud]

13. anti-semitic? Read Israeli papers and you'll find every opinion

she's ever uttered coming from Jews themselves.

We need to treat Israeli as we do every other close ally, making demands and giving advice, not just giving money and unqualified support.

[Ignis]

29. True. Also, she != her dad.

You can't hold her accountable for remarks made by her father.

[stanwyck]

24. No. She's my representative

and when the Republicans crossed over to get rid of her during our primary and we ended up with Denise Majette, we didn't get the strong representation we got from McKinney.
Yes. She's obnoxious. But look at her voting record. And, remember, she was the first to speak out about how the Bushies were stonewalling 9-11. She was out in front on how the intelligence was cherrypicked. She was the first.
Cynthia has her faults.
But. She's fearless.
And this story has helped her. The ugly racism ("she looks like a crack whore" -- Neal Boortz) doesn't play well with the black community. Her experience, though no doubt abetted by her histronics, is one that is all too familiar within the black community. Driving while black. Shopping while black. Working while black. This incident strikes a chord.
The average hard-working church going black citizen doesn't like hearing a Congresswoman insulted for her hairstyle. The cackling 'ho talk from the right just galvinizes her supporters.
I don't want to go back to some well-behaved milquetoast representative who shares "some of her views".
I want Cynthia.

[yurbud]

26. Whitey McWhiteman here and I want Cynthia too!

My rep is Henry Waxman, a dogged investigator, but I'd rather have a bomb-thrower (that's a metaphor, NSA) like McKinney.

[whododayis]

32. this hasn't helped her

why haven't other dems come out in support of her? why did a legend like John Lewis practically force her statement on floor of the house today so that this thing would go away as quickly as possible. I agree that this whole episode has been overblown greatly, but she has fanned the flames every time she get's in front of a camera where the corporate media lackeys try to make her out to be some whack job that is typical of anybody on our side of the aisle. her voice carries furthest and strongest when it is used to promote our agenda, not her own ego.

[stanwyck]

37. Cynthia has always fanned the flames

it's part of the Cynthia package. But when it gets time to vote, the rednecks and conservatives wouldn't think of voting for her anyway. Never. And she knows her base. People do respect her for taking a stand. And fighting, literally, back.
I agree she's flawed.
But she'll be remembered as someone who didn't quietly let the Republicans silence her with threats of being "unpatriotic" or unAmerican.
She's everything the right hates. A tall, strong, noisy, black, liberal female.
She may make you crazy.
But she drives the right positively foaming at the mouth insane.
And her base loves that about her.

[yurbud]

16. Here's an easy way--she can talk about stuff MSM & Bushies won't

"What I'd like to know is why the media is more worried about this scuffle than the Downing Street Minutes that said President Bush wanted to fake an incident of Saddam shooting down a UN plane as an excuse to invade Iraq. That makes me wonder what else he'd fake to get what he wants. And in the same memo, he wanted to reassure President Putin of Russia that oil prices WOULDN'T GO DOWN as a result of the invasion of Iraq--if this war wasn't even going to lower our gas prices, exactly who was it intended to benefit?"

Ideally, she should say this on live TV when there's as many people as possible watching.

If they didn't kill her, they would put her on ignore in about two seconds flat.

[salin]

22. ignore it. Apples to Oranges, and DeLays apples

has about ten worms and five applet mutations that will keep that story in the news for a long, long time.

As to the Orange story - McKinney isn't known by most people, looks like a hot head and not far out of line (per what people have come to expect of the level of arrogance of elected officials) and thus while "shocking" it is one of those fifteen minutes of fame shocking -will fade and mean nothing in a month.

[info being]

30. How about: "Another example of Repub lack of perspective."

Talk about the difference between a $1,000 discretion and the Iraq War, Plamegate, etc. etc. These are the same people who fail to see the difference between a sexual indescretion (Clinton) and lying about a war. Their lack of perspective is just another example of why they are incapable of governing America.

[yurbud]

31. another good one

[aikoaiko]

33. If Mckinney had done a massive mea culpa it would have ended.

instead she talked about self-defesne and racial profiling.

Its hard to unring that bell.

But she's finally realizing that support for her stance is weak and she's "apologzing" now. But maybe thats a little too little too late if the Grand Jury gets this.

[oasis]

34. "massive mea culpa". What do you want, a "sackcloth and ashes" routine?

:eyes:

[aikoaiko]

35. don't worry she's getting there now -- regret is turning into an apology

If she her first words had been to apologize profusely and accept even partial blame for the incident, it would have been a much smaller issue. But instead we got evasiveness, self-defense excuses, and racial profiling excuses. She set herself up for everuthing she's getting.

And her rhetoric is changing now that the threat of indictment is real -- using the word apolgize implies some fault in the incident.

[confludemocrat]

36. Here's a novel thought: let her go with her gut and we support-F PR crap!

She has her own experiences that this grew out of, let her handle it as she see fit. or is that just not done anymore, as Kerry's reliance on PR flacks and positionings would indicate by their great success.

[yurbud]

38. PR only in the sense of turning situation to advantage, but you're right

Kerry and other Dems reliance on consultants has had catastrophic effect.

Why is it all the Dem consultants suck though and GOP's get results?

[JStuart]

39. for all

the grief she's given everyone the past few days, burying the Plame story and the DeLay stories as second rate news... I hope she gets her ass handed to her in the primary...

make that both hands.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

40. She Apologized. That's A Great First Step. But Now We Should Just Let It

die. I couldn't imagine any strategy that could cause it work for us while remaining in the forefront. I really hope it just starts to die down, and hope even more that the MSM and others keep up with the "holy shit bush leaked plame" story instead. We'll see what happens.