Reply #65: Cynthia McKinney and her father have a history here [View All]

[klook]

I live in the ATL area and am a strong supporter of Cynthia McKinney. It's true that her style is blunt--even abrasive at times--and she's been known to make confrontational statements. These are qualities that are generally admired in male politicians, especially if they're white.

But there's more to the McKinney story. To understand her and her position in Atlanta-area politics, you have to go back to her father's career. Few are aware (or remember) the history of Billy McKinney (pharmacist and former State Rep. who is somewhat infamous locally for his polarizing statements and confrontational behavior--although many who know him personally say he's a smart, reasonable guy). Billy McKinney supported Sidney Marcus for Atlanta mayor in 1981 instead of Andrew Young--thus earning him some points with the local Jewish community and alienating many in the Black community. See this 1999 article in the Atlanta Jewish Times for more on this.

When Cynthia was running for re-election in 1996, Billy McKinney called her Republican opponent (who was trying to link her to Lewis Farrakhan in order to split the DeKalb County Democratic vote) a "racist Jew." Ouch, that didn't help (even though it was probably technically accurate). Neither did Billy's later election-day statement: "Jews have bought everybody. J-E-W-S."

Cynthia, who subsequently fired her father from the campaign, has continued to have problems with support from Jewish Democrats in DeKalb County. She refused to jump on the Congressional bandwagon and condemn Lewis Farrakhan's anti-Semitic statements, coming down on the side of free speech but pissing off Jewish constituents in the process. This despite the fact that her positions are consistent with those of many Jewish voters.

It's unfortunate, because here, as elsewhere in the South, the Black-Jewish partnership has historically been important. So dismantling it plays right into Republican hands. Loss of that support--plus the fact that many Republicans registered as Democrats in order to vote in the primary--cost McKinney the Democratic nomination in 2002 (when Denise Majette went on to win the district). She was also hurt by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's insistence that she claimed Bush masterminded the 9/11 attacks, even though she has never said this.

Cynthia McKinney's support comes primarily from Black voters in the southern part of her district, and liberal Whites (include GLBT voters) in central DeKalb County. It's a juggling act for her to keep that support intact while repelling attacks from disaffected moderates and crossover Republican voters.