Posted on 08/14/2002 3:13:27 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Princess of paranoia Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., just might have talked herself right out of office. Denounced even by fellow Democrat Sen. Zell Miller as "loony" after her rantings about Sept. 11, she finally faces the prospect of a campaign defeat after years of coasting in a safe district.
Zev Chafets, writing in the liberal New York Daily News, had these choice comments today about McKinney, who apparently wants to be the House version of America-bashing Sen. Robert Torricelli:
"For many New Yorkers, this summer's most emotional election will be held Tuesday in DeKalb County, Ga. The race for the Democratic nomination in the 4th Congressional District pits incumbent Cynthia McKinney against Judge Denise Majette. Both are black Christians, but their primary has become a national Jewish-Arab battlefield.
"McKinney is the Arab candidate. After 9/11, she scolded then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani for turning down $10 million from an anti-Israel Saudi prince and asked for the money for her own causes. She accused President Bush of failing to stop the bombing of New York and stirring up Mideast war to benefit arms-industry Republicans.
"Majette, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, is the anti-McKinney. Her Web site prominently features an American flag, and she is happily pro-Israel. Last week, in a televised debate, Majette went after McKinney's base. 'On 9/11," she admonished her opponent, 'while the rest of the world watched in horror ... you were counting money received from some people who have been named as Arab terrorists.'
"'All our donations are legal,' McKinney tepidly replied.
'Money Is Money'
"Maybe so, but McKinney's donor list reads like the Ramallah phone book. Her campaign manager, Bill Banks, concedes that most of the money comes from out-of-state contributors with Arabic surnames, but he regards this with equanimity. 'Money is money,' he says. Besides, 'A lot of people named Muhammad have been in America two or three generations.'
'Let Us Damn America'
"McKinney's supporters are an Arab-American who's who. They include Nihad Awad, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations; Sami Al-Arian, the much-investigated Palestinian Florida professor whose public utterances include, 'Let us damn America, let us damn Israel, let us damn their allies until death'; Abdurahman Alamoudi, a leader of the American Muslim Council who proclaimed his support for Hamas and Hezbollah at a demonstration in front of the White House in 2000, and Jamal Barzinji, chairman of the Virginia-based Saar Foundation, which is under federal scrutiny."
Chafets cited the Washington Post's report this week that has 18 of McKinney's donors are "officers of Muslim foundations under investigation by the FBI, have voiced support for Palestinian and Lebanese terrorist organizations or have made inflammatory statements about Jews."
Jews and other critics of McKinney have responded by pouring money into Majette's campaign. McKinney, once a heavy favorite, now lags in polls.
"In a June Democratic primary in Alabama, pro-Arab Rep. Earl Hilliard lost a money-raising contest and a primary to a pro-Israel challenger. McKinney may very well have the same experience. That would make a lot of people in DeKalb County, Ga., very happy. And a lot of people in New York, too," Chafets concluded.
Don't Forget the Other Cynthia
Even if McKinney beats Majette, the race has just begun. For some reason the Daily News, like much of the pro-Democrat media, fail to mention McKinney's credible Republican opposition in the general election, including Cynthia Van Auken.
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