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Wednesday, April 5, 2006
McKinney & Fox & Friends
It takes a special woman to give Tom DeLay a chance to talk about somebody else's troubles
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Seven days after the event, Gov. Sonny Perdue waded into the flap over U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney of DeKalb County.
On Wednesday, he challenged his two Democratic rivals in the governor’s race to turn their backs on the congresswoman, who allegedly struck a U.S. Capitol policeman — after he chased her down for bypassing a security checkpoint.
“We have to be accountable for those people we associate with, and I think the silence is deafening,” Perdue said at a morning press conference. “I think we need to hear from those people who would associate with Congresswoman McKinney.”
A couple things are happening here. Obviously, it’s in Perdue’s interest to tie McKinney as closely as possible to Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and Secretary of State Cathy Cox. McKinney is red meat to white swing voters who’ll decide the race in November.
McKinney has endorsed Taylor’s bid for office and Cox’s husband, Mark Dehler, has contributed money to McKinney’s past campaigns. (However, McKinney and Cox are famously at odds, the result of past voting disputes in DeKalb.)
So there’s the Georgia angle.
But McKinney has become exceptionally convenient to national Republicans as well. It’s clear that they see the flap as a topic-changer, an antidote to the Beltway buzz that surrounds the departure of former House majority leader Tom DeLay.
And you’ve got to admit, McKinney seems to be doing her best to keep the story alive. She was on Fox News on Wednesday morning. So an hour later, when DeLay was interviewed on the same program, he had something to talk about other than Jack Abramoff, or House ethics investigations.
“Anybody who would hit or attack the Capitol Hill police — I had a Capitol Hill police officer die, was shot in my office, protecting my office. So I have a special place in my heart for the Capitol Hill police, and anybody that would attack them for doing their job is just outrageous, and frankly ought to be punished,” DeLay said.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis, we hear, is furious with McKinney. Other Georgia Democrats are innoculating themselves. Said U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon on Wednesday, in a prepared statement:
“Thinking an officer is racially motivated does not excuse hitting or pushing past him. If there is proof the officer was racially motivated, he should be punished.
“If there is no such proof, just a color difference, then the officer is due an apology at the very least. Racism hurts people. False accusations of racism hurt us all. They wrong the accused, reinforce negative stereotypes and distract us from real racial discrimination.”
Just for the record
An L.A. Times piece says Abramoff dropped Reed's name into negotiations with Sudan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Los Angeles Times this week published an article that detailed conversations between Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Sudanese officials in 2001, during which Abramoff proposed to help the troubled African govermnent rebuff criticism by Christian evangelicals for human rights violations.
The talks allegedly took place in Abramoff’s skybox at Washington’s Fed-Ex field during a Redskin football game, and that the dollar figure for a contract is said to have ranged between $16 million and $18 million.
During negotiations, Abramoff reportedly “invoked his connections” to Ralph Reed, now a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia.
At the time, Reed would have been allied with Abramoff on anti-gambling campaigns in Louisiana and Texas, on behalf of the Coushatta tribe in Louisiana.
But the Sudanese contract never materialized, and there’s no evidence presented in the article that Reed had any involvement in the matter. “Under no circumstances would he have worked on behalf of the Sudan and he has never done so.” Reed spokeswoman Lisa Baron is quoted as saying.
The entire article can be read here, but it’s not likely to be a factor the Republican primary campaign.
