Throw Her Ass In Jail

I think that Rep. Cynthia McKinney is a disgrace to her gender, race, and political party. I think she should set an example by accepting responsibility for her actions. I think she should be arrested and get her day in court. I think she should plead guilty. When convicted, I think she should do the same kind of time any other person would--be they white, black, Muslim, Catholic, man, woman, or any other category you can think of dividing people up into.

Maybe some community service time in an orange jumpsuit would remind her of what the hell she is supposed to be doing in Congress.

How can the Democratic Party attempt to hold Republicans responsible for their actions when someone like McKinney refuses to be responsible for hers?

Regrettably, she is one of ours. Regrettably she helps the other side to diminish our credibility and to distract the country from their own failings of leadership.

SHE HIT A COP.

She hit a cop who was doing his job of protecting her and every other member of Congress during a time of war. A time of war in which Congress itself has been attacked by terrorists. (Even if the Anthrax Mailer probably was a domestic terrorist and we have completely forgotten about trying to capture and arrest him, her, or them.)

I don't care what motives you ascribe to the cop after you hit him, the fact is you committed a crime by hitting him and it is up to the courts to determine the justification. The cop did not yell, "Hey, Ghetto Slut, you ain't allowed in Congress!"

By all accounts (except hers, I guess) the cop was civil, polite, and tried three times to get her attention. Maybe members of Congress ought to be a little more attentive to the police, or at least be attentive to them when they are going through security check points.

Or, here's an idea, if you know people are having a hard time recognizing you--wear your security badge and make an effort to get them to recognize you by reaching out to meet them yourself. How many names and faces of capital police, who risk their lives to protect yours, have you bothered to learn?

Here's another idea. If you can't go on television to talk to Wolf Blitzer without two lawyers sitting next to you....DON'T GO ON TELEVISION.

Hitting a cop and then claiming the criminal act was justified by a motivation you ascribe to the cop that has not been proven is, in principle, exactly the same as what we are doing in Iraq and criticizing the President for!

Given McKinney's leap of logic in this case, I would say she suffers from a degree of prejudice. Perhaps the origin of which is even justified. She has been treated badly in the past, even by Clinton administration staffers, but a justified origin for prejudice does not justify individual actions taken by the person as a result of that prejudice. The responsible thing to do is to recognize that you have reasons to be sensitive to slights and take actions which reduce, not inflame, prejudice in others.

And you don't sidestep the fact that you committed a crime by attempting to reframe the debate about your crime to one of broader and more incendiary issues like race and gender bias.

How dare you, Rep. McKinney, distract this nation from the important and serious issues your constituents sent you to Congress to address in order to pursue an agenda of personal aggrandizement and racial division? Is this really how you want to get name and face recognition?

You hit a cop. That was a greater wrong than the alleged slight to your dignity you are claiming motivated your illegal action. Like it or not, not knowing who you are is not a crime.

I bet you a million dollars that Senator Ted Kennedy has a more recognizable face than you. He comes from one of the most famous families in the world. Did Senator Ted Kennedy throw a punch at airline security when they told him he was on a no fly list?

HE WAS STOPPED AT THE AIRPORT FIVE TIMES! It took him THREE WEEKS to clear his name and fly again.

If it were me, and I were him, I would have wanted to throw a punch, or at least make the accusation that putting him on the no fly list out of Washington had to be politically motivated. But he didn't do either of those things. He had the grace and class that we expect from our national leaders.

Grow up and lead, Congresswoman, because that is what we expect our leaders to do.