atlanta | Blame Rep. Cynthia McKinney’s defeat this time around on the G-E-O-R-G-I-A-N-S.
So says Atlanta Jewish activist Stephen Oppenheimer, referring to the infamous charge by McKinney’s father, Billy, who blamed her 2002 defeat on the J-E-W-S.
Four years ago, a national network of Jews funneled nearly $1 million into the campaign coffers of Denise Majette, who upset McKinney. McKinney then won the seat back in 2004 when Majette opted to run (unsuccessfully) for the U.S. Senate.
On Tuesday, Aug. 8, McKinney one of Congress’ most controversial members and a critic of the U.S. alliance with Israel, lost the Democratic runoff for her congressional seat to DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson, 59 percent to 41 percent.
In Georgia’s heavily Democratic 4th district, Johnson is virtually guaranteed a win in November against Republican Catherine Davis.
In 2002, McKinney was an easy target for Jewish activists, who contributed nearly half of Majette’s funds. This year, McKinney’s own politics appear to have done her in.
Seen as a lightning rod because of her broadsides against the Bush administration, anti-war posturing and race-related incidents, McKinney took a public relations beating this spring. When a Capitol Hill security guard physically detained her, the congresswoman allegedly punched him, accusing him of racism.
A grand jury indictment against McKinney eventually was dropped, but the scuffle did not play well at home, aggravating the feeling among constituents that McKinney was increasingly out of step with their interests, experts say.
“The Jews did not make it happen this time. It was the Georgians,” said Oppenheimer, a pro-Israel activist who helped fund Johnson’s campaign, and had helped fund past McKinney opponents as well. “She was a poor representative, she was totally marginalized in Washington, she did not add anything of significance to the discussion and did not bring home the bacon.”
For example, McKinney voted against every defense appropriation in a district located close to military contractor Lockheed Martin, said Bill Shipp, author of the political newsletter “Bill Shipp’s Georgia” and a panelist on the political talk show “The Georgia Gang.”
“The growing middle class down there came to the conclusion that she wasn’t delivering anything,” Shipp said.
In large part, McKinney’s loss was due to an erosion in support from her predominantly black constituency. She and Johnson, who is also black, split the African American vote, which makes up some 60 percent of the district.
Republican pollster Matt Towery said some African American voters might have been put off by what some consider outrageous behavior by McKinney — such as traveling in a Humvee with security guards.
Jewish activism did play a role, but Jews initially were reluctant to participate in the campaign because they felt badly burned by Majette, who had abandoned her seat just two years after Jews had worked hard to help her win it.
For his part, Johnson earned Jewish support by reiterating Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, and simply by not being McKinney, who has called for Israel’s nuclear disarmament.
Before the June 18 primary, Jewish money accounted for some $20,000 of the $160,000 Johnson raised. The Jewish contribution for the runoff was about $100,000, about one-third of the new money Johnson raised.
McKinney’s conduct in the wake of her defeat only highlighted the deficiencies that cost her the race: On Tuesday night, one of her guards scuffled with a TV photographer and McKinney claimed voting irregularities.