While the nation focuses its attention on the Connecticut primary, another key election will take place in Georgia, although it apparently caught the Los Angeles Times by surprise. Calling the race an "unforeseen struggle", the Times recounts the efforts of Cynthia McKinney to overcome a huge popularity deficit and her own paranoid conspiracy theories to retain her Congressional seat. The article by Jennie Jarvie wants to blame white people for McKinney's woes, but if readers get far enough into the article, we find that black people have had enough of McKinney as well:

Indeed, the outspoken McKinney, an African American Democrat whose campaign slogan is "Backbone in politics," is struggling to be reelected to the House after a significant number of voters in the northern, predominantly white areas of her suburban Atlanta district voted against her in last month's primary.

McKinney, 51, who had earlier been expected to win a seventh term in Georgia's 4th Congressional District, won only 47% of the vote — just 3 percentage points more than her main opponent, Hank Johnson — forcing a runoff today. ...

Acclaimed in many African American neighborhoods as a tough advocate for the downtrodden, McKinney has long rankled some white constituents with her combative style.

It's amazing how the Times can turn a race between two African-American liberals in a district dominated by African-American liberals into a conflict between blacks and whites. Even Jarvie can't sustain this narrative, as she has to explain why McKinney's constituents of all colors have tired of her antics. If anything, the conflict comes between economic strata, and Jarvie acknowledges that an influx of black middle-class voters into DeKalb County has presented McKinney with her biggest political problems.

McKinney creates her own problems, and she has lost before because of them. She lost her seat in the 2002 primaries when the Democrats ran another, more moderate Democrat in her district. Denise Majette served one term and then lost a bid for the Senate, giving McKinney a chance to get her seat back in 2004. Since Majette is, like Hank Johnson, an African-American, race did not play a role in her earlier loss either.

McKinney has a history of irrational behavior, and her district had tired of it before. It looks like they have tired of it for good. They want reasonable and rational representation, not a nutcase who slugs police officers and insists that George Bush helped plot the 9/11 attacks. At the very least, they'd like to have a representative who actually shows up for votes.

The Connecticut race is too close to call, but expect the Georgia election to be a laugher -- and the object of that well=earned derision will be Cynthia McKinney.

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» Georgia: McKinney Or Hank Johnson from Liberty and Justice
This is yet another quite important primary for the Democratic party that will play a role in determining whether the party will take a turn to the left, or will move to the center, led by the DLC. [Read More]

Tracked on August 8, 2006 9:32 AM

» Missing Cynthia McKinney from The Florida Masochist
What are conservative bloggers going to do for material now? So goodbye Cynthia McKinney. Somehow I think some of my fellow bloggers will be missing you [Read More]

Tracked on August 9, 2006 10:14 AM