Republicans on Capitol Hill can’t seem to stop talking about Rep. Cynthia McKinney. And why should they? The more they bait the Georgia Democrat, the more embarrassing she looks (and I’m not just talking about her haircut).
McKinney has apparently become so radioactive that Capitol Hill Democrats have disowned her, according to the Hill newspaper. Here’s an excerpt:
McKinney has been aggressively publicizing the incident, calling press conferences on each of the past two business days and even attracting a mention on the front page of The New York Times, something that the dozens of House and Senate Democrats combined couldn’t match when they unveiled their homeland-security plan last week.
Now, with McKinney facing a possible arrest warrant, the media frenzy is set only to escalate. The U.S. Capitol Police referred the issue to the U.S. District Attorney’s office for prosecution yesterday.
All of the attention has some Democrats concerned that McKinney is drawing the limelight away from their policy goals and Republicans’ ethical missteps to focus on a momentary, disputed encounter in a Capitol Hill hallway.
Things are so bad between McKinney and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) that the two won’t even speak - even when passing each other in the hall, reports the Hill.
In addition to the assault case, McKinney is also facing heat back home on charges that she “broke government rules by spending money to fly a celebrity to Atlanta,” according to WSB-TV in Atlanta.
Channel 2 Action News has uncovered documents showing McKinney, D-Ga., spent about $1,000 of taxpayer's money to fly singer Isaac Hayes to Georgia to help dedicate a new office in Atlanta.
The money came from a fund members of Congress are supposed to use for office supplies.
As one Capitol Hill staffer pointed out to me last night, Democrats might be the ones having to answer the “culture of corruption” mantra should McKinney keep this up.
