[Preechr]

I'll say what was said at the time, without sources, which should be valuable either way... either as proof of the depth of the conspiracy or as confirmation that this story is a whitewash... I'll follow up with my opinion and some other unverified crap...

McKinney and another black incumbent in Alabama were "exposed" as receiving lots of money from Pro-Arab groups. That didn't help either of their failed election attempts, once it was widely known. 2002, remember? A bad thing... The McKinney response was to point to campaign contribution to Magette's run (another Democratic black woman, her challenger) from Jewish groups, hence McKinney's father's soundbite indicating his reason for his daughter's primary defeat. He spelled it out. J E W S. Classy.

Additionally, you might remember post 9/11 Rudy Guliani turning down a bunch of money from a Saudi sheik (or whatever) on the gorunds that his note enclosed with the pledge that intimated that the US deserved the attack in some way. McKinney wrote to the guy, asking for the check in order to fund efforts to fight racism, if I remember right. Again, not very well accepted.

She did a lot to alienate her base, which was evenly mixed between black folks and the very white, very white-self-hating and very ultra-liberal Emory University crowd. For the rest of us, not responsible for her career directly, we're glad she's gone. These were just her crowning achievements. She has had years to build a legacy of idiocy, and she was a VERY scary person to have highly placed on important committees.

I hope she stays in politics just for the entertainment value. Read all you want about her, but, please, watch a few speeches before you make your decision. A very disturbing woman. Sure there's a lot of controversy, as there really were concentrated efforts made by Republicans and Democrats alike to strip her power from her. The Green Party seems an appropriate place, but i wouldn't mind her shining a light on the UN, as has been proposed.... nothing like a camera loving wacko to draw attention to government. She SHOULD be in a spotlight, as well... all the better to keep an eye on what she's doing...