This thread is so devoid of fact, I'm blown away by it.
First, let me say Ms. McKenney's politics and mine couldn't be further apart from one another. But that does not prevent me from applying some level
of judgment to the circumstances (as they are presently known) and coming to a conclusion that may in fact be consistent with her view- even if our
rationales differ.
Let's get some facts on the table:
1)
The incident occurred at the New Jersey Avenue and C Street
entrance to the Longworth Building.
***
2)
Members of the House do not typically display their
congressional ID cards around the Capitol complex, as staff do, but many wear the official lapel pin for the 109th Congress.
***
3)
With or without the pin, many Congress members pass through
security with merely a nod or hello to security officers. They are not required to pass through metal detectors.
***
4)
A witness recounted that the officer pursued McKinney after
she failed to pass through the metal detector. As the officer took McKinney by the arm, she swung around and punched him in the chest while still
holding on to her cell phone.
***
5)
• In 1993, after she complained about being stopped by security guards, Capitol Police posted a photo of her on an office wall so that officers
could remember who she was.
• In 1995, McKinney reportedly contacted the sergeant at arms after a white Capitol Police officer asked her to consent to a security check.
• In 1996 and 1998, she complained that White House security officials failed to recognize her and did not give her the same treatment as other
members of Congress, at one time mistaking her 23-year-old white aide for the congresswoman.
...in a recent documentary about McKinney, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Filmmaker Ian Inaba followed her around Capitol Hill for
“American Blackout,” about African-American voting rights and McKinney’s 2002 reelection bid.
In one scene, McKinney is walking into the House side of the Capitol with Inaba when a white Capitol Police officer stops her. McKinney informs him
that she is a congresswoman, prompting an immediate apology.
She then told the filmmaker that she is often challenged when entering the Capitol.
***
Originally posted by Toelint
Just saying what I think here...why isn't Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in Jail right now? The Left screams when a white male Republican Congressman
takes a bribe. So why not scream when a black female Democratic Congresswoman decks a security guard at his station?
I'm floored you would equate the two "crimes", so to speak. What does Republican or Democrat have to do with it? If a Congressmen takes a bribe, he
has violated the very fiduciary duty he has to the American public! A vote for sale, in my book, is an abuse far greater than any of the worst
descriptions of the McKinney affair. It's thinking like that, in my view, that has us in the mess we are in today.
Queen of Hearts, anybody?
"Off with their heads. -
Alice in Wonderland"
Originally posted by Toelint
By the way, this isn't the first time McKinney has had run-ins with security. In fact, she's had FIVE different altercations with the security
staff, all for the same reasons.
She then has the audacity to wave the Sex, AND the Race Cards!!
Looking at bullet point number five above, and then reading your version, they hardly compare. Is Congresswoman McKinney that uniquely unlucky? I
particularly find interesting the incidents where her white aide was mistaken as a member of Congress...and the 1995 incident (pre-911) where she was
asked consent for a search.
Remember, there is no requirement, even today, post-911, for members of congress to have either ID or the congressional lapel pin to gain access...and
they are NOT required to be screened.
It would be one thing if those things were required and she did what she is reported to have done...but they are not. Why do the vast majority of
members enjoy the benefit of just walking by, while she continually has these problems? Is it race? I don't know, but I can see why she does.
Originally posted by XphilesPhan
Unjust treatment? what is unjust about arresting a woman who obviously has no self-restraint?
stop making excuses and over compensating for past prejudices by over looking stupid behavior.....
Really? Like I said in one of my previous post, "stupid behavior" is not having procedures that can be consistently applied
to all members of
congress.
Originally posted by FlyersFan
It really doesn't matter if the guard recognized her or not. The rules are in place for a very good reason. They MUST have their identity pin on, or
they have to go through the metal detectors like everyone else.
Show me
the rule that says they have to have their congressional pin on.
Originally posted by FlyersFan
It would be very easy for a bad guy to find a look-a-like and have them slide through security. The identification pins serve a serious purpose.
You mean, like this one?
Yeah, like those would be hard to replicate.
Oh, and btw, what difference would it make if the "bad-guy" were a look alike? Under the facts of
this situation, if some black, female terrorist had been wearing the pin, she would have sailed through...
Originally posted by FlyersFan
Other politicians have forgotten their pins and have had to go through the metal detectors. It's not a big deal to do so. Cynthia McKinney's ego
wouldn't fit through the detector, that's all. She thinks she's too good for it. But the truth is that everyone else who has forgotten their ID
pins has had to go through the metal detectors. They have managed to do so
without becoming irate and physically dangerous with the Capitol guards that are doing their jobs to protect everyone.
Cynthia McKinney is an egotistical idiot. She deserves to be brought up on charges; at least for trying to intimidate a guard who was doing his job
very well AND she needs to be taught that she isn't too good to go through a metal detector when she fails to do HER job - wearing proper security
identification.
I'm only quoting the rest of your post, because it is such a great example of the kind of bull crap rhetoric and falsehoods swirling around this
entire incident. Get a grip.
Originally posted by dgtempe
You know, i dont care what color she is, i dont care what party she belongs to. If EVERYONE has to show ID, she should have too.
But see, they don't.
Originally posted by dgtempe
This is nothing more than arrogance on her part. It was Fox News who commented on her saying this was happening to her because of her race.
Deal with it Cynthia or get out. You are no better than the rest. And bringing out the race card just goes to show her mentality.
***
Originally posted by esdad71
Whether she is black, white or green, she KNOWS what she is supposed to do and how to have things like this not happen. She is a congresswoman, a
representitive of her state, and should act as such. I also heard her state on the TV the night after that she had recently changed the hairstyle she
had had for a long time, I guess in all braids. I mean, this to me seems like an officer doing his job, stopping someone who is trying to bypass
security. I don't think she should do any jailtime but something should be done to prove a point.
***
Originally posted by Toelint
Well, here's what I DO know. This links to the AOL story:
articles.news.aol.com...
Also, here's the first paragraph from the article. Read it and weep.
WASHINGTON (April 5) - U. S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said Wednesday that Rep. Cynthia McKinney turned an officer's failure to
recognize her into a criminal matter when she failed to stop at his request, and then struck him.
This was no accident! How do you misconstrue a fist in the head??
Ummmmm, where did you get "fist in the head"? That isn't in your quote, nor is it found in your article.
More nonsense...
Originally posted by dbates
Let's see there are currently 435 members in the House of Representatives. Are these security guards supposed to remember every single one of them?
That's a little much to ask from anybody. Of course there would be a constant flow of staff and lobbyist streaming in and out of the building each
day as well. There's no way that the officers would remember everyone by sight.
Oh, that's right, I forgot remembering more than 435 items is a human impossibility...
I guess that explains why when you have a policy that
allows members of Congress to bypass normal security, the Capitol police aren't required to actually recognize any of those members.
Just look
for the little gold pins...sometimes....maybe...
BTW, do you really think it all that difficult to recognize 435 faces as part of your professional responsibility? What about just the ONE face (Rep.
McKinney) that has the consistent misfortune not to be recognized and HAS COMPLAINED ABOUT IT???
Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Originally posted by dgtempe
You know, i dont care what color she is, i dont care what party she belongs to.
If EVERYONE has to show ID, she should have too.
Agreed! I don't care what color she is or whether she's got a dangler between her legs or not. She should follow the rules like everyone else. I
HATE it when people USE being a woman or being black (or being anything) as a reason not to obey the same rules as everyone else.
...but as I've already shown, that is not the rule.
Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
I saw her on CNN and she WOULD NOT say what happened. She kept changing the subject and answering questions that weren't asked. She was obviously
avoiding answering the question: Did you do it?
BH, she has possible criminal charges pending... Do you think it unusual she will not discuss much of the details?
This is what she has to say about it:
"Let me be clear. This whole incident was instigated by the inappropriate touching and stopping of me, a female black congresswoman," McKinney said,
surrounded by supporters at predominantly black Howard University.
McKinney, a Democrat, declined to discuss the incident further since she still may be charged for apparently striking the officer after she entered a
House office building this week unrecognized and did not stop when asked.
Source.
BTW, that very same article says:
Two law enforcement officials said it was unlikely a warrant would be issued this week. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak publicly.
Why do you think that is? If the case was sound, do you really think the "race card" would be enough to stop them from doing so immediately? The
Capitol police clearly have the political support:
Cynthia McKinney, Enough Already!
House to Vote on Praising McKinney Police
Democrats Distance Selves from McKinney
They didn't seem so hesitant with Cindy Sheehan and the other Senator's wife during the State of the Union address... Remember that??? And those
women were only wearing political t-shirts.
In fact, as this article shows, it was only AFTER this political support was clear, that they are moving forward:
Grand Jury to Hear McKinney Run-In Case
A federal grand jury will soon begin hearing evidence about Rep. Cynthia McKinney's run-in with a Capitol Police officer, a lawyer familiar with the
case said late Wednesday.
The lawyer, who declined to be identified because of grand jury secrecy, confirmed that federal prosecutors had agreed to get involved in the case in
which a black lawmaker is accused of striking a white officer after he tried to stop her from entering a House office building without going through a
security checkpoint.
Isn't that interesting?
Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
My take on her is that she's a nutcase
Yes, she is, if your talking about about her politics... But what if the same facts had taken place with a demure, relatively unknown, black
congresswoman? Would the same prosecution be taking place? Would EVERYONE be frothing at the mouth over this?
This entire fiasco is politics on all sides...and unfortunately, no one is focusing on the real problem of how the security rules are so ridiculously
stupid for members of congress. But, I guess we're going to give them a pass on that, huh?
What is equally ridiculous is that of all the corrupt activities taking place in our legislative and executive branches, this is the prosecution our
government wants to pursue.
...and shockingly, so many of you are happy to have it.
Let's spend our resources and attention on this one.
Right on!
If you went to work everyday where the rules were applied differently for you than all your peers, wouldn't you be pissed off about it?
Just because McKinney may be grasping for straws, as to the reason why she has experienced disparate treatment, does NOT mean disparate treatment
hasn't occurred. It obviously has....and for whatever reason, that keeps getting lost in the debate.
[edit on 6-4-2006 by loam]
