Rep. McKinney, Georgia's own Petty Tyrant: It is this kind of behavior our Founding Fathers were trying to protect us from

Cynthia McKinney has a chip on her shoulders. A huge one. She must have, or she is the biggest publicity hound since Rev. Al Sharpton.

Last week, Congresswoman McKinney (D-GA) bulldozed her way through the Capital Building security checkpoint. As Capital police pursued her to properly identify her, McKinney ignored their calls. When police caught up with her, she slugged one of them. Later, McKinney accused the police officer (who happened to be white) of being a racist and that she was merely defending herself against the police officer's assault. She has refused for the past couple of years to wear the lapel pin that identifies her as a Congressperson and thus exempt from the Capital security checks and metal detectors.

In her defense she argues,

Throughout my tenure in Congress, I seem to evoke memory loss, especially from certain [white] police officers who claim not to be able to recognize my face while I go to work everyday, representing the people of Georgia's 4th Congressional District.

Has anybody informed the not-so-Gentle Lady from Georgia that there are over 500 elected congresspeople? And many only last a couple years? Maybe she lacks the geographic knowledge that so many of our children do when it comes to the size and shape of these here United States of America. Even the guard where I work requires identity checks every morning. And our turnover is quite a bit smaller.

James Taranto has the best response to all this silliness in the WSJ's OpinionJournal,

McKinney's behavior toward the policeman last week might or might not have reached the level of a criminal assault; police and prosecutors will decide in due course whether to pursue charges. But her disrespectful attitude toward the Capitol Police is that of a petty tyrant, not a put-upon citizen. The officer who stopped McKinney was doing his job, which is to protect her and her colleagues. She owes him not only an apology but her gratitude.

I think it has to do more with the fact that McKinney lost her 15 minutes of fame. Back in March 2002, McKinney was interviewed on KPFA94.1 FM radio in Berkely, California. She said this,

"We know there were numerous warnings of the events to come on September 11. What did this administration know and when did it know it, about the events of September 11? Who else knew, and why did they not warn the innocent people of New York who were needlessly murdered? … What do they have to hide?"

What do they have to hide??

Now, I don't mean to harp on old news, but it seems to me she is always deliberately stirring the pot. On her website, there is a link to some no-name British journalist (The Screwing of Cynthia McKinney) who defended McKinney, claiming she never said that and challenged the NYT to show where in the Congressional Record McKinney made such charges. Well, bubba, there is no official record because it was a California radio interview. I guess some Brits suffer the same lack of American political and geographic knowledge that McKinney does.

Of course that defense, which is still on the front page of her website, was published nearly a year and a half after McKinney's conspiracy laden accusations.

Looks like McKinney was looking for a little limelight even then.

Afternote: Perhaps I am being too harsh. After all, those notable stalwarts of American justice, Harry Belafonte and Danny Glover are standing with McKinney. That's gotta count for something. No?