We know the way the Bushies work....isn't it possible McKinney was set up?

[KoKo]

Those in the know...knew Tom Delay was probably going to have to pull out of his race... Josh Marshall says he collected his campaign funds knowing he would use them for his defense fund. Delay probably knows even more than we do about his culpability now that his top aides are pleading.

So, since we have ample evidence that every time a Bushie gets in trouble news about a Democrat comes out, or there's a terra alert or the Capitol building gets emptied for "white powder, bomb threats or whatever" (and just last week there was a power outage on Thursday or Friday where all the staff had to leave the building)...wouldn't it seem that McKinney could have been set up? We know McKinney is not their favorite person because she was the first to expose questions about "9/11" and she managed to win her seat back in spite of all the odds against her. She's probably constantly getting hate mail and threats.

The Bushies always need some Disturbance to take the heat off their backs and they knew that McKinney was a hot button who would fight back. And, they know that DEMOCRATS DO NOT DEFEND THEIR OWN...so they sprung the trap.

Some here would think that McKinney shouldn't have walked into the trap and when she did she should have made sure she didn't make things WORSE... But, I say that some of our Dems shouldn't have helped the Bushies by not defending her and hoping she would just "go away."

:shrug: That's what I think, anyway...and I've tried to stay out of doing a post on her but I just couldn't stand the way we are being suckered again by the Rovian Bushbots.

[yurbud]

1. definitely is meant to be distraction--tougher question is how to

neutralize or even make it backfire?

[porphyrian]

3. It's a trick...get an axe.

It's most definitely a distraction, presumably to make Democrats seem as criminal as republicans, if you can ignore the numbers and severities involved, which the media is being employed to help people do.

[AndyA]

2. I think it's absolutely a possibility this was a set-up.

McKinney has not been one of Bush's loyal supporters. She asks some hard questions, and Chimpie doesn't like that.

And if this was indeed a set-up, Dems need to be better prepared in the future so that they don't fall into the trap.

Isn't it nice to know with everything going on in the world today, something so trivial as a misunderstanding can get so out of hand and become such a big deal? It's really pathetic. :eyes:

[ecstatic]

4. I suppose if it were Kerry, Kucinich, yada yada, "innocent until proven

guilty" would be the prevailing thought...

However, McKinney the "embarassment" is obviously guilty, because the cop said so. :sarcasm:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. The Capitol Police are NOT under the control of the Republicans

You would have to think they were in order to believe that.

Listen, even the CBC is telling McKinney to just stop because they don't support her either. DU needs to as well.

[niyad]

10. how about we all tell those damned repukes in the House to STOP

this BS waste of time and get on with some actual business--like dealing with tom delay, like dealing with iraq, like dealing with the budget crisis, like dealing with health care issues, like dealing with the fact that hurricane season is only 48 days away and people on the gulf are STILL homeless. you know, those minor, niggling, trifling issues that some people actually CARE about.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

11. If McKinney had just apologized

this would've NEVER gotten this far in the first place.

[KoKo]

13. Ummmm they pulled Cindy Sheehan out and a Repug wife just to make

it all look fair...at Bush's SOU.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

15. Hate to break it to you....

...but that wasn't just any Repug wife, that was Bill Young's wife. He's one of the most powerful men in DC. And I guarantee that wasn't a PR charade - he was genuinely pissed.

[KoKo]

22. ahhhh....but it had to be someone important .

to the Right for it to look "fair."

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

24. That's more pride swallowing than I'm willing to believe...

...Young is capable of. Also, Young might be very powerful, but he's neither the mastermind, nor the pawn. He's been there for decades and he's just been riding the wave as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. I HIGHLY doubt Young would allow himself to be in on that.

[Mike Daniels]

19. Thank you. For it to be a set up......

1. The police would have had to all be on the same page as no-one would have known what entrance McKinney was going to enter.

2. They would have had to know that McKinney would not stop when asked to by the police.

3. They would have had reason to believe that McKinney would lay hands on the officer in any way, shape or form.

and then finally,

4. They would have had to know that McKinney would then throw a press conference and accuse the cop of racism and profiling.

I would find it easier to support a theory that McKinney planned it all on her end. It sure requires less hoop-jumping than the "Republicans planned this from the start" theories currently flying around.

The fact that no-one from her side of the aisle (even the CBC)is leaping to her aid should tell most people something.

[Virginia Dare]

25. I agree with you there....

there would be plenty of easier ways for them to set her up, but perhaps there was some strong-arming from some higher-ups to press charges.

The Chief has just "retired" in order to avoid a scandal involving his son, so who knows, politics play a role in everything that happens up there.

It will be interesting to see what the GJ comes back with, conventional wisdom would indicate that they would skew more towards McKinney's favor.

[RaleighNCDUer]

32. OK, by the numbers --

1. People are habitual creatures. She probably uses the same entrance nearly every time she enters -- this being the case, why didn't the cop recognize her? And if she didn't use that entrance that time, she would have the next.

2. How was she asked to stop? Did he say "Stop" at the same moment that he grabbed her arm? What does the video show?

3. If someone is known to be testy, wouldn't you expect a physical reaction if you unexpectedly physically restrain them? A natural reaction is to pull away and push away, to get distance between you and the other. That push is all it takes for a cop to claim resistance - as we've seen a thousand times watching 'Cops' on TV.

4. Knowing McKinney's personality, calling a press conference and charging the officer with misconduct is probably the MOST predictable reaction. She is a reactive type and she doesn't back down.

Why are some people so quick to condemn her when the capitol cops will not release the video?

[Peace Patriot]

40. It's an obvious swiftboating. And you don't have to be a "conspiracy nut"

to see how the Bush junta and the war profiteering corporate news monopolies create and manipulate the illusion that we call "news" in this country.

--------------

"1. The police would have had to all be on the same page as no-one would have known what entrance McKinney was going to enter." --Mike

You don't think that, in our police state culture, the police can't be on "the same page" about targeting someone? You don't think bosses give cops a wink and a nod about persons and situations that need to be manipulated in ways that have absolutely nothing to do with "justice"? You don't think cops orchestrate news and arrests and stings to benefit the fascist establishment? You don't think that a big, bossy, flashy dressing, black Congresswoman, who advocates for the poor--the chief victims of the police state--and who is constantly exposing the Bush junta's lies and bullshit--is not a "red flag" to cops who are in the pay of a Bushite Congress? You don't think cops can be manipulated by those in power? If your answer to these questions is "no"--or your instinct tells you that police misconduct is rare--then you need to live on the other side of town for a while.

-------------

"2. They would have had to know that McKinney would not stop when asked to by the police."--Mike

McKinney, and other Members of Congress, often forget their ID pins and bypass the metal detector. All they had to do was put an arm on her, and only her. Putting an arm on a Member of Congress, to detain her from entering Congress, is a violation of the U.S. Constitution, which specifically forbids the executive branch and any and all police enforcers (all of whom derive their powers from the executive branch) from DETAINING a Member of Congress who is attempting to enter Congress. There is no exception for "security." And when they put an arm on her, McKinney had a DUTY to preserve herself from assault. She represents THE PEOPLE, *NOT* the government. If a precedent is set that the Bushites can USE "security" to impede Members of Congress, then our democracy is over. Bear in mind that the Bushites have already used unprecedented tactics to impede the work of Democratic members of Congress--ESPECIALLY those investigating, a) 9/11, b) the Iraq war, and c) election fraud. Now they're going to start calling Members of Congress "security risks" and harassing them with Grand Juries for exercising their SPECIFICALLY STATED CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT AND DUTY to enter Congress and conduct the business of THE PEOPLE?

"The police" were not stopping her on the street for suspicious activity. They were not stopping her in her car for dangerous driving. She was ENTERING Congress! And they put an ARM ON HER! They knew damn well that what THEY did was WRONG and UNLAWFUL and UNCONSTITUTIONAL, and it was a good guess that she would react. And they also likely knew that the entire Bush junta and half the Democratic leadership stuffed the U.S. Constitution up their asses a long time ago--and don't want any serious investigation of their goddamned illegal war on Iraq, and don't want any serious investigation of gross malfeasance on 9/11, and don't want any investigation of Bushite corporations 'counting' all our votes behind a veil of secrecy, with "trade secret" programming and no audit trail--and would all side with the cops, and use this incident to get rid of one of the few truth-tellers in Washington DC.

"They would have had to know that McKinney would not stop when asked to by the police." But they didn't just ASK. They PUT AN ARM on a Member of Congress WHILE SHE WAS ENTERING CONGRESS.

------------

"3. They would have had reason to believe that McKinney would lay hands on the officer in any way, shape or form." --Mike

You put an arm on a Member of Congress--especially a hot tempered black woman--and you can pretty much predict that she will resist. No, they couldn't know for sure. But look what's happened since. Instantly communicated to Drudge, thence to Faux News and all the rest. And now a Grand Jury, for godssakes. It appears to me (given what we know about this incident and what preceded it) that they prodded her weakness--her temper, her dislike of security, and possibly her feeling of fear in Bush's fascist state. Just looking at her, you can presume that she has had a history of suffering the humiliations that black people in general--especially very black people--commonly suffer, out of sight and out of mind of most of us white folks (except for cops, who are often the perps). They provoked her--with immense disrespect, putting an arm on her!--and she reacts. HER reaction is the understandable one; THEIRS appears calculated to produce a certain result. If you've had any experience with racist or brainwashed or manipulated cops, you know that this is a common tactic to create cause to arrest and charge (the often cop-created "resisting arrest").

----------

"4. They would have had to know that McKinney would then throw a press conference and accuse the cop of racism and profiling."--Mike

Yeah, she's CYNTHIA MCKINNEY! It's a pretty good bet that she wouldn't take it lying down. And she's fighting back as best she can. When you're being swiftboated, you're basically drowning. You're going under--and all the Bushites, with all their police state powers, and the entire "security"/industrial state, and all of the war profiteering corporate news monopolies, and many of your fellow Democrats are pushing your head under the water.

-------------------

"I would find it easier to support a theory that McKinney planned it all on her end. It sure requires less hoop-jumping than the 'Republicans planned this from the start" theories currently flying around.'" --Mike

"Hoop-jumping"? To establish that Republicans PLAN to smear, lie about, swiftboat, ruin, degrade, demote, threaten, blackmail, and destroy their political enemies, not to mention torturing and killing tens of thousands of innocent bystanders?

They "outed" an entire CIA counter-proliferation network, for godssakes--putting unknown numbers of covert US agents and contacts at risk of getting killed. They "outed" OUR AGENTS--for political gain and revenge (and likely with other motives we don't know of yet).

They swiftboated John Kerry. They swiftboated his wife. They swiftboated Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame, John McCain, Max Cleland, Richard Clark, Scott Ritter, Sibel Edmonds, Capt. James Yee, Mrs. John Conyers, and Kevin Shelley (in Calif). Just off the top of my head.

We know what THEY are capable of. And you are saying that YOU would give THEM the benefit of the doubt, and not Cynthia McKinney, a courageous black woman who has opposed them with every breath in her?

Maybe she did "act up." Maybe she did open her mouth. Maybe she did bash back when they touched her. SO WHAT?! I'm on HER side, and not yours, and not theirs. I save MY "benefits of the doubt" for people who have earned them, not for thieves and war criminals, and the cops they give orders to, and their toadies in the Democratic Party leadership and their lapdogs in the war profiteering corporate news monopolies.

A "Cynthia McKinney conspiracy." Give me a break.

------------------------

"The fact that no-one from her side of the aisle (even the CBC)is leaping to her aid should tell most people something." --Mike

Gee, I wonder where the California Democratic legislative leadership was, when the Bushite "black ops" team was "swiftboating" Kevin Shelley? I've seen it up close in my state. They were hiding under their desks--just where the lot of them are hiding now.

As I said, when you're getting swiftboated, you're drowning--and, after your friends push your head under, and sail away pulling the life preservers up behind them, you find yourself all alone in the vast, cold, deadly sea, surrounded by sharks.

[RaleighNCDUer]

30. Do you really think that if Frist said "I want that guy outa here"

about a capitol cop, that he wouldn't be guarding a latrine in the basement of the treasury building the next day? Who signs the paychecks? And who signs the paychecks of the guy who signs the paychecks?

Besides, you think there are not capitol cops who would be happy to comply with a set up to 'get' an obnoxious dem?

While the service itself may be neutral, you can't think that all members are neutral. And they can be subject to pressure, in such a high-pressure environment.

If nothing else, the invoking of the GJ to investigate what is at worst a misdemeanor offense, assuming she is lying and the cop is not, shows that this is a partisan witch-hunt.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

31. Striking an officer is a felony.

And also, if it's such a clear set-up, why is NO ONE, not even the CBC, supporting McKinney? Are they out to get her too?

[RaleighNCDUer]

33. And who is saying she struck him?

Only him.

And everyone who believes him over her.

Don't you think that if there was video of her assaulting an officer, it would be playing on Fox News, 24 hrs/day? And who the fuck is the CBC, and what do they have to do with it?

Let's see the video.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

34. CBC = Congressional Black Caucus

Gee, you don't think THEIR opinion might be valid at all?

[RaleighNCDUer]

35. Did they witness the incident?

I agree with them that this is getting blown up.

But it is not her that's doing it. She's just defending herself against scurrilous charges about an incident that they will not release the video of.

If she did attack the officer, and it's on tape, this whole thing would be settled by them releasing the video. At the same time, if she did NOT attack the officer, the same applies.

So if they are not releasing the video, it is because they want to stretch this out, distract everyone, and damage a congresswoman who has refused to back down against this administration.

It seems to be working.

[MADem]

6. She isn't helping to mitigate the distraction, if it was a set-up

I think it was just a series of unfortunate events, myself.

Had she sat down and had a private, nonconfrontational discussion of the matter with the cop in question, this probably could have been sorted out. But she is making this guy a symbol, the Cap Police are making her a symbol, everyone else is throwing their two cents in, and there is no evidence at this stage that reconciliation might occur.

[Ian David]

7. She should have just gotten drunk and shot him in the face

They would have given her 16 hours to sober-up before the cops could talk to her, and then the whole thing would have gone away.

She could have said she thought he was a quail.

[KoKo]

16. lol's.....good point...n/t

[Catherine Vincent]

17. Word!

And then the cop would have apologized to her!

[seemslikeadream]

8. What comes before - The RE RE-LYNCHING CYNTHIA MCKINNEY

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=229&row=1
The Screwing of Cynthia McKinney
http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=239&row=1
RE-LYNCHING CYNTHIA MCKINNEY


The Disinformatiom Press.

[KoKo]

20. It would be good if the naysayers re-read these Greg Palast links.

I think those who've been here a long time are more aware of what was done to Cynthia in the past than others. That's why in my OP I said she was known as a "hot button" by the Repugs. She's been through enough to be a little paranoid...or alot when someone grabs her and questions her I.D.

Dems getting Anthrax...Dems being targeted always in retaliation when they speak out or are useful to deflect from a Bush stunt.

Anyone who watches Chris Matthews knows the drill by now. He has his handful of what he calls Democratic Spokespersons and his stable of newspersons he can call on to ever so slyly go after any Dem who dares to "make trouble."

[seemslikeadream]

27. you are right KoKo01

many do not know the history of this. How McKinney went after Barrick (bush), about the miners that were buried ALIVE. No one spoke of this save McKinney. She's an uppity black that must be

silenced by

The Disinformatiom Press.

[TheBaldyMan]

38. today The Guardian(UK) has a article about the current controversy by Greg

In their Comment is Free blog section

Greg Palast:An alleged blow for us all

he says, amongst other things

That crazy congresswoman is at it again. Or should I say, black congresswoman. Yes, I should say it, because, don't kid yourself, "black" is what it's all about.

I'm not writing to defend Cynthia McKinney. I know the congresswoman and, believe me, she can take care of herself without this white boy's help.

He continues with a anecdote about a lawyer of his aquaintance,Duane Fitzgerald Andrews.

Duane's a sharp dresser, wore suits into our office of committed slobs every day. We made fun of him for it. But once Duane showed up in jeans, it being a Saturday, and we were off to a meeting in a Washington DC office tower. We walked in together and me, bald white guy, was handed a pass. Then Duane was told: "You'll have to make your delivery at the basement entrance."

My young attorney just smiled and showed an ID. He brushed it off as just another "Black Moment."

yes, it's just another case uppity blacks with ideas above their station.

Read the article just for entertainment value, at least.

"Comment is free ... but facts are sacred." - C.P.Snow, editor of the Guardian, 1921

[seemslikeadream]

39. Thank you so much TheBaldyMan

:hi:

Y mas gan ulaghize
Let him be praised continually
Khibil ahamlack, yim mas gan
Glory to god, let him be praised

[cali]

9. I doubt it.

I'm a big fan of Occam's razor. The simplest explanation is most often the correct explanation. Believing it was a set up requires some really laborious pretzle logic. IMHO, the suggestion that this was a set up is just silly.

As for your assumption that everyone who doesn't agree with YOU is being suckered by the Rovian Bushbots, that's just plain offensive. People can arrive at a POV different than yours without having been suckered.

[Avalux]

12. No; she hasn't given me any reason to believe she's blameless.

I haven't been impressed with her statements or her TV appearances. From what I've seen from McKinney, I cannot blindly support the notion that she's been set up.

[meegbear]

14. Ummmm .... no

This is "make hay while the sun shines". If this didn't happen, they'd find another distraction.

[LisaLynne]

21. That's an excellent point, IMHO.

This happened, so this is what they are distracting us with. They would have found SOMETHING to distract us with.

[The2ndWheel]

18. I'm all for a good conspiracy

But what is this distracting from? Tom DeLay? The nuclear crap? I'm positive most Americans would have no clue about anything that happened this past week, with or without McKinney. She's a fairly unknown person in Congress. That's saying a lot, considering this is America, and Ted Kennedy is probably an unknown. Maybe Rove cares about McKinney, because they all live in their bubble world of DC, but nobody knows who the woman is.

[Mike Daniels]

23. Like you said, McKinney is a non-entity to most of the public.

Most people dismissed her statements about 9/11 as crackpot to begin with and she marginalized herself beyond that with her solicitation of the Saudi prince's money.

She's hardly a threat to anything the Bush team wants to accomplish.

[RaleighNCDUer]

41. Non-entities are important, because they can become symbols

without any inconvenient facts getting in the way.

A non-entity brain dead woman became a rally point for the religious right. A non-entity 8 year old cuban boy became a rally point for anti-communist hangers-on.
A non-entity missing high-school girl has been feeding the tabloids for a year.

It doesn't matter WHO a person it - what matters is what they can make of it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

26. She's a non-entity in Congress too.

I don't think there's a more self-marginalized Member of Congress than Rep. McKinney. She's nearly powerless - it really doesn't help them much at all to do away with her.

[Rowdyboy]

28. The timing is too perfect for it not to be....They set a trap and she fell

into it. Now nobody is talking about Delay-it 24/7 McKinney.

We fall for it and they win again.

[mandyky]

29. Give me a break!

I have kept silent on this issue - the person blowing this up is Rep McKinney.
This could have been a one day blip on the radar screen.

The way to address racial profiling is NOT to hit a police officer, for Pete's sake.
And then goad the police into going to a Grand Jury, with all these idiotic press conferences and TV appearances. If this costs us in the 06 elections, I am gonna be really mad. It is rather telling to me that the CBC is not backing CM....

[Vidar]

36. of course

[in_cog_ni_to]

37. YES. It is possible and more than likely, that's what's going on.

Distract, distract, distract, distract.