McKinney coming to Wisconsin, seeks Green Party nod

I've lost count of the number of presidential candidates, can't name them all and frankly don't care. Those depressing TV debates, with six, eight, however many stiffs standing behind those matching podiums stretching left and right to infinity, answering questions from snowmen with self-deprecating humor.

Surely, this is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind?

So imagine my excitement at learning that yet another candidate is throwing her hat (yes, Hillary, it's no longer just the old guys ganging up on you!) into the ring.

Popping up in my inbox Wednesday night was the kind of press release designed to drive anyone concerned about the electoral process to despair.

Six-term Congresswoman, former Democrat and now Green Party member Cynthia McKinney is coming to Madison and Milwaukee on Tuesday, Dec. 11, as part of her "Power to the People" tour, promoting her campaign to win the Green Party nomination for President of the United States.

McKinney? Cynthia McKinney... that Cynthia McKinney?

None other. She's the congresswoman who walked around the metal detector at the entrance to the House Office Building, while not wearing her Congressional identity pin, and then got into a shoving match with the Capitol guard who tried to stop her. She's the congresswoman who's made statements accusing President Bush of involvement with 9/11. She's opposed aid to Israel, and anti-Semitic statements have repeatedly come from her campaigns.

This is the latest presidential candidate? This is the candidate Green Party members tried to recruit in 2000 and 2004? (According to Wikepedia.)

Well, here she is today, trying to win the Green Party nomination. Oh, joy. Here's the rest of the press release. Pay attention to the final paragraph...

Congresswoman McKinney will announce her candidacy and hold a press conference at the Madison State Capitol, room 330 SW at 12:30 p.m.

Rep. McKinney was the first African-American woman from Georgia elected to Congress, serving six terms in the House. Prior to completing her most recent term, she introduced articles of impeachment against President Bush charging him with manipulating intelligence and lying to justify the war in Iraq, failing to uphold accountability and violating privacy laws with his domestic spying program. The articles also included charges against Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"Like Robert M. LaFollette Sr., Rep. McKinney has abandoned the establishment parties and chosen to run for president as a progressive, independent of the two-party system," said Ron Hardy, Co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party. "During World War I, that establishment demonized Fighting Bob La Follette; today, during the Iraq War, Rep. McKinney is their target. We welcome her into the Green Party, to join us in our efforts to bring democracy, nonviolence, and justice to our country."

In addition to McKinney, other Green candidates appearing on the Wisconsin Green Party's presidential ballot will be: Jared Ball, college professor from the District of Columbia; Jesse Johnson, filmmaker and film company owner from West Virginia; Jerry Kann, child welfare non-profit administrative assistant from New York; Kent Mesplay, air quality inspector from California; Joe Schriner, journalist and author from Ohio; and Kat Swift, non-profit bookkeeper from Texas.

[Distribution of this release by the Wisconsin Green Party does not imply endorsement of any candidate for the presidential nomination.]

Thank goodness for that last statement! But where's Ralph Nader when we really need him?