Colleagues aren't pressuring McKinney to remain a Democrat

WASHINGTON - If defeated Representative Cynthia McKinney is mulling the possibility of leaving the Democratic Party to run for president on the Green Party ticket, she&#39;s not discussing it with other Democrats in the Georgia delegation. <br> <br> Representatives John Lewis and Sanford Bishop, colleagues who represent the state in the U.S. House, say McKinney hasn&#39;t told them what she plans to do. Nor are they pressuring her to stay with the party if she wants to leave. <br> <br> Lewis said, ``She&#39;s a free thinker, a very independent person. I would love for her to stick with the Democratic Party, but she must make up her own mind.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Lewis, a civil rights leader and dean of the delegation, said he and McKinney haven&#39;t spoken since her August 20 primary defeat to former state judge Denise Majette. <br> <br> Even though both are black liberal Democrats who represent Atlanta, Lewis acknowledged the two have never ever been close. He said some of his supporters were particularly offended when McKinney endorsed California Democrat Nancy Pelosi over him in the Whip race. <br> <br> Lewis said, ``That didn&#39;t set well with some people in my camp.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Bishop, who is also black but is far more conservative than Lewis or McKinney, said he asked McKinney last week about her plans. She didn&#39;t tell him much, Bishop said, only that she would continue to work on her Ph-D and would stay involved in politics somehow. <br> <br> Bishop said, ``I&#39;m humble enough to know I have no right to suggest anything.&#39;&#39;