<p>Rep. Cynthia McKinney is still stirring controversy, just a little more softly.</p><p>Nearly a year into her return to Congress, the Georgia Democrat has hosted a forum of Sept. 11 conspiracy theorists, introduced legislation to investigate the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, and called on the federal government to cut off funding to a Louisiana police department.</p><p>Still, friends and foes alike say the new version of McKinney bears little resemblance to the more boisterous old one.</p><p>"She's not trying to make news all the time," said Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University, which is in McKinney's suburban east Atlanta district. "She's not trying to really call attention to herself. That may be the style that keeps her in Washington as long as she wants to be the representative."</p><p>In her previous decade in Congress, McKinney _ the state's first black congresswoman _ was a top target of conservatives who labeled her views as radical and out-of-touch with her constituents.</p><p>Most notable were her suggestions that former Democratic Vice President Al Gore had a low "Negro tolerance level" and that White House officials had prior knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks but kept quiet, allowing allies to profit.</p><p>Yet Republicans never had much of a chance at unseating McKinney in Atlanta's predominantly black 4th District. However, in 2002, former judge Denise Majette beat McKinney in the Democratic primary, blasting her for letting constituent services slide as she pursued a personal agenda in Washington. McKinney suspected Majette's win was buoyed by Republicans who picked up a Democratic ballot in that election just to vote against her.</p><p>After two years in Congress, Majette left the seat for a losing Senate run, allowing McKinney to win it back in a crowded field. Majette says she hasn't talked to McKinney since a phone call in November 2004 when McKinney reacted coolly to her tips on how best to serve constituents.</p><p>"When I'm out and about, not a day goes by when people don't say, 'We really wish you were in Congress,'" Majette says.</p><p>The state's senior senator, Republican Saxby Chambliss, says there has been a noticeable drop-off in communication since McKinney replaced Majette.</p><p>"Denise would come over and visit with us from time to time about issues important to her," Chambliss said. "I haven't heard much out of Cynthia this time since she's been back. I hope maybe she has learned a lesson in political courtesy. It's not the right thing to do to just be negative on everybody all the time."</p><p>McKinney's office didn't respond to repeated interview requests, but her allies say the congresswoman was often misunderstood during her last congressional stint. That, they say, is likely why she usually tries to stay out of the spotlight now.</p><p>"At some point, if your voice is not being heard in a positive light, it may not matter if your voice is heard but if the message goes forward," said Barbara Campbell, chairwoman of the Democratic Party in DeKalb County, which makes up most of McKinney's district. "I think that's a politically smart move. Sometimes when people form an opinion about a person, no matter what they say, they're not going to hear you."</p><p>Campbell says the clearest example was McKinney's comments about Sept. 11, made during a 2002 interview on a California radio station. Many listeners interpreted McKinney's remarks to suggest the White House allowed the attacks to happen so investment groups specializing in defense contracts would benefit from an ensuing military buildup.</p><p>But in a 2004 interview with The Associated Press, McKinney said her comments were taken out of context and had become an "urban myth" among her foes. However, she suggested the findings of an independent commission that studied the attacks essentially confirmed her beliefs.</p><p>"What it proves is that we need to have answers to the question that I originally asked," McKinney said.</p><p>At a Congressional Black Caucus forum earlier this year, more conspiracy theories about Sept. 11 were flying _ including one author's contention that there must have been pre-planted explosives inside the World Trade Center towers to topple them.</p><p>During that forum, McKinney played the role of moderator and cheerleader _ nodding and smiling as others theorized but never saying whether she agreed.</p><p>As for the remarks about Gore, sent in a press release from her office, McKinney has insisted that was a draft never meant for publication.</p><p>After unconfirmed reports that police officers in Gretna, La., were firing weapons over the heads of blacks fleeing from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, McKinney and members of the Hip Hop Caucus, an activist group, called on the federal government to end Gretna's federal funds. She said the incident could be the "worst American civil rights episode ushering in the 21st Century."</p><p>Yet the legislation she introduced to strip the funds hasn't garnered a single co-sponsor. In fact, she has introduced 10 bills since returning to Congress in January but only 10 other lawmakers have signed on to any of them _ seven of those on a measure seeking the disclosure of government records related to the life and death of Martin Luther King.</p><p>Rep. Artur Davis, an Alabama Democrat whose defeat of former Rep. Earl Hilliard in 2002 was often compared to Majette's defeat of McKinney, says he hasn't had much contact with McKinney this year. However, he said if constituents suspect she is using legislation to pursue a personal agenda rather than her district's, the political process will sort that out.</p><p>"I'm sure she produces bills that she's interested in, and if voters of her district want different priorities, I'm sure they'll find a way to take that up with her," Davis said.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1ce017c)</p>
