Will McKinney Go "Green", and Run With Ralph Nader?

America's environmental extremists have been back-pedaling lately because of the disastrous forest fires in the Western United States. They keep insisting it was not their policy recommendations that made those forests vulnerable, but now even some of the most avid supporters of the green organizations are seeing the light and questioning the wisdom of elite environmentalism. Politically, the so-called "Greens" are having their problems.

But it seems to me they are facing a new problem that is a lot more volatile than forest fires, and that challenge comes from right here in Georgia. Cynthia McKinney is mad at the Democrats. Let's face it ... McKinney has been a Democratic poster person for a number of years now. She is female; black; articulate; and a radical environmentalist of the first order. She lost her Congressional seat in the Democratic primary, and she says it was the Democrats that did her in. Her daddy, Billy McKinney, says it was the J-E-W-S that caused her to lose.

At any rate, Cynthia McKinney is furious with the Democratic Party and is openly considering switching to the "Green" Party, the splinter group that ran Ralph Nader as a third party presidential candidate in 2000. Some in the Green Party are promoting the idea that McKinney run as the vice presidential candidate with Nader at the top of the ticket in 2004. Frankly, don't think that will ever happen. Cynthia won't accept the second spot, and for once I agree with her. The fact is she HAS held elected office as a Member of Congress, and I ask you: what has Ralph Nader ever done other than get a lot of press coverage from the liberal side of the media.

But if the Greens are having trouble trying to decide what their environmental stand should be, and how they want to run their political campaign, just wait till they bring McKinney aboard. Forest fires can be controlled.

This is Gordon Sawyer, and may the wind always be at your back.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/9/189784