Send Lawyers, Guns, and Jesse Jackson

This is not a good day for Cynthia McKinney.

WASHINGTON -- Capitol Hill police on Monday asked a federal prosecutor to approve an arrest warrant for Rep. Cynthia McKinney for her role in a scuffle with a police officer last week, the prosecutor's office confirmed.

Capitol Police had no immediate comment so it's not yet known whether the intent is to file felony or misdemeanor assault charges against McKinney, a DeKalb County Democrat.

...Also Monday, black preachers, elected officials and activists in Atlanta cited McKinney's recent run-in with Capitol police as an example of racial profiling and called what happened to her disrespectful.

Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta, along with members of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, announced their continued support for the sixth-term congresswoman at a morning meeting.

Supporters say the incident has been blown out of proportion and politicized. Her treatment, they added, was excessive and shows that black elected officials aren't immune to problems of double standards and racial profiling other African-Americans face.

"Racial profiling is a well thought out and planned attack on black political leaders," state Rep. Alberta Abdul-Salaam said Monday. "It's going from the gold dome down to the White House. It's happening and it's wrong."

RACIAL PROFILING?

Rep. Alberta Abdul-Salaam is accusing the police force that protects her of being engaged in a calculated effort to assault the rights of Americans.

Let's be honest. That's nuts.

The issue is McKinney refused to follow the security process and assaulted an officer. She considers herself above the law.

The Capitol Police have the punching incident on tape.

I'm sure that they carefully examined the tape and thoroughly investigated the altercation before going to the federal prosecutor to request an arrest warrant.
They wouldn't pursue the matter if there wasn't clear evidence that McKinney acted inappropriately.

It was less than two months ago when the Capitol Police backed down and apologized to Cindy Sheehan for removing her from the Capitol building during President Bush's State of the Union address. Clearly, the police charged with securing the nation's Capitol do not want to be perceived as trigger happy.

That leads me to conclude that there is irrefutable proof that McKinney was at fault.

Perhaps McKinney is finally going to be held accountable for her habit of striking officers.

I certainly don't expect much from McKinney, but it's very unfortunate that she has been successful in assembling a band of willing accomplices to promote excusing the inexcusable.

It's a shame that McKinney switched gears from her original apologetic position for the incident to a rabid attack on the Capitol Police.

It's a disgrace.

McKinney crying wolf here diminishes every legitimate claim of racism and sexism.
Her behavior is not befitting a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

If an arrest warrant is issued, I look forward to McKinney's mug shot.

I wonder if she would smile the way Tom DeLay did.