Cynthia, We Hardly Knew Ye

Ave atque Vale, Cynthia.

Cynthia McKinney, the boisterous Democratic representative from Atlanta has been defeated in the Georgia primary, meaning that she will not be able to even run again for her currently held position in the United States House of Representatives. Thus passes one of the more interesting characters ever to walk the halls of the US congress.

How do you sum up Cynthia McKinney? It's a lot like asking, "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" I suppose. Do you talk about her penchant for punching security guards? Do you reminisce about her throwing her cell phone at someone? Do you talk about her hair? Or do you just leave with this tidbit about her concession speech:

"Before she began her remarks, she played the song 'Dear Mr. President,' an anti-Bush anthem by Pink, and sang along, somewhat out of tune, with its critical lyrics."

The real problem, of course, is that Rep. McKinney is not nearly as insane as she appears to be. The woman has done a good job of bringing some actual honest-to-God issues to the table that need discussing in this country. Now if only she had done it in a manner that didn't so much call to mind a junior high school cafeteria food fight, some actual debate could have come out of her efforts.

Thank God there's still Joe Liebermann.*


*Actually, there isn't. Leibermann also lost his reelection bid in the Connecticut primary last night. But rest assured, all you suburbanites from the nutmeg state, Joementum is a fire that cannot be quenched.