Here we go again...
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GA. NEWCOMER TURNS TO JEWS TO OUST REP. MCKINNEY'S DAD
By ELI KINTISCH, The Forward, 8/30/02
http://www.forward.com/issues/2002/02.08.30/news3.html
ATLANTA - After mounting a successful campaign to encourage thousands of
Republican voters to oust Rep. Cynthia McKinney in last week's Democratic
primary, a small group of Atlanta-area political operatives are hoping for
Jewish backing in their bid to unseat her father from his seat in the
Georgia State House…
The race follows two Middle East proxy wars in which Israel supporters
helped bankroll the defeats of Cynthia McKinney and Birmingham, Ala., Rep.
Earl Hilliard, who both received donations from pro-Palestinian backers.
But with only a state house seat up for grabs this time, and opposition to
Billy McKinney centering more on his controversial remarks than Middle East
positions, it is unclear if Arab-American donors will enter the fray.
It seems more likely that the race will inflame black-Jewish tensions.
Several African-American political figures are already charging that Jews
are attempting to choose black leaders.
"I definitely have some feelings about any outside group exerting this kind
of influence in a race, and I've been receiving angry calls from black
voters all day, saying they should rally against Jewish candidates," said
Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson last week in an interview with The New
York Times. The Democratic chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus,
Johnson added: "To have non-African-Americans from around the country
putting millions into a race to unseat one of our leaders for expressing
her right of free speech is definitely a problem…"
The "problem" shows no sign of going away - Noel told the Forward that
Jewish donations to his campaign have increased since Billy McKinney's
controversial television interview. "The number of Jewish folks who have
called me and offered financial support has been nothing short of
outstanding," Noel said. "I think it's a one down, one to go feeling."
In a press release last week, the Anti-Defamation League's southeastern
director, Deborah Lauter, condemned Billy McKinney's "J-E-W-S" remark,
labeling it "classic antisemitism." He caused a similar stir in 1996 after
calling his daughter's opponent a "racist Jew," a comment Cynthia McKinney
repudiated.
Members of the ad-hoc group which helped derail the younger McKinney, using
a Web site registered to the name goodbyecynthia.com, say they expect to
mobilize Republicans to crossover in the primary runoff and vote for Noel,
an electrical contractor who has done much of his campaigning door to door.
Since no Republican qualified for the general election, the winner of the
September runoff will represent the state house district, which covers part
of Atlanta and suburbs in Cobb County.
"I'm grateful for their support," Noel said, referring to Republican
voters. "When the choice is as stark as Billy McKinney or myself, and the
showdown is solely in the Democratic primary, it seems logical that
Republicans would cross."
While there is no party registration in Georgia and voters can choose in
which party primary to vote, observers estimate that 40% of McKinney's
district would identify themselves as Republican. But few participated in
the GOP primary last week, making the majority eligible to vote in the
Democratic runoff.
Some Republicans may have helped Noel register his surprise showing last
week, in which he held his own against an Atlanta institution. "No one
thought this guy had a prayer," said Noel aide John Garst, a political
consultant with Atlanta-based Rosetta Stone Communications.
At a press conference this week, high-profile supporters of McKinney
announced that they would be introducing legislation in the state House to
bar crossover voting in Georgia, a freedom enjoyed by voters in a number of
other states.
McKinney's office did not return a call seeking comment.
The activists behind the goodbyecynthia.com effort introduced
goodbyebilly.com this week in preparation for the runoff. Mark Davis, a
Republican political database specialist in Deluth and a key organizer of
the bipartisan effort, said that the group raised money through its first
Web site from American Jews across the country who opposed what they felt
were McKinney's anti-Israel positions, and Republicans angry over remarks
she made suggesting President Bush might have known about September 11
before it happened.
Davis estimated that half the donations to the goodbyecynthia.com effort
were from Jews. "We couldn't have done it without them," he said.
That money was used for mailings, phone banks and Web site expenses to
encourage Republicans and swing voters in DeKalb County to vote for
"anybody but Cynthia" - and the efforts appeared to play an important role
in Cynthia McKinney's 16-point loss to Denise Majette, a Democrat with
nearly 20 years under her belt as a local judge.
"Everybody involved in this effort is offended by the mouth of his," Davis
said, referring to the senior McKinney. "I can't believe we have a sitting
legislator who would get on TV and make comments like, 'It's the Jews.'"
Davis predicted an even greater level of American Jewish support following
McKinney's televised remarks. Noel estimated that Jews, many of them
Republican, make up 5% of the district.
A number of DeKalb County Jewish groups and volunteers helped Majette with
her effort, including supporters who handed out fliers at Atlanta's
expansive Marcus Jewish Community Center, located in Dunwoody in Northern
DeKalb County.
Assistant Rabbi Noach Shapiro, of Ahavath Achim Synagogue in the Buckhead
section of the senior McKinney's district, said that a number of his
congregants were "outraged" by the state representative's comments. But,
the rabbi added, he hadn't yet heard of an organized effort by members of
the Jewish community to vote for Noel.
"I supported John Noel before McKinney made those remarks," said Leon
Goldstein, a civil and workplace mediator in Atlanta. "Those remarks were
the icing on the cake."
Goldstein, who identified himself as a Democrat, is a board member of the
ADL southeastern region.
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