Cynthia McKinney Gets Andrew Young's Endorsement

DECATUR, Ga. - At a rare news conference Thursday, U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney touted her reputation for outspoken and unapologetic leadership - a quality that won her the endorsement of civil rights icon Andrew Young less than two weeks before a runoff election.

"Congress needs controversy," Young said in a recorded endorsement, which was headed for immediate use on radio. "The last thing we need in a democracy is people who don't think for themselves and people who go along with whatever any leadership seems to say."

"I don't always agree with Cynthia McKinney, but I always agree with her right to express her opinion because that creates a dialogue that makes democracy work," Young continued. "We need an outspoken, courageous, intelligent woman representing us in the Fourth Congressional District."

McKinney faces an unexpected primary runoff against challenger Hank Johnson on Aug. 8 for her congressional seat.

Young did not attend the news conference. The former Atlanta mayor and U.N. ambassador is also endorsing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Taylor. Earlier this year, he was a character witness for two-term Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell when he fought federal corruption and tax evasion charges, and is a spokesman for Working Families for Wal-Mart.

Young said he's always been a McKinney supporter.

"She knows politics," Young said in a telephone interview, adding that her controversial stance on Sept. 11 and the war on Iraq has alienated some.

"She spoke out in a such a harsh and critical way that it didn't get a lot of support, but the fact remains, looking back on it now, she was right," he said.

McKinney urged voters not to stay home for the runoff, and is expected to show up at two televised debates against Johnson. She skipped both televised debates leading up the primary.

Johnson is a former DeKalb County commissioner whose old district overlaps McKinney's federal turf in the heart of her core constituency. McKinney told reporters her aim is turnout, but she hardly conceded losing ground in last week's primary.

"I'm not saying I lost any support," she said.

Voter turnout in McKinney's district east of Atlanta last week was extremely low - less than 60,000 ballots were cast in the July 18 primary - and she led Johnson by less than 2,000 votes. A third candidate served as a spoiler, forcing a runoff.

McKinney criticized the media for not highlighting more of her accomplishments in the district, saying she has brought millions back to her community for jobs, transportation, walking and biking trails and other quality of life projects.

But she clearly sees her other role as that of "truthteller," representing the most ethnically diverse district in the Southeast. She called the Fourth District "a microcosm of the world."

"I have paid a terrible political price for the truth," McKinney said. "We have to take stock of where we are...and we have got to provide strong, courageous and uncompromising leadership."

She said she did not think a March scuffle with a Capitol Hill police officer was a factor in the race, and called the incident "a distraction."

"This is much ado created by people with a political agenda, not a legal one," she said. "The grand jury acted on the truth."

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