NEW YORK, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Dear Fellow Democrat:
As a registered Democrat who makes his living as a consultant to my party's candidates, these words should be absent of angst. Not this time however, because this time I am writing to my fellow Democrat, Rep. Cythnia McKinney, D-Ga.
The way I see it, Ms. McKinney, one of us needs to leave our party.
One of us is completely out of touch with the institution created by the Thomas Jefferson, which still, I believe, best represents the political interests of the vast majority of Americans.
I find it impossible to believe that any elected official who has a "D" after his or her name could reveal themselves as racist, anti-Semitic, anti-American and just plain dumb -- all in just a couple of weeks.
But, like I said, maybe I'm the one who is out of touch. Criticism of you from within the party has been hard to find. Let me start and maybe I will trigger something over at the Democratic National Committee.
We all know by now that New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani rejected a $10 million check from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal that came with an addendum that the terrorism of September 11th could have been avoided if the U.S. had a different policy towards the Palestinians.
As a native New Yorker, I know Rudy can be rude and he often cuts off his nose to spite his face. But not this time. The mayor was right -- there is no way ever to justify the taking of thousands of civilian lives. The people who were murdered on 9/11 were victims, plain and simple.
But I guess it wasn't clear to you, because you were quick to side with those who criticize America in a moment that called for national unity (especially from our leaders) and apologize for the mayor's action.
To paraphrase JFK, another of our party's great leaders who worked to bring the nation together in a time of crisis, that was a real profile in courage, Congresswoman.
I also accused you of racism. Here's why.
In your heartwarming letter to the prince, you asked him to donate the money to charities that would help poor blacks in Washington, D.C., who live on the streets. I assume you realize there are plenty of white folks also living on D.C.'s streets. I see them everyday. Are black poor people any more deserving of help than poor white people? When you choose one race over another in America we call it racism. But, then again, you were raised by a father who called one of your opponents a "racist Jew," so maybe you never learned the definition.
This brings up the issue of anti-Semitism. You have a terrible record on Israel and all the other things that Jews in America care about. You will never be able to spin your way out of it because there is too much evidence.
Sadly, your animosity towards Jews in this country is an embarrassment to all of us. Coincidentally, millions of American saw a 60 Minutes story in which your friend the prince, whom you called a "friend of America," sat smiling as one of his subjects called Rudy Giuliani "a lackey of the Jews."
Finally I said you were dumb. I could be wrong. Maybe I'm the dumb one and you represent the majority of the Democratic Party. I sure hope not, but with all the silence, I can't really tell.
(Chris LaPetina, a Democratic consultant, is a partner in the firm Global Strategies and appears frequently on cable news channels offer opinion and commentary.)
