Congress: Look to New York City

[acroyear]

From a comment at scienceblogs: Rep. McKinney and the police officer should apologize to each other and shake hands, and then everyone should get on with their lives. This whole incident is considerably smaller than the sum of its parts.

I'd just LOVE for that to be the case, but the shooting incident in New York City's City Hall tells me otherwise. Security at a place like the House should be *absolute*. If you don't have what credentials you're supposed to be carrying, you are pulled aside, period.

The day someone can just yell "I'm a congressman" and run past the gates without any interference is the day congress itself gets assassinated.

I hate it, but New York's incident showed us exactly what can happen and McKinney for her "I'm the race victim here" arrogance is simply asking for her own death and causing EVERYBODY to miss the real story here.

The guard did his job.  If you don't have what you're supposed to have, you don't get in.  Period.

Comments

[wilhelmina-d.livejournal.com]

Can you link to the article? I hadn't heard about this!!

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

just google for it.

long story short, she (a black congresswoman from georgia) wasn't wearing her pin and still tried to get through the congress entrance (the one that avoids the metal detectors). The guard stopped her, she gets all huffy, complains about racial discrimination and how she *should* be recognized by face, and slaps and/or hits the guard.

capitol police are filing charges, and she (and half the blacks in the south) are all saying its racial discrimination and playing the victim card.

she's wrong.

[wilhelmina-d.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[mandrakan.livejournal.com]

She's wrong that she should have slipped by (subject to my full concurrence with thatliardesmond, J.'s opinion).

But the Capitol Police pressing criminal charges? Even if the constitution doesn't prohibit prosecution of a Member of Congress for an assault in the Capitol, it seemas a bit of an overreaction, no?

[rsteachout.livejournal.com]

She slapped/hit a police officer who was doing his duty. Others who assault and batter an officer are charged. She was wrong in the first place and made it worse.

[sequentialscott.livejournal.com]

I sometimes listen to the Chris Core show on WMAL just to get a different viewpoint that my own. In this case, I actually agreed with him - and you.

(I listen to him as opposed to the famous ones because he's on during my drive in and he is generally more civil than the other blowhards.)

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

Fine -- then apply the damn rule equally and jack up every member of Congress who is walking around without their pin.

You think Cynthia McKinney is the only one who does this? Here's a little context from someone who worked as a congressional staffer: many members of Congress go without wearing them. The more high-profile they are, the less they tend to wear them. Commiteee chairmen, members of the leadership, members who are on TV all the time -- they hardly ever wear the pins. And because they're "recognizable," they walk around the checkpoints all the time and nobody says a word about it.

Cynthia McKinney has been in Congress for longer than ten years and she's as recognizable as it gets. When John McCain get jacked up by the police for walking around the damn checkpoints, maybe I'll buy that this is "just the Capitol Police doing their job." But they've been pulling this stunt on McKinney since 1994 and it's gotten old.

So I'm sorry -- you're getting half the story, and from my point of view, race does have something to do with it.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

Yes it *should* be applied equally across everybody.

one of these days, the fiction of the last 200 years ("Prisoner of Zenda", "Prince and the Pauper", "Face Off", various stories of Doctor Who) is going to become reality and you won't be able to trust that someone is who they say they are just by their face.

This incident (and the NYC incident) *should* be a call for a more explicit policy and monitoring of the capitol police to make sure they do their damn job. one of these days somebody WILL get through because they happen to look like someone who's supposed to be there and there will be hell to pay...

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

Not diagreeing with you, but recall that the Capitol Police are hired by the Congress. Let me know the next time you can barge into your bosses' office and tell him that next time he violates a minor rule, you're gonna jack him up.

Especially when you have 535 bosses, many of whom have been there for years, get on TV, and sometimes command the attention of the president of the U.S.

A sense of entitlement is a hard thing to get over.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

to which the answer to that is avoid the conflict of interest - turn the control of the capitol police over to another department in the government.

of course, for congress to *explicitly* give up a piece of their power (as opposed to their implicit turnovers of responsibility by not stopping the executive administration from doing what its doing) may be asking for too much.

A sense of entitlement is a hard thing to get over.

Gee, that's one item the Republicans ran with in '94 in their complaints about the Democratic congress of the previous 40 years. Shame they became exactly what they professed was wrong about their opponents all those years ago...

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

Turn the Capitol Police over to whom? There a little matter of "separation of powers" to deal with. As it stands, it's hard enough to get the Justice Department to appoint special prosecutors when it comes to misfeasance or malfeasance in the Executive Branch.

And yes, currently the legislative branch has already surrendered too much power to the Executive; as Kweisi Mfume told me in 1993 why he voted against the line-item veto, "history has shown that once the legislative branch gives up power to the executive, they rarely ever get it back."

Hypocrisy? From the current people running the show? I'm shocked, shocked to find out gambling goes on in this casino, Inspector Renaud...

IOKIYAR.

[fiona64.livejournal.com]

I'm shocked, shocked to find out gambling goes on in this casino, Inspector Renaud...

Your winnings, captain ...

[faireraven.livejournal.com]

I know I personally wouldn't recognize her on sight, but then again, I wouldn't recognize my own congressman on sight, so I'm a bad one to talk about that...

I used to have a job where you had to badge through EVERY DOOR you walked through. If you were assigned as an escort for a visitor, you had to badge your own badge through, then the visitor's badge, and then your own badge again to make sure that the visitor was with you. It didn't matter how recognizeable you were, you were damn well going to badge through that door. They Xrayed everyone's belongings and sent you through a metal dectector on the way in the front gate, as well as IDing you and giving you your badge (you were IDed again and your badge returned to the guards at the end of the day). EVERYONE. No exceptions. The president could have walked up to it, and he would have to be ID'd and given a visitor's badge and an escort, after being walked through the metal detector and x-raying his bag(s). It didn't matter if you were working there for a day or for thirty years, they still had to see your ID before they'd give you the badge, and they had to X-ray your items and send you through the metal detector.

If you want true security, that's what you have to do. No exceptions.

Mind you, that's not exactly what we're talking about, I know.

Does she have the right to make a stink when other people are getting through and she doesn't? Yes. Does she have the right to smack the guard for not recognizing her/letting her through? No.

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

I know I personally wouldn't recognize her on sight, but then again, I wouldn't recognize my own congressman on sight, so I'm a bad one to talk about that...

My point exactly. But she's been there for thirteen freaking years. There are any number of members of Congress who haven't been there that long, but do the same thing. And if one of the cops laid a hand on one of those people, I'm sure you'd hear about it too. But she says that she was grabbed roughly and inapprorpiately -- and this isn't the first time this has happened.

So, once again, context is everything.

I used to have a job where you had to badge through EVERY DOOR you walked through. If you were assigned as an escort for a visitor, you had to badge your own badge through, then the visitor's badge, and then your own badge again to make sure that the visitor was with you. It didn't matter how recognizeable you were, you were damn well going to badge through that door. They Xrayed everyone's belongings and sent you through a metal dectector on the way in the front gate, as well as IDing you and giving you your badge (you were IDed again and your badge returned to the guards at the end of the day). EVERYONE. No exceptions. The president could have walked up to it, and he would have to be ID'd and given a visitor's badge and an escort, after being walked through the metal detector and x-raying his bag(s). It didn't matter if you were working there for a day or for thirty years, they still had to see your ID before they'd give you the badge, and they had to X-ray your items and send you through the metal detector.

That's nice. See if you can get away with this in "the people's house." The White House and the Executive Office Buildings have this level of security. If they implemented those kinds of measures on Capitol Hill, I'd wager that you'd be one of the first people to be arguing that our government "of the people, by the people and for the people" has turned into an armed camp.

Does she have the right to make a stink when other people are getting through and she doesn't? Yes. Does she have the right to smack the guard for not recognizing her/letting her through? No.

Once again -- the case isn't about "smack[ing] the guard for not recognizing her/letting her through." This is about the fact that there is already a precedent of the Capitol Police physically harassing a very recognizable long-term member of Congress (more than once, to boot) while other members with less seniority -- non-African American ones -- sail on through without a care.

[scaleslea.livejournal.com]

Now, I have a hard time believing that the Capitol Police would harrass a member of congress based solely on that person's race.

I have no problem at ALL believing that the Capitol Police would harrass a member of congres based solely on that person's political affiliation, or personal politics, or because another congressman slipped them a few extra bucks, or because they just think that person is an asshole.

Doc

[cozit.livejournal.com]

Any should have to go through *only* with ID... After all, the number of "doubles" of many folks you find these days seems to always be growing. (heck, my father-in-law used to be a pretty decent double for Yeltsin... until Yeltsin started aging more poorly)

Just out of curiousity though... while she's been around for many years and is theoretically recognizable (though someone mentioned a haircut... and heck, I had a hard time picking my own daughter out of a group until a few looks after she had her hair cut this year)... Any idea how long the officer had been around? 535 bosses is a lot to remember faces to if you only see them briefly coming and going.

(and not that it was right, but slapping someone is far less than what *used* to go on on those Congress floors from time to time... even if it's not socially acceptable behaviour now)

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

She has been there 13 years, how long has the security guard been there? He recognizes three or five faces he sees on a regular basis and the thousands of others blend together.

I lived in the next district over when she was claiming campaign endorsements from people who had refused to endorse her. That was the same year her campaign cold called houses with unfavorable demographics to give them misinformation about the primary to discourage them from voting. If it comes down to a random he said she said, I'm going to believe that McKinney lied. I'll be curious to see the tapes.

During my time as a security guard, I got the opportunity to check ID on Karl Rove, the great satan himself.

[dawntreader]

no offense meant, but you also worked as a congressional staffer before september 11th ever happened.

it could be something instated very recently, in which case, perhaps she used to be able to get through without a pass, but no longer. i don't assume this isn't a race (or even gender) issue, but i'm not assuming it is.

i don't think you can unless you pull the current logs and interview all congressmen and women, seasoned and new, to see if they are allowed to walk through a congressional entrance without their pins on.

[dawntreader]

rather, "i don't think you can assume either one is true unless you [... blah blah blah all that other stuff.]"

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

Some additional details that I've not seen above:

It's all supposedly on tape, so I suspect the news will have it eventually and we'll all see it.

If I understand correctly, the representatives are not required to where the pin -- it's an identification aid. They are allowed to bypass the metal detectors because of who they are, not their pin. Face recognition or i.d. works too.

Witnesses say the guard asked her three times to stop before grabbing her arm.

She had just changed her hairstyle, which may have made it difficult to recognize her at a glance.

If the incidents occurred as reported, then I'm all for her arrest. Why? If a guard tells you to stop, you stop. If a guard wants I.D., you show them I.D. If you think it's a discrimination issue, you take it up with their supervisor or other managment, you don't simply skip through a security check-point and then assault a guard. If the people who make the rules can't follow the rules, they don't belong in their positions.

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

She had just changed her hairstyle, which may have made it difficult to recognize her at a glance.

Um -- no. She's been wearing the same type of gold sneakers for more than twenty years -- it's as much of a trademark for her as Newt Gingrich's mop of silver hair. I haven't seen her in person in seven years, and I'd recognize her in an instant because of those stupid gold shoes.

[thatwasjen]

those stupid gold shoes

Which no one else could possibly own if they wanted to impersonate a representative, right?

I know I shouldn't open my mouth -- I've had a hate on for McKinney since, uh, October 2001 -- but she seems to be playing up the wrong facts and ignoring the rest.

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

Well, you'd have to be a 5'4" black woman with fluffy hair to even try, for starters...

[thatwasjen]

Sure. But someone could. I'm just agreeing that trying to accept any member's looks as positive id is just as bad an idea as -- on the other side -- racial profiling of "Middle Eastern-looking" young males.

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

On that point, no argument. But I'll argue that Cynthia McKinney should not be the one to pay for the failures of the institution at large, if there's going to be unequal treatment. To me, more of the 493 white members of the 19th Congress look alike than one fluffy-haired, gold-sneakered black woman who has been there thirteen years, four years longer than the current average.

Once again, until someone can point out to me why, if it's not mandatory that members wear the pin as ID, and other members -- ones with less seniority -- constantly go around the checkpoint (as is their right under the current rules), and we never hear about them getting physically grabbed by the police, whereas it has happened more than once to McKinney, I'll concede that she's in the wrong.

But, until that point, and having been there, I'm holding my ground.

[thatwasjen]

and we never hear about them getting physically grabbed by the police

Probably because they don't retaliate violently -- and repeatedly.

She may be right that her race and gender made her more of a target, but couldn't she have said "please don't touch me, here's my id and let me copy down your badge number"? She loses credibility since this is, like, the fourth time she's been involved in an incident like this.

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

If it really is an issue of race/sex bias, what have other African American women in Congress done about it? (FYI, I googled the demographics, and found that there are 81 women in Congress, including 12 African American women, as well as delegates from VI and DC).

[scaleslea.livejournal.com]

What about African American men? Are they being harrassed, too?

Or is it just her?

Doc

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

To me, more of the 493 white members of the [current] Congress look alike than one fluffy-haired, gold-sneakered black woman who has been there thirteen years, four years longer than the current average.

well, to me too. i could barely tell, say, Richard Shelby apart from Tom DeLay in a police line-up. Both of them just look like fat, spoiled, white white-collar CEOs. :)

[sandman74.livejournal.com]

We don't hear about it because most people don't scream racism to cover up the mistake they made for not stopped when told to. How you think this is a Capital Police problem is ridiculous. Regardless if she has been there 10, 20, 30 years I don't care, she was asked to take 30 seconds out of her life to identify herself.

As to being there 13 years, she also had a two year break when she was NOT reelected. Perhaps there were some personal changes during that time. She also has a reputation for being a pain in the ass to the Captial police. Having her aides drive her up the wrong way on a one way street.

You're right, there are two sides to this, lets put it all out there...not just cherry pick convient instances.

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

Regarding the hair, I was just adding info.

The hairstyle comment comes from this article, which says,

An unconfirmed statement attributed to McKinney has been released on the Internet, where she allegedly claims to have been harassed by Capitol Hill Police.

The statement's writer says that she has been harassed by white police officers she says do not recognize her due to her recently changed hairstyle.

[mizjawnson.livejournal.com]

*not knowing the full story* I'd like to point out that IF this guard was in fact new (which has not been claimed and is only my own hypothetical situation) and he was consulting the Congress member book, he would have 1) seen her with the old hair style (which could potentially justify the current statements in the media) and 2) not have seen the gold sneakers. Talking about the gold sneakers only works if the guard is familiar with the gold sneakers. And truth be told, the guards may not pay that much attention to footwear initially.

That said, if she has had previous incidents, then I can agree that she may be being profiled - not for the color of her skin though as much as possibly her attitude. Think of it this way: if someone is constantly and consistently a bitch to you, would you make an effort to make their life easier? (I'm not saying she is or isn't a bitch - I'm presenting another POV.)

I should talk to Dad and see what the word is around his office. It's possible that someone there knows the guard in question.