100 Days with Hank Johnson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson has been turning heads since he arrived on Capitol Hill in January, taking over the erstwhile firebrand Cynthia McKinney. He has continued to display a cool, detached, yet effective manner that defined his run for the House seat he currently occupies.

Some of his notable actions over his first 100 days:

• The first bill introduced by Johnson called for the immediate end to the use of US troops for street patrols in Baghdad.
  
• His first speech on the House floor in January was in favor of raising the minimum wage.
  
• He has held a number of town hall meetings here in the district.
  
• He has worked with Atlanta's U.S. Representative John Lewis on protecting PeachCare, Georgia's health insurance program for poor children.
  
• He has visited Iraq; he met with the troops and Iraqis.

Talking about his visit to Iraq, Congressman Johnson says, "Looking into the eyes of the Iraqis and hearing their pleas for uniforms, transportation and for weapons, I came away with the conclusion that we are years away from the Iraqi army standing up on its own."

The AJC article quotes Burrell Ellis, the presiding officer of the DeKalb County Commission, "He's done about 500 days of work in a 100-day period."

Hank is even winning over staunch McKinney supporters who concede that his non-confrontational manner is impressive. Republicans and Democrats in the Georgia congressional delegation say they're just happy to have an Atlanta-area lawmaker whose office not only returns their calls, but who works with their offices on legislation.

plez sez: this time last year, i was on a near-constant tirade about how Representative Cynthia McKinney was a the source of embarrassment for her constituents in the Fourth District and how i couldn't wait to have her ousted from office. twelve months later, i am proud to say that my neighbor and new Congressman is doing us proud; i spoke with him briefly over the weekend at the grocery store and he is wearing his role as Congressman well. thanks, hank!

i can only hope that my support (and the support of others in the blogosphere) played a key role in helping Hank Johnson supplant a six-term Congresswoman from her post after more than a decade in Washington. this speaks to the power of this medium and the power of all who embrace and exercise our newfound voice. let's now turn our sights to the next objective and see it through.

Cynthia McKinney Parkway - Revisited

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

A Republican state lawmaker is seeking to strip U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney's name off a DeKalb County road saying she "has brought embarrassment to the state of Georgia."

State Rep. Len Walker's resolution would switch Cynthia McKinney Parkway back its original name — Memorial Drive — partly to honor victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Her tenure in Congress has been marked by controversies and rhetoric that has brought embarrassment to the state of Georgia," said Walker on Monday. The lawmaker is a United Methodist minister who represents parts of Walton and Gwinnett counties.

In 2000, State Sen. Gloria S. Butler (D-Stone Mountain) successfully proposed renaming Memorial Drive – from Candler Road in Decatur to U.S. Highway 78 in DeKalb County — to Cynthia McKinney Parkway. Butler said McKinney deserved the honor because she secured $14 million in federal funding for DeKalb to upgrade Memorial Drive.

Later in the article, John Evans, McKinney's campaign manager, has a response to Rep. Walker's claim that McKinney has caused embarrassment to Georgia, "He must be talking about white folks or uppity black folks."

plez sez: Three things enter my mind after reading this article:

(1) If you've ever driven down Memorial Drive (AKA Cynthia McKinney Parkway) lately, you will notice that not ONE DIME of that $14 million dollars has been spent to upgrade the road. Legitimate businesses have closed and have been replaced with ethnic-looking bodegas of questionable value - I was really pissed when the only golf shop in east metro area closed. All things being equal, Memorial Drive has descended into some of the worst urban blight in the county; it is one of the areas in the DeKalb County that I tend to avoid because of the plethora of obviously under-insured immigrant drivers who crowd the road!

(2) Some people would refer to me as "uppity," but any sane person of modest means would deplore the actions of Cynthia McKinney while she was a Congresswoman from the State of Georgia. As evidenced by her district drumming her out of office earlier this year during the Democratic Primary and Run-off, there must be a lot of "uppity black folks" who agree with me!

(3) It's days like this when I wished that I was a state legislator, because I wouldn't hesitate to co-sponsor this bill. Cynthia McKinney should be entered into evidence as to why streets and buildings should be named for people after they are DEAD! To be very honest with you, I have no idea why it was renamed for her in the first place.