More on the Ineffectiveness of Cynthia McKinney

Yet more news about my representative in Congress, Cynthia McKinney, to make my blood boil. I have long made the point that McKinney is a completely ineffective representative. I finally have some data to back me up on this. Knowlegis, a government relations knowledge management company, has done a study on the effectiveness of members of Congress. Here is the criteria they have used in this study.

1) Position: How much power could the legislator wield through his/her position in the Congress by virtue of tenure, committee assignments or leadership position? This Power Category included weightings for all committees, subcommittees, and leadership positions, taking into consideration majority or minority party status of the member.

2) Influence: How much power did the legislator demonstrate to influence the congressional agenda or outcome of votes through the media, congressional caucuses or money contributed to other Members of Congress by his or her campaign committees or leadership PACs?

3) Legislative Activity: How much power did the legislator demonstrate through the passage of legislation or shaping legislation through amendments? The team eliminated from that data items which did not substantially change the bill or existing law. These included amendments dealing with technical changes or bills of a ceremonial or commemorative nature such as naming of post offices or other public buildings, or non-binding resolutions that expressed the "sense of the Congress."

In addition, the project team recognized that Members of Congress can exert or possess power that can’t be measured by these standard measures. Therefore, we created the "Sizzle/Fizzle" factor. For example, Sizzle factors can include a legislator’s unique background and experience (Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)) or relationships (Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)) or newfound popularity (Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)) that somehow adds weight to their power that is not scored in the other categories. In contrast, Fizzle factors can be applied to legislators who have seen their power diminish during the year, despite their position, due to scandal or other factors that impair the ability of the member to be effective. This was the only subjective criteria and was not weighted heavily in the overall ratings.

And so where does the representative from the 4th District of Georgia place in the overall rankings? 408 out of 438. For a member of Congress with 12 years of tenure, that is pathetic.

Wake up to the facts, people! Cynthia McKinney is wasting our tax dollars in Washington by doing nothing. If Cynthia wants to be "THE VOICE", then I suggest she get her own talk show. They may have an opening on AM Coast to Coast.