In the current climate of wartime amnesia, is anyone surprised that Cynthia McKinney, who should have been permanently discredited during her last run for Congress, is actually making a comeback? (Hat tip: Steven Zak.)

July 9, 2004 — CYNTHIA McKinney may be on her way back to Congress: The fringe ideologue ousted from the House of Representatives by Democratic primary voters back in 2002 is now one of the leaders in the race for her old seat.

Denise Majette, the woman who beat McKinney in that race in Georgia’s Fourth District, has chosen to run for U.S. Senate rather than seek reelection to the House, and the latest polls show McKinney, who held the seat from 1992-2002, in a virtual dead heat with state Sen. Liane Levetan for the Democratic nomination.

And 70 percent of the district’s voters are Democrats, so the July 20 primary (plus any runoff election) is the real fight.

McKinney won a national reputation of sorts with her incendiary statements on everything from 9/11 (suggesting that the Bush administration knew of the attacks in advance) to the American Jewish lobby (which she blamed for her 2002 loss to Majette).

Plus, McKinney has long associated with militant Islamic groups whose members have openly supported terrorism. She has also taken donations from individuals suspected of terrorist ties.