Dear Rep. McKinney,

I realize you must be really busy these days with all that’s going on around you, but I hope you have time to hear one more opinion on your little run-in with the Capitol police.

First of all, let me tell you a little about myself. I’m a 39-year-old white male from your home state of Georgia. Politically speaking, I consider myself to be a middle-of-the-road independent, so I’m not some Republican hack looking to score some cheap partisan points off of your public relations nightmare.

I also feel that I should tell you that, although I think that we all have our biases whether we admit it to ourselves or not, I don’t consider myself to be a racist. Over the years I have voted for both female and non-white candidates and I think it is foolish and shortsighted to discriminate against qualified candidates based on race and gender prejudices.

In fact, I believe that women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in government and I would like to see that change. Diversity is a good thing.

With that in mind, you might think I’d be hesitant to pile on to all the flak you’re getting regarding the little scuffle you were involved in recently. As you’ve pointed out, there are only a dozen black women serving in Congress right now. Why would I want to see one of them crash and burn if I’m not a member of the dreaded vast right-wing conspiracy?

I don’t take any pleasure in your difficulties, Ms. McKinney. I really don’t. But I’m afraid that you may not realize that you’re playing right into the hands of the sexists and racists out there who would like to keep women and minorities from having a place at the table in Washington.

You’ve become a poster girl for kookiness and ineptitude. The more enlightened among us realize that your shenanigans have nothing to do with your sex or the color of your skin, but there are a lot of people in America who won’t see it that way.

I know you probably like to think of yourself as someone who is breaking down the walls of discrimination, but what you’re actually doing is handing bricks and mortar to those who want to see those walls stand forever.

What you fail to realize is that your problems are mostly of your own making. You have neither the temperament nor the maturity to adequately fulfill a position of great responsibility, and you’ve demonstrated that fact over and over again.

To paraphrase a recent popular song, you’re a hazard to yourself, your own worst enemy. You believe that the world revolves around you, that the rules don’t apply to you, and that anyone who dares to suggest that you should act more like an adult and less like a spoiled child is part of a racist plot to bring you down.

It should be telling to you that even members of your own party are refusing to stand behind you this time. It seems that we’ve all tired of your act. It stopped being funny a long time ago.

The best thing that you can do now, both for your own good and for the good of the people you represent, is to step down. The timing couldn’t be better. The recent ungraceful exit of Tom DeLay provides you with an excellent opportunity to bow out without affecting the balance between the right-wing nut jobs and the liberal wackos in Congress.

So think it over, and do what you feel is right. I’m sure that whatever you decide, I’ll be seeing a lot more of you on the evening news. You’re the Terrell Owens of the House of Representatives. America loves a loose cannon.