The Great White Liar

The great WHAT hope?

Lynn Jenkins is either a liar or a blithering idiot. Probably both. The freshman Republican congresswoman, who edged out a Democratic incumbent in a close election last year, invoked the phrase “great white hope” in the search for a Republican savior and then denied that she meant this as racist.

How else could she mean it? She employed the word “white” in the context of an African-American president who is swiftly trying to shift the nation’s ideology, all anathema to right-wing Republicans. Interpretation is not possible here. The words are just too starkly stated.

Jenkins’ comment was not only disgusting but downright silly. True, racism probably accounts for some attacks against President Obama, but would Republicans lay off a white male who leads a comparable policy shift?

In Hiawatha, Kansas, at a forum on Aug. 19, Jenkins proclaimed: “Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope. I suggest to any of you who are concerned about that, who are Republican, there are some great young Republican minds in Washington.”

How vague. Really, how much plainer can one get?

When she got caught, Jenkins told the Lawrence Journal-World: “I was unaware of any negative connotation, and if I offended anybody, obviously I apologize.”

Unaware? Jenkins has a college education and has held a number of responsible positions. How couldn’t she figure out that that was insulting?

Jenkins’ phrase originated nearly a century ago when Jack Johnson, a black boxer, became heavyweight champion, which was sufficient to incite white boxing fans to long for a “great white hope,” according to The New York Daily News. James Earl Jones portrayed Johnson in both the play and movie entitled “The Great White Hope.”

Even if this wasn’t a time-worn remark, the semantics alone are offensive.

Other notable aspects raise concerns. Is she yet another model of a Republican woman in politics? Like Sarah Palin, Republican women advocate for women’s concerns, yes, the concerns of wealthy women.

It was also quite the compounded oxymoron when she referred to “some great young Republican minds.” “Mind” and “Republican” in the same sentence?

She might have taken the edge off her assault when she identified three possible “white hopes” in Congress by characterizing Eric Cantor of Virginia as “the great Jewish hope,” Kevin McCarthy of California the “Baptist hope” and Paul Ryan of Wisconsin the “Catholic hope.” Cantor, who reps suburbs of Richmond, is the last remaining Jewish Republican in Congress, so he is the only one left to embarrass me.

One last misrepresentation: To seek a “great white hope” to challenge Obama is inaccurate. Obama’s father was black, but his mother - a native of Kansas - was white. That makes Obama half-white, and contributes to making Jenkins a half-wit.