GOP Rep. says party must find 'Great White Hope' to fight Obama

GOP Rep. says party must find 'Great White Hope' to fight Obama

A junior Republican congresswoman thinks her party needs to find the "Great White Hope" to fight President Barack Obama's agenda.

Yes, those were the words she used.

In a conservative town hall forum Aug. 19, Topeka Republican Rep. Lynn Jenkins declared that her party would need to embrace a "White Hope" to derail the agenda of President Obama and Congressional Democrats.

The comments were revealed by The Topeka Capital-Journal.

"Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope," Jenkins told a Kansas crowd. "I suggest to any of you who are concerned about that, who are Republican, there are some great young Republican minds in Washington."

A tape shows that Jenkins identified three of the alleged leading lights of her party by name: House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). All three men are white.

A Jenkins spokesman, contacted Wednesday by a local paper, said the congresswoman didn't mean her remarks to be offensive.

"There may be some misunderstanding there when she talked about the great white hope," Jenkins spokesman Mary Geiger was quoted as saying. "What she meant by it is they have a bright future. They're bright lights within the party."

The phrase "Great White Hope" is most well-known as a reference to heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries, used by the press before a 1910 boxing match. The media referred to Jeffries as a "Great White Hope" capable of fighting off African American boxer Jack Johnson.

"I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro," Jeffries said.

At the match, a ringside band played, "All coons look alike to me."

A photograph of Jeffries follows.

-John Byrne