GOP Rep: GOPers looking for “Great White Hope”

Last night, Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) tried to give a little hope to some of her fellow Sunflower State Republicans. Some white hope, that is.

Here’s a video from the Topeka Capital Journal. From the paper’s story:

Jenkins offered encouragement to conservatives at a town hall forum that the Republican Party would embrace a “great white hope” capable of thwarting the political agenda endorsed by Democrats who control Congress and President Barack Obama.

A spokeswoman for Jenkins later called the paper to “apologize for her word choice and to emphasize she had no intention of expressing herself in an offensive manner.” More from spokeswoman Mary Geiger:

“There may be some misunderstanding there when she talked about the great white hope,” Geiger said. “What she meant by it is they have a bright future. They’re bright lights within the party.”

Misunderstanding? Sure — sort of like the misunderstanding about the motivation of the birthers (turns out they’re just sticklers for properly-filed paperwork).

In fact, Jenkins may have been the one who was confused. More from the Rep’s spokeswoman:

Geiger said she had never previously heard Jenkins use the phrase “great white hope” in a political speech or private conversation.

So the excuse for saying “we need a great white hope” in regards to challenging Obama is “it just popped into her head”? I think that might be worse than the quote.

Read the full story:

Jenkins’ remark raises eyebrows | CJOnline.com.