Health Care Debate Gets Racial With “Great White Hope” Comment

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by Colby Hall | 10:04 am, August 27th, 2009

» 10 comments

jenkins Its no mystery that the Health Care debate has raised passions on both sides of the aisles: the conservative movement has cried socialism; the progressive movement has accused the right of no-so-subtle racism. Well the claims of race baiting are about to get a bit louder with news of Kansas Rep Lynn Jenkins comment that the Republican Party would soon embrace a “Great White Hope”.

The Topeka Capital Journal reports:

U.S. Rep. Lynn 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.

Jenkins, a Topeka Republican in her first term in Congress, shared thoughts about the GOP’s political future during an Aug. 19 forum at Fisher Community Center in the northeast Kansas community of Hiawatha.

Later in the article, the context of the phrase is explained thusly:

The phrase “great white hope” is frequently tied to racist attitudes permeating the United States when heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson fought in the early 1900s. Reaction to the first black man to reign as champion was intense enough to build support for a campaign to find a white fighter capable of reclaiming the title from Johnson.

Thus far the story has received very little pick-up, though the AP just published the story at 10:50 AM. Prepare for more to come,

Great White Hope, Health Care, Health Care Reform, Lynn Jenkins, ObamaCare, Racism, Racist, town hall, Universal Health Care

http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Jones/1384303476 Chris Jones

It usually takes a day or two for the left to work themselves up into a frothy rage over the latest “racial” slight. You have to give NBC a chance to flog the story for a news cycle or two first.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Jones/1384303476 Chris Jones

That said, it was a dumbass thing to say.
schmoovemoves

Incredibly stupid thing to say: without question. Intentionally racist: probably not. If the orgins of the boxing term were obscure enough that both the source article and your re-telling felt it necessary to explain, it’s probably a fair bet she had no clue of the orgins. I’ll go out on a limb and assume she not a huge fan of sweet science.

Is “the great white way” racist slang for Broadway?
libra blue

This wasn’t any stupider than Obama’s “typical white person comment.” It seems to me that the left gets away with making any blatantly racially charged comment they want, but if someone who opposes them makes a comment even remotely “racial” everyone gets all bent out of shape.

When are we going to begin to treat both sides equally on this subject?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Clifford-EElisary/1434665168 Clifford E.Elisary

Don’t be so hard on these Republicans, they just can’t help themselves, RACIST are who they are.
Pug

This wasn’t any stupider than Obama’s “typical white person comment.” It seems to me that the left gets away with making any blatantly racially charged comment they want, but if someone who opposes them makes a comment even remotely “racial” everyone gets all bent out of shape.

This is baloney. Obama caught tons of grief over the “typical whiter person” comment. It was a dumb remark and he heard plenty about it.

This Congresswoman made a stupid remark, too. That’s what happens when you are in politics. I think both comments were gaffes more than anything else but they both should have known better.
Pug

Oops. that should read “typical white person”, not whiter. Typo. Or was it a gaffe?
libra blue

@Pug, “Obama caught tons of grief over the “typical whiter person” comment.?” Really? The problem is that this country elected this clown. FNC was the only one that condemned him for it, CNN and MSNBC made excuses for him.

It was more than a “dumb remark” or a gaffe especially combined with the racial hatred BO spews in his books and his choice of race baiter friends. His run for the presidency would have been over if he had been white and had said that a black had made a “typical black person” comment and you know it! Sharpton and the other race baiters would have been rioting in the streets.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Jones/1384303476 Chris Jones

@libra blue, you’re absolutely right about that. Unfortunately, it’s a debate we have no shot at winning. The left will never admit the double standard and the lib media will never hold them to account.

That said, I don’t think it matters anymore. Liberals accuse those of us on the right of being racist so often it doesn’t have the effect it did even a few years ago.

It’s to the point now that any disagreement with the president means you hate black people. You just have to roll your eyes when the phony racism charges start flying.
libra blue

@Chris Jones, Funny thing is that I am an Independent and not really a FNC fan, I only really watch Shep and Bret Baier. I just call it the way I see it. In fact, I never thought that I would ever be in agreement with those on the right about anything, but some of them are the only ones who seem to be making any sense anymore.

Labeling those that oppose Obama’s policies as racists are the only defense that they have so, as you said, when they make these phony racism charges, I roll my eyes and look the other way, but CNN and MSNBC seem to be getting a lot of mileage out of stories that make these types of charges. There was one on AC360 last night.