Kansas Congresswoman Lynn "Where all the white folks at?" Jenkins' naivete defense for using turn-of-the-century racist phrase "great white hope" at a town-hall meeting a couple of weeks ago lost credibility Friday thanks to the Ottawa Herald.
The Herald dug up the Kansas Republican's vote on a resolution asking President Obama to pardon Jack Johnson -- the first black world heavyweight boxing champion -- for violating the Mann Act (Johnson was convicted in 1913 for crossing state lines with white women and having an immoral intent).
The House passed the resolution on July 29 (less than a month before Jenkins pined for a whitey to defeat President Obama) and Jenkins was there to vote for it. Guess what's in the resolution?
Whereas the victory by Jack Johnson over Tommy Burns prompted a search for a White boxer who could beat Jack Johnson, a recruitment effort that was dubbed the search for the 'great white hope'
Ooh, Congresswoman Jenkins. Didn't you read the resolution?
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Justin - an interesting note on this article from the Ottawa Herald. The reporter who broke this now national (it's been on Huffington Post and Keith Olbermann and elswhere) story, Tommy Felts, is actually a conservative (some might say VERY conservative) column writer at the Herald. Makes me wonder why such a conservative writer would dig this dirt up on Lynn Jenkins.
she used the terms she grew up with
and the terms her political cronies
use, that's all
to call this a mistake is as lame as
her excuses
gosh
is someone on her staff knowledgable on these
matters? did she rely upon her staff to read these bills? did she hire the staffers?
she really should have fessed up
just as she trashed bill clinton
for not fessing up
Adam, I didn't have to attend the meeting. I watched the video, and everything is pretty clear. Just read the previous post. But you miss the point: Jenkins claimed she didn't know what the phrase meant. But not even a month earlier, she voted on a resolution with the phrase and its meaning in it. It's also embarrassing that she didn't read the resolution.
And Adam, it's OK if you are a Republican.
I am not a republican. Justin, this doesn't seem to make sense to me. Why would the Congresswoman vote for a black man's liberty if she was a racist in her heart? Your comments about racist intentions--which are the talk of the town--are unfair if you didn't attend the meeting and hear the facts. I believe this is a good opportunity for us to learn more about ourselves than to learn about the congresswoman. Actually she just made a mistake in her speech. I don't believe her intent was malicious. And my understanding is that it didn't refer to President Obama at all, but that is just a fabrication to create heated drama. So my point at hand is that this is really more a statement about humankind loving to point fingers at others. As Jenkins is a human, she made a mistake, as that is what humans do from time to time. What is interesting is how all the onlookers--most who don't really know the facts--love to jump on other's errors in order to vent their anger and hate. I'd say this means we have a long way to go as humankind, and I hope it can be down a road which is more compassionate in the future. It would be nice if the media could lead the way.
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