"Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope," Jenkins said to the crowd. "I suggest to any of you who are concerned about that, who are Republican, there are some great young Republican minds in Washington."Jenkins has since apologized.
Jenkins identified several Republicans -- Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin -- as future movers and shakers.
All are white.
Cue the insufferable arguments that the phrase is just an innocent term frequently used in sports blah blah yawn. Nope. It's a racially-loaded term that has its roots in a literal search to find a white contender to defeat a black champion. There is no way to use "great white hope" that isn't racist. It's a fucking racist idiom.
[H/T to Shakers Thunderbird and Bill in Birmingham.]
