ABC's John Stossel whined recently about critics of President Obama being labeled as racists. This gem from Kansas Republican Lynn Jenkins is a perfect example of why that happens so frequently:

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.

In response to inquiries by The Topeka Capital-Journal, a Jenkins spokeswoman said Wednesday the congresswoman wanted to apologize for her word choice and to emphasize she had no intention of expressing herself in an offensive manner.

Of course not! She has nothing against black people and in fact, she probably even knows a few of them so she can't possibly be a racist. This is the kind of veiled racism that permeates the GOP and it's a big reason why they are hemorrhaging membership. A Jenkins spokesperson says she was really just talking about a bright future for the Republican Party. I'm not buying it:

Mary Geiger, a spokeswoman for Jenkins, said the reference to a great white hope wasn't meant to denote a preference by Jenkins for politicians of a particular "race, creed or any background." Jenkins was expressing faith fellow GOP representatives in the House would be key players in returning Republicans to a leadership role in Washington, Geiger said.

"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." Read on...

And to think, the people of Kansas voted for this hack over Democrat Nancy Boyda. What a shame. Here is Lynn Jenkins' contact info. Feel free to contact her and voice your opinion and remember, be nice. Here is House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi's contact information, write to her and let her know how you feel as well. I believe Lynn Jenkins just produced the first political ad for her next opponent...