# Let's suppose a Republican had said this \[Rep. Hank Johnson's Guam gaffe\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 1, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602 "2010-04-01T17:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/1 "2010-04-01T17:25:02Z")
[Hank Johnson (D) from Georgia’s 4th District](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsFsn8ekyhw) Didn’t Dan Quayle get crucified for years for putting an “e” on the end of “potato”? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/2 "2010-04-01T17:26:46Z")
Yeah, that’s pretty dumb. He may not know better, but that’s still not great. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/3 "2010-04-01T17:30:24Z")
I think it’s fairly amusing that he’s prominently referred to as “DEMOCRAT!!!1!!!1”. What inference are we supposed to draw from that? Is he that brain-addled because he’s a Liberal, or is he a Liberal because he’s that addled? Which is it? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/4 "2010-04-01T17:30:33Z")
> [@Rafe\_Hollister](#): > > Didn’t Dan Quayle get crucified for years for putting an “e” on the end of “potato”? Yeah, but he was also the **Vice President** , one heartbeat away from the most powerful position on earth. Just a teeny-weeny difference than some dumb shmuck from one single district. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/5 "2010-04-01T17:32:05Z")
I suppose it would be flying all over the internet much like this is. ---
**Author:** ![Phatlewt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Phatlewt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phatlewt)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/6 "2010-04-01T17:32:30Z")
If a Republican had said that… People would make fun of him. Just like People are making fun of Hank Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/7 "2010-04-01T17:34:32Z")
At least he knows its an island. Michelle Bachman probably thinks its bird droppings. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/8 "2010-04-01T17:35:21Z")
Is the argument here that Dan Quayle was correct? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/9 "2010-04-01T17:35:32Z")
Ummm, what did he say? (no Youtube at work.) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/10 "2010-04-01T17:38:16Z")
Yup-Democrats can be idiots, too. The difference is we don’t think our idiots are presidential material. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/11 "2010-04-01T17:40:06Z")
> [@Rafe\_Hollister](#): > > [Hank Johnson (D) from Georgia’s 4th District](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsFsn8ekyhw) > > Didn’t Dan Quayle get crucified for years for putting an “e” on the end of “potato”? I have already mocked Johnson on my blog. I do not feel that I have mocked him sufficiently, but I do have other stuff to do. He makes Sarah Palin look like a genius. ETA: I know you compared him to Quayle, but he is long out of the public eye, and I never thought he was especially stupid anyway. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/12 "2010-04-01T17:41:34Z")
Apparently, he’s worried that because Guam is a small island it will capsize if too many people occupy it. I missed being in this dude’s congressional district by three streets. Thing is, this guy is a real improvement over his predecessor Cynthia McKinney - like by a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/13 "2010-04-01T17:42:14Z")
There’s no argument here. Just wondering what would happen if this were said by a R. When Quayle misspelled potato, there was no internet, so how did all of America see the footage? It was all over every media outlet within a day. This occurred 2 days ago and has not been reported on by any of the major mainstream media yet. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/14 "2010-04-01T17:42:15Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Ummm, what did he say? (no Youtube at work.) He said that he was worried that if we put a lot of troops on the coast of Guam that it would cause the island to ‘tip over and capsize’. Really. No kidding. This guy is the representative from a district in metro Atlanta who won out over the former lunatic representative Cynthia McKinney. I guess going from full-blown-tinfoil-wearing-whack-job to just-plain-dumbass-ignorant is something of an upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/15 "2010-04-01T17:46:56Z")
> [@Phatlewt](#): > > If a Republican had said that… > People would make fun of him. Just like People are making fun of Hank Johnson. Why, they’d probably start a thread in the Pit about him! And people would post in that thread calling him names! Since he’s a Democrat though, that will never happen. [Oh wait…](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=558070) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/16 "2010-04-01T17:48:17Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Ummm, what did he say? (no Youtube at work.) He asked whether an addition of 8000 persons might cause Guam to tip over and sink. He gave every evidence of being serious. The admiral to whom he made this inquiry showed admirable and unRhymeresque self-discipline in not laughing out loud, much less publicly mocking him. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/17 "2010-04-01T17:48:42Z")
> [@Rafe\_Hollister](#): > > There’s no argument here. Just wondering what would happen if this were said by a R. When Quayle misspelled potato, there was no internet, so how did all of America see the footage? It was all over every media outlet within a day. This occurred 2 days ago and has not been reported on by any of the major mainstream media yet. Ummm… Because it’s not main stream news material? Because he is not the Vice President? What don’t you get? ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/18 "2010-04-01T17:49:06Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I guess going from full-blown-tinfoil-wearing-whack-job to just-plain-dumbass-ignorant is something of an upgrade. are you saing the Tupac Shakur Records Act was the product of a “tinfoil-wearing-whack-job”? The voters of the 4th congressional district of the state of Georgia demand you take that back. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/19 "2010-04-01T17:51:36Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Why, they’d probably start a thread in the Pit about him! And people would post in that thread calling him names! > > Since he’s a Democrat though, that will never happen. > > [Oh wait…](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=558070) I didn’t even look there. Thanks, E.P. ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/20 "2010-04-01T17:54:18Z")
From the Wikipedia (edited for readability): > [@](#): > > During a House Armed Services Committee hearing in March 2010, Johnson asked several questions of Admiral Robert F. Willard of the United States Pacific Command concerning the U.S. military installation on the island of Guam. The questions eventually led to Johnson telling Admiral Willard “My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.” This line of questioning prompted Atlanta political pundit, Jim Galloway, to say, “Unfortunately, we can’t say [this] is an April Fool’s Day prank.” > > “I wasn’t suggesting that the island of Guam would literally tip over,” said Johnson. "I was using a metaphor to say that with the addition of 8,000 Marines and their dependents – an additional 80,000 people during peak construction to the port on the tiny island with a population of 180,000 – could be a tipping point which would adversely affect the island’s fragile ecosystem and over burden its already overstressed infrastructure. > > “Having traveled to Guam last year, I saw firsthand how this beautiful – but vulnerable - island is already overburdened, and I was simply voicing my concerns that the addition of that many people could tip the delicate balance and do harm to Guam.” > > However, it’s very clear, in context, (see video) he did mean literally tip over. He’s a step up from Cynthia McKinney, who held the seat before him, but he deserves to be mocked for this little piece of ignorance. At least ignorance can be cured. The McKinney crazy appears to be permanent. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602.md?page=2)