# 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:** 2
**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, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/21 "2010-04-01T17:55:08Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Ummm… Because it’s not main stream news material? > Because he is not the Vice President? > > What don’t you get? Quayle’s gaffe was at an appearance in a school classroom. Was that mainstream news material? Is a misspelling more egregious than a simple understanding of geography/geology because it was by a vice president instead of a congressman? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/22 "2010-04-01T17:57:55Z")
> [@Rafe\_Hollister](#): > > Quayle’s gaffe was at an appearance in a school classroom. Was that mainstream news material? > > Is a misspelling more egregious than a simple understanding of geography/geology because it was by a vice president instead of a congressman? Yes, of course it is. Why would you think otherwise? ---
**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, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/23 "2010-04-01T18:04:14Z")
> [@Rafe\_Hollister](#): > > Quayle’s gaffe was at an appearance in a school classroom. Was that mainstream news material? > > Is a misspelling more egregious than a simple understanding of geography/geology because it was by a vice president instead of a congressman? Meh. I personally would think **both** examples are not worthy of any space or time in the media. But I don’t make the call about what my audience would be interested in. Editors who want to increase audience share and sell ad space are the deciderers. Yesterday I saw 6 different magazines at the checkout counter of the supermarket. Each one had a picture and headline of Sandra Bullock. I was amazed that anyone would give a toss about the life of a 2nd tier celebrity. But the editors of the magazines obviously know their audience, and know what will sell magazines. ---
**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, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/24 "2010-04-01T18:05:56Z")
Thanks for providing context from Youtube for me. I’ve always felt bad for Quayle’s potato gaffe because he was dealing with material presented to him, and it’s a very easy mistake, since the plural is potatoes. From Wiki: > [@](#): > > His most famous blunder occurred when he corrected student William Figueroa’s correct spelling of “potato” to “potatoe” at an elementary school spelling bee in Trenton, New Jersey, on June 15, 1992. Although he was relying on cards provided by the school which included the misspelling, Quayle was widely lambasted for his apparent inability to spell the word “potato”. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/25 "2010-04-01T18:11:18Z")
Hey, did you get **Bricker** ’s permission before starting this thread? I think he has a copyright on the “I guess it’s OK if a DEMOCRAT does it!” thread. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/26 "2010-04-01T18:19:59Z")
> [@Rafe\_Hollister](#): > > There’s no argument here. Just wondering what would happen if this were said by a R. The exact same thing that is happening now. A couple of days ago, Joe Biden accidentally (but stupidly) said the health care reform bill was a “big fucking deal” in range of microphones and it was national news for pretty much the same reason. You’ll probably see this on the Daily Show or some similar broadcast tonight. [Mod Hat] I’ve edited the thread title, which was originally just “Let’s suppose a Republican had said this.” I’ll leave this where it is for now, but this thread is probably bound for MPSIMS/Moar Kitteh Pictures. I don’t think there’s any debate that politicians say a lot of stupid crap. [/Mod Hat] ---
**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, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/27 "2010-04-01T18:19:59Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Hey, did you get **Bricker** ’s permission before starting this thread? I think he has a copyright on the “I guess it’s OK if a DEMOCRAT does it!” thread. He should at least have had the chance to write a blurb on the dust jacket, if not a more extensive foreword. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/28 "2010-04-01T18:24:43Z")
Everybody knew who Dan Quayle was as the VP of our nation. I am a democrat and have never heard of Hank Johnson. I couldn’t pick him out of a line-up if I were forced at gunpoint. News about people I can identify is much more likely to sell than news about people I don’t even know exsist. This is why Gerald Ford developed a reputation as the President Who Falls Down A Lot but when I google (picking politician at random) “Newt Gingrich scandal” even though there was a scandal and it was obviously a big deal I couldn’t have told you what he did that was so bad. If I google (picking another politician at random) “Chris Dodd scandal” I come up with him taking kickbacks from Countrywide during the mortgage fiasco. I knew something like that had happened but I couldn’t have told you who took the kickbacks. If it had been President Clinton I would certianly have heard of it. Chris Dodd is a democrat but isn’t famous enough to make much of a splash in the news. Bill Clinton and his adultery sure did though. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/29 "2010-04-01T18:30:00Z")
> [@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) Curiously, nearly all the people who’ve posted to that thread are liberals critical of Johnson (including me), and the only person defending him is archconservative **Mr. Moto**. It’s like we all swapped ideologies for April Fool’s. 😉 ---
**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, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/30 "2010-04-01T18:30:42Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The exact same thing that is happening now. A couple of days ago, Joe Biden accidentally (but stupidly) said the health care reform bill was a “big fucking deal” in range of microphones and it was national news for pretty much the same reason. You’ll probably see this on the Daily Show or some similar broadcast tonight. > > [Mod Hat] > I’ll leave this where it is for now, but this thread is probably bound for MPSIMS/Moar Kitteh Pictures. I don’t think there’s any debate that politicians say a lot of stupid crap. > [/Mod Hat] I really didn’t have a problem with Biden cursing, except it was dumb to do it in range of microphones. (And Obama seemed to realize what happened and soon as he did it.) My problem with Rep. Johnson is not that he said something dumb–it’s that this shows a lack of understanding of basic stuff any adult should know. Also, there’s definitely no debate that politicians say dumb things. I was hoping this would prompt some discussion on the way a D is treated in the media compared to an R. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/31 "2010-04-01T18:43:01Z")
> [@Rafe\_Hollister](#): > > I really didn’t have a problem with Biden cursing, except it was dumb to do it in range of microphones. I didn’t either. > [@](#): > > (And Obama seemed to realize what happened and soon as he did it. He did. I think the whole press corps heard it and started laughing, too. > [@](#): > > My problem with Rep. Johnson is not that he said something dumb–it’s that this shows a lack of understanding of basic stuff any adult should know. Oh, no argument there. It’s a monumentally stupid thing to say. > [@](#): > > I was hoping this would prompt some discussion on the way a D is treated in the media compared to an R. Which is a legit topic to discuss here. But from here the reaction looks nonpartisan. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/32 "2010-04-01T18:48:29Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Hey, did you get **Bricker** ’s permission before starting this thread? I think he has a copyright on the “I guess it’s OK if a DEMOCRAT does it!” thread. You know… I was the one that started the pit thread. And I’m pretty certain I didn’t make any mention of the guy’s politics. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/33 "2010-04-01T18:54:17Z")
I suspect if Biden suggests tomorrow that Islands might tip over due to the number of people on them, it will get signifigantly more attention then either Johnson’s statement or Quayle’s potato spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/34 "2010-04-01T18:59:39Z")
Dan Quayle believed what was on a notecard that a teacher gave him in a spelling bee. Hank Johnson raised this notion as a concern for troop deployment. As for the question as to what would happen if a Republican said this, no Democrat would point out, as **Mr. Moto** did, that this may be the result of a health issue. Regards, Shodan ---
**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, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/35 "2010-04-01T19:04:26Z")
Democrat hypocrisy! Come see the Democrat hypocrisy! Over here! Hey! I said COME SEE THE DEMOCRAT HYPOCRISY! OVER HERE! DAMMIT! ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/36 "2010-04-01T19:13:22Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > As for the question as to what would happen if a Republican said this, no Democrat would point out, as **Mr. Moto** did, that this may be the result of a health issue. To shed more light on this, it seems Mr. Johnson was diagnosed with Hepatitis C a number of years ago. The disease has caused liver and thyroid problems, which has resulted in depression, slow speech, loss of concentration, and other effects. [This](http://www.ajc.com/news/u-s-rep-hank-230506.html) newspaper article says that things have gotten worse in the last year with some significant weight loss and other effects. I do not know whether this is a case where if he successfully goes through these new treatments he will regain his mental agility, or whether this is a permanent condition. The issue of how his health effects his job is a legitimate issue, but if a Republican were in the same position, I’d cut him some slack because of this kind of health issue. It’s a little unfortunate that this guy is a laughing stock partially because of the effects of having battled a serious illness. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/37 "2010-04-01T19:15:13Z")
CNN is about to air a story on Johnson’s comments. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/38 "2010-04-01T19:39:32Z")
> [@Phatlewt](#): > > If a Republican had said that… > People would make fun of him. Just like People are making fun of Hank Johnson. It sounds fair to me. The guys is a dummy, a moron. Are we supposed to defend him or something?? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/39 "2010-04-01T19:57:52Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > You know… I was the one that started the pit thread. > > And I’m pretty certain I didn’t make any mention of the guy’s politics. > > Just sayin’. Very true. I didn’t notice it was you that started the pit thread, and indeed you did not mention his politics. But you have to admit you’ve started a few threads like this in the past, right? You’re definitely not a one-trick pony or anything, I’m not saying that. But you’ve made them enough for me to kid you about it, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602/40 "2010-04-01T20:30:13Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Very true. I didn’t notice it was you that started the pit thread, and indeed you did not mention his politics. > > But you have to admit you’ve started a few threads like this in the past, right? You’re definitely not a one-trick pony or anything, I’m not saying that. But you’ve made them enough for me to kid you about it, I think. The video I’ve seen is pretty blurry, but I feel certain I can discern a grin–quickly surpressed–right after he delivers the line. You guys don’t see that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-suppose-a-republican-had-said-this-rep-hank-johnsons-guam-gaffe/534602.md?page=3)