Watch Live: Congressional Hearing on IRS Scandal

Live BlazeCast at 2pm ET: All the fireworks from the IRS Hearing!

Politics

Watch This Dem Rep’s Bizarre 5-Minute Long Apology… for Saying the Word ‘Midget’

Dec. 13, 2012 7:18pm Madeleine Morgenstern

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) on Thursday delivered an approximately five-minute apology on the House floor for saying the word “midget” in a speech, comparing it to the “n-word” and vowing never to use it again.

Johnson said he used the word “out of ignorance and not spite or hatred.”

“Everybody knows what the n-word is,” Johnson said. “The n-word, Mr. Speaker, is used to describe a group of people and the n-word used to be fashionable, or it used to be socially acceptable to use the n-word, but now we don’t say the n-word, we say, we refer to that word as the n-word.”

Johnson then painstakingly laid out precisely which group the “m-word” referred to — though he did slip up once and say the word “midget,” excusing himself after he did so:

“The m-word, it’s also a word that describes a group of people and it at one time has been commonly used as a descriptive term. It was at one time was socially acceptable but to my discovery, just within the last 12 hours or so, I have found that the use of the ‘midget’ – excuse me – the use of the m-word is no longer socially acceptable.

“Now the m-word refers to a group of people, the little people. But when we say little people I’m not talking about the Leona Helmsley little people, I’m not talking about the 47 percent, I’m not talking about the takers instead of the makers as some would describe them. I’m not talking about the middle class, working people, poor people, working poor people, that’s not what is meant by the little people term. It really refers to a medical condition. Dwarfism is the name of that medical condition and sometimes I guess one can even say abnormally small people. Abnormally small people which, to me, I like that term better than dwarfism.”

According to the Washington Post, Johnson used the word in a metaphor about Michigan’s new right-to-work law to describe an unfair matchup: “What happens when you put a giant with a midget in a cage fight?”

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (90)

BehindBlueEyes
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 9:21pm
This guy is a mental midget.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- NOTMOHAMMED
  Posted on December 14, 2012 at 4:55am
  Needledick the bug shtupper.
  
  Report this comment
- stablepar
  Posted on December 14, 2012 at 8:50am
  he makes a case at the moment to the “m” word meaning moron.
  
  Report this comment
- Barry Da Fraud
  Posted on December 14, 2012 at 9:51pm
  Was he trying to say he had a dream about a Republican midget lady attacking a big brave Union Goon in MI? Oh, I almost forgot, he is one of Soetoro’s voting Democrat Goons. I understand now, he is a normal Democrat.
  
  Report this comment
- DisposableWorker
  Posted on December 15, 2012 at 12:42am
  Is this the same dude that thought Guam would capsize if the Navy put too many Marines on it?
  
  Report this comment
phillipwgirard
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:53pm
What about the Lilliputian word?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
phillipwgirard
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:48pm
Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget Midget, What is so bad about it,,,

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- stablepar
  Posted on December 14, 2012 at 8:46am
  quentin tarentino may make a movie with the word “midget” used thousands of times in it
  
  Report this comment
ourig
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:42pm
where do they find all this morons at …..is this the best america can offer for a congressman ?????

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
FlagWavingPatriot
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:41pm
Political correctness is a cancer.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
sugarfree
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:36pm
What’s wrong with “I’m so sorry-I didn’t mean to offend anybody.” Too simple. If “normal” people took that long to apologize, we’d be fired, laughed at, mocked. Oh, right. That’s what we’re doing. Hahahaha!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
repairsea
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:35pm
I get upset every time someone asks for crackers, calls bread white, and calls me white when I am really African, Latino, Scottish, Native American. If they are going to be politically correct then I want them to follow their rules when referring the color of my skin.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
oldsoldier10
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:34pm
king of fools >> aka Guam is capsizin Hank “the living dead,” johnson!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- moreoilplease
  Posted on December 14, 2012 at 1:39am
  YESSSS, I thought that was him. He had a stroke or something, can’t remember. This is how America will be remembered. Allowing a congressman to continue to serve that clearly suffered a stroke because no one wants to upset anyone. Is this not the height of stupidity. I dare ask what could top this.
  
  ‘Oh that’s just Hank, we let him hang around and push the vote button from time to time’.
  
  ‘Ok, for a minute I thought you actually let him vote on bills’.
  
  ‘Oh, absolutely. He’s a congressman and he’s on the banking committee.’
  
  Face—–palm
  
  Report this comment
- teapartyrocker
  Posted on December 14, 2012 at 10:42am
  and we pay this idiot to make law for the rest of us!
  
  Report this comment
bdandsl
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:29pm
MIDGET! MIDGET! MIDGET! Now, get over it and move on. For Pete’s sake!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
jp2feminist
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:29pm
Isn’t this the same guy who stated that he feared that some island was going to sink into the ocean due to overpopulation? Well, now that we have this cleared up, can we please solve the debt crisis???

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- oldsoldier10
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:33pm
  this is the same mental giant that truly believes that Guam will capsize if US Marines are station there. He is an idiot and the people he “represents,” are fools.
  
  Report this comment
- EveF.Destruction
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 9:01pm
  Old Soldier,
  I am offended by your use of the word “giant.” You should use the PC term, extra-large people.
  
  Report this comment
djmaine
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:15pm
Are we really paying for this?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Diane TX
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:06pm
A month ago, my granddaughter told me about a boy in her class that was very tiny. I asked – “Is he a midget or dwarf”? I could tell that she had never heard those words before, from her blank stare. I next said – “a little person?”. She understood that, and said – “yes, maybe he is”.

She then went on about the little people she had met at a Christmas show (they were playing elves) and how nice they were to her.

I know that times have changed, but I had used the words midget and dwarf most of my life, and had never considered those words to be derogatory. I STILL don’t know WHY they are today.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- oldguy49
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:15pm
  well if you can’t say it can you sign……i only know 1…………….
  
  Report this comment
Dodsfall
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:05pm
Anyone who saw the movie “Forest Gump” can understand how a mentally challenged person can become successful.

“My name is Hank Johnson. You can call me Hank Johnson.”

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:33pm
  LOL, for some reason you reminded me of how I first saw that movie. Had just returned to the states and while at the Ft McClellan PX I entered a contest for a copy of the movie when it was to be released. I won the video tape with a Bubba Gump Shrimp T shirt and cap.
  
  Report this comment
- moreoilplease
  Posted on December 14, 2012 at 1:43am
  He’s not “stupid is as stupid does”. It’s worse. I believe he had a stroke. Seriously and they let him vote.
  
  Report this comment
smokeysmoke
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:05pm
the problem with guam is that it is inhabited by midgets… and that is the only reason it has not tipped over

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
crackerone
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:54pm
Does, abnormal mental midget, ring a bell, sir?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Maxim Crux
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:45pm
What a midget

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
rtlane28
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:37pm
Has anyone checked to see if Guam has tipped over yet ?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
M13
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:36pm
Well I for one have had it up to my waistline with midgets anyway.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- rickc34
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:46pm
  That was a little low.
  
  Report this comment
- TheWhiteFalcon
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 9:26pm
  Such a belittling comment.
  
  Report this comment
clinker
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:34pm
Blaze, you need to post ‘spew’ warnings. LOL!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
right-wing-waco
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:32pm
Is this guy for real. Why do we go to such great lengths to change the names of things so as not to “insult” people. I understand not using the “n-word” as it was a denigrating term.

But midget is a term that describes the stature of a certain group of short people. I cant wait for a banana to be called “b-fruit” so as not to insult the strawberry, oops I meant the S-fruit. This is really stupid.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
RJJinGadsden
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:31pm
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha………the “M” word………bwahahahahahahahahahahaha! PC has become to mean Permanently Challenged! Abnormally Small People? Didn’t Randy Newman do a song about them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbhBNEUNyRc

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
HelloWorld
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:30pm
This is unbelievable. You can’t make this stuff up if you tried.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:33pm
  Truth is always stranger than fiction.
  
  Report this comment
- HelloWorld
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:44pm
  After further research I see that the Mr Johnson has attributed his thinking and speaking skills and the difficulty thereof secondary to his illness. The illness is Hepatitis C. I was unaware of this being a problem for this gentleman as I would never contribute to commenting on a disabled person. However, what I find fascinating is why would you permit someone who is ill ( and in this case ill enough to affect his thinking and speaking as stated by the gentleman) to represent and assist in making decisions for this country that affect people. You certainly would not permit a surgeon to operate on you if he could not speak or think correctly or was limited in that process. I am not limiting this comment to just this gentleman. When we have had supreme court members with strokes, etc. making decisions this is equally unethical. We need to restore ethics in this country and we can start at this government level
  
  Report this comment
- MDECKER
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:54pm
  But he is so smart! Did you gather how slow he spoke? His brain has so much wisdom and knowledge jammed in that gigantic head of his, he had to slow down so we could grasp the superior intellect he possesses, well beyond us mere mortals and mental midgets. (I mean mental M-words)
  
  Report this comment
- OLDPAINT
  Posted on December 14, 2012 at 5:15am
  Uncle Tom’s Cabin in miniature. Put it under your Christmas Tree. NOT!
  
  Report this comment
oldguy49
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:29pm
sure glad i don’t pay attention to this bs…………….to many words you can’t say

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
The-Monk
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:26pm
After I read to headline I opened up the story and scrolled down.

When I saw Hank Johnson standing there…. well, I don’t know if I can watch (stomach) it.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:32pm
  Hi MONK, LOL, the headline above should have read like this:
  “WATCH THIS DIM REP’S BIZARRE 5-MINUTE LONG APOLOGY… FOR SAYING THE WORD ‘MIDGET”
  
  Report this comment
- right-wing-waco
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:34pm
  Come on… he is really entertaining, don’t you think. (As long as his podium doesn’t capsize.)
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:41pm
  Hi RJJ,
  
  Somehow, I get the feeling that Hanky Johnson is directly related to Trollmonger.
  
  Report this comment
- progressiveslayer
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:52pm
  Hey Monk,
  Hank Johnson is trollmonger.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:04pm
  Hi Progressiveslayer,
  
  That is possible.
  
  Hanks speech took place at 1:30 pm ET and Trollmoocher didn’t start posting until 4:46pm ET today. LOL
  
  Report this comment
- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:15pm
  Bwahahahahahahaha!
  
  Report this comment
progressiveslayer
Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:26pm
That’s the idiot that thought an island could capsize,his IQ must be at least 50. This is what passes for a congressman and we wonder why the country went to hell in a hand basket.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 7:54pm
  Wonder how many large type mental midgets like Johnson would it take to tip an island… ??
  
  Report this comment
- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 8:34pm
  TIME, LOL, you almost made me crap my pants!
  
  Report this comment
- TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
  Posted on December 13, 2012 at 9:08pm
  RJJ. Ooooopsy…. lol.
  
  Report this comment
- TX_45_ACP
  Posted on December 14, 2012 at 9:35am
  Futher proof liberalism is a sickness.
  
  Report this comment

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.