Georgia’s 4th District

posted at 7:57 pm on September 29, 2010 by Steven Den Beste

A hot topic for discussion these days seems to be who is running for various seats in the House. With 435 of them, no one can think about them all, but there are a bunch that have gotten a lot of attention.

I don’t recall anyone saying anything about Georgia’s 4th district, however. The current office holder there is Henry “Hank” Johnson, Jr.

You remember Hank. He’s the one who asked Admiral Robert Willard if Guam was in danger of capsizing if we sent 8000 Marines there.

Now I’m not a man who mocks another man for his physical ailments, and Hank has had more than his share. He’s suffering from Hepatitis C. It’s damaged his liver and affected his thyroid. The drugs he’s been taking in treatment have helped the disease, but have caused their own problems in turn. And that’s why his brain is fogged.

We shouldn’t mock the man for that, but I think it’s legitimate to ask whether someone with such addled thought processes belongs in Congress. (Yeah, yeah, “He fits right in.” Ho ho. Now let’s be serious, OK?)

Indeed, I am grateful to Representative Johnson. He did the country a great service by defeating Cynthia McKinney in 2006.

What I want to know: is he running this year? If so, who is his opponent?

And is this one of those districts which was deliberately gerrymandered to guarantee to elect a black Democrat? Is there any chance that, come January, we can collectively shake Hank’s hand, thank him for his service, and send him back to private life in Georgia?

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