Stroke of Luck
In what can only be called one of the closest calls in the current election, Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) fell ill earlier today in what appeared to be a stroke or possibe heart attack. Shivers went up and down the spines of every Democrat thinking about a Democratic senator being incapacitated. If he were to have died or been incapacitated, then he would have to be replaced by the governor of South Dakota with someone of his choosing, until such time as elections could be held. The twist in this little story is that the governor of South Dakota is a Republican, which means he probably would have appointed a fellow Republican. Which would swing power in the Senate from Democratic/coalition power to a 50/50 split, with the swing vote goes to the President of the Senate. He's also known as Dick Cheney. Luckily for the Democrats, It doesn't look like Sen. Johnson suffered a stroke.
Senator Tim Johnson is most notable for his oldest son Brooks, who is a Staff Sergeant in the 101st Airborne who has served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. He voted for the war knowing he was sending his son into harm's way (suck it, Michael Moore) in Iraq. Beyond that, he's South Dakota's senior senator by not much. His long time partner, former Senate minority leader Tom Daschle (D), was voted out in 2004 in an upset by former House member Jim Thune (R). So, if Johnson were to become ill or possibly die, this would put South Dakota with two Republican senators, even as South Dakota is starting to lean more and more leftish. But under South Dakota, an election would have to be held in 2008, at the same time as the general election (as proscribed by South Dakota statute 12-11-5.) Then again, Sen. Johnson will be up for election then anyway. But, now that he's not incapacitated, he'll be able to serve the people of South Dakota for another couple of years.
Except that there is arguably more at stake than the good people of South Dakota. Democrats across the country are cheering for this guy pull through not to represent Yankton and Deadwood. They want this man to get better since he is now the key to Democrat control of the Senate. Just as the Democrats in Ohio, Florida and Arizona were not hoping for Jim Webb to pull in the last few votes over George Allen to make sure the people of Reston and Alexandria got a former Marine to represent them. They were looking for a Democratically controlled senate to represent them against George Bush. Johnson is not the most liberal Democrat to have ever served in the Senate. As stated above, he voted for the war in Iraq, which is currently not a great stand in the views of the liberal wing of the Democratic party. And yet, all over the country democrats are praying for him to be fully functional and ready to legislate.
What is the most interesting aspect of all this is how quickly all of this got out to the media and spooked the Democratic herd. All day, Democrats were panicking about what to do if the Senate were to go Republican for the next couple of years. As of 1:00am, he is reportedly going into brain surgery. He was talking with South Dakota reporters when his speech patterns started to slip from their regularity and he started to have pains in his right arm. According to doctors, again, he did not have a heart attack or a stroke. Which means, since no blood flow was obstructed anywhere, there is a possible tumor that needs removal on his left temporal lobe and/or somato-motor cortex (since this would both impede possible right arm motion and speech centers). For laymen, it would be under the spot in the skull four inches above and one inch over from the highest point on the left ear. Or somewhere in that range. Then again, this is all just a guess based on limited knowledge of anatomy physiology, neurology and the senator's current condition. This is an entire guess possibly based on too many episodes of House.
Welcome to the joys of too much observation of senators, sickness and skulls.
So it is written, so do I see it.
PS I really fucking hate this new fucking layout. Geared to too many goddmaned teenyboppers. They need an old person version with few bells and whistles.
EDITIt appears Sen. Johnson suffered an intercerebral hemmorhage which is a fancy way of saying a blood vessel ruptured in his brain. Oh well, I'm a political commentator, not a doctor. He's critical but stable.
Senator Tim Johnson is most notable for his oldest son Brooks, who is a Staff Sergeant in the 101st Airborne who has served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. He voted for the war knowing he was sending his son into harm's way (suck it, Michael Moore) in Iraq. Beyond that, he's South Dakota's senior senator by not much. His long time partner, former Senate minority leader Tom Daschle (D), was voted out in 2004 in an upset by former House member Jim Thune (R). So, if Johnson were to become ill or possibly die, this would put South Dakota with two Republican senators, even as South Dakota is starting to lean more and more leftish. But under South Dakota, an election would have to be held in 2008, at the same time as the general election (as proscribed by South Dakota statute 12-11-5.) Then again, Sen. Johnson will be up for election then anyway. But, now that he's not incapacitated, he'll be able to serve the people of South Dakota for another couple of years.
Except that there is arguably more at stake than the good people of South Dakota. Democrats across the country are cheering for this guy pull through not to represent Yankton and Deadwood. They want this man to get better since he is now the key to Democrat control of the Senate. Just as the Democrats in Ohio, Florida and Arizona were not hoping for Jim Webb to pull in the last few votes over George Allen to make sure the people of Reston and Alexandria got a former Marine to represent them. They were looking for a Democratically controlled senate to represent them against George Bush. Johnson is not the most liberal Democrat to have ever served in the Senate. As stated above, he voted for the war in Iraq, which is currently not a great stand in the views of the liberal wing of the Democratic party. And yet, all over the country democrats are praying for him to be fully functional and ready to legislate.
What is the most interesting aspect of all this is how quickly all of this got out to the media and spooked the Democratic herd. All day, Democrats were panicking about what to do if the Senate were to go Republican for the next couple of years. As of 1:00am, he is reportedly going into brain surgery. He was talking with South Dakota reporters when his speech patterns started to slip from their regularity and he started to have pains in his right arm. According to doctors, again, he did not have a heart attack or a stroke. Which means, since no blood flow was obstructed anywhere, there is a possible tumor that needs removal on his left temporal lobe and/or somato-motor cortex (since this would both impede possible right arm motion and speech centers). For laymen, it would be under the spot in the skull four inches above and one inch over from the highest point on the left ear. Or somewhere in that range. Then again, this is all just a guess based on limited knowledge of anatomy physiology, neurology and the senator's current condition. This is an entire guess possibly based on too many episodes of House.
Welcome to the joys of too much observation of senators, sickness and skulls.
So it is written, so do I see it.
PS I really fucking hate this new fucking layout. Geared to too many goddmaned teenyboppers. They need an old person version with few bells and whistles.
EDITIt appears Sen. Johnson suffered an intercerebral hemmorhage which is a fancy way of saying a blood vessel ruptured in his brain. Oh well, I'm a political commentator, not a doctor. He's critical but stable.