Senator Tim Johnson Suffers Stroke
Barring anything further, this will be the only post for today. Thomas and I are busy breaking down topics for our column to be published on January 1st. But this was a story we could not pass up. Michelle, Ian @ Hot-Air, and Reuters have the story:
U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, Democrat of South Dakota, had an apparent stroke on Wednesday at his office in Washington and has been hospitalized, NBC News reported.
The condition of the 59-year-old Johnson was unknown, the network said.
When the 110th Congress convenes on January 4, there will be 49 Democrats in the Senate, 49 Republicans and two independents. But the two independents will align themselves with the Democrats, giving them majority control of the Senate.
South Dakota's governor, Michael Rounds, who would appoint any successor if there is a vacancy, is a Republican.
First and foremost, this is what separates us from the Left. Keep Sen. Johnson and his family in your thoughts and prayers. They will be needing that above anything else. And this shows that we are not like the Left who consistently spew hate, vitriol, and death wishes for conservatives that they dislike. Anyone who denies that ought to take a close look at Democratic Underground and Daily Kos when things like this happen to conservatives.
And Raw Story has some interesting tidbits that seem to be on everyone's mind in DC:
If Johnson were to pass away, or be forced to retire, the US Constitution delegates the task of appointing a replacement to South Dakota lawmakers, who in turn, often turn that task over to the Governor. The Governor of that state, Mike Rounds, is a Republican, and both houses of the state legislature are dominated by Republicans.
Governor rounds is in his final term as governor, and he could--by all accounts--take the seat himself if he so chose. That would give the Senate an even, 50-50 split, despite Sen. Lieberman being an Independent. He has stated that he would caucus with the Democrats during his reelection bid. So, if it remains 50-50, then Vice President Cheney would be needed to break any tie, effectively giving the power to the GOP in the Senate. The problem lies in who usually bolts from the GOP to side with the Democrats (much easier now with Lincoln Chafee on his way out), but nonetheless a risky venture.
And Ian adds this update on his post:
Update (Allahpundit): Fox just broke in to say that Johnson’s spokesman denies it was either a stroke or a heart attack.
So now it is disputed. Regardless, the fact remains that if Sen. Johnson did have a stroke, and he cannot return, his seat is effectively up for grabs, and the Democrats have got to be worrying about this right now.
Marcie
Barring anything further, this will be the only post for today. Thomas and I are busy breaking down topics for our column to be published on January 1st. But this was a story we could not pass up. Michelle, Ian @ Hot-Air, and Reuters have the story:
U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, Democrat of South Dakota, had an apparent stroke on Wednesday at his office in Washington and has been hospitalized, NBC News reported.
The condition of the 59-year-old Johnson was unknown, the network said.
When the 110th Congress convenes on January 4, there will be 49 Democrats in the Senate, 49 Republicans and two independents. But the two independents will align themselves with the Democrats, giving them majority control of the Senate.
South Dakota's governor, Michael Rounds, who would appoint any successor if there is a vacancy, is a Republican.
First and foremost, this is what separates us from the Left. Keep Sen. Johnson and his family in your thoughts and prayers. They will be needing that above anything else. And this shows that we are not like the Left who consistently spew hate, vitriol, and death wishes for conservatives that they dislike. Anyone who denies that ought to take a close look at Democratic Underground and Daily Kos when things like this happen to conservatives.
And Raw Story has some interesting tidbits that seem to be on everyone's mind in DC:
If Johnson were to pass away, or be forced to retire, the US Constitution delegates the task of appointing a replacement to South Dakota lawmakers, who in turn, often turn that task over to the Governor. The Governor of that state, Mike Rounds, is a Republican, and both houses of the state legislature are dominated by Republicans.
Governor rounds is in his final term as governor, and he could--by all accounts--take the seat himself if he so chose. That would give the Senate an even, 50-50 split, despite Sen. Lieberman being an Independent. He has stated that he would caucus with the Democrats during his reelection bid. So, if it remains 50-50, then Vice President Cheney would be needed to break any tie, effectively giving the power to the GOP in the Senate. The problem lies in who usually bolts from the GOP to side with the Democrats (much easier now with Lincoln Chafee on his way out), but nonetheless a risky venture.
And Ian adds this update on his post:
Update (Allahpundit): Fox just broke in to say that Johnson’s spokesman denies it was either a stroke or a heart attack.
So now it is disputed. Regardless, the fact remains that if Sen. Johnson did have a stroke, and he cannot return, his seat is effectively up for grabs, and the Democrats have got to be worrying about this right now.
Marcie
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:33 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home