"I am sure if his vote is needed that they can wheel him into the Senate Chamber and he could blink once for yes or twice for no.
It has been done before in the Senate. Some ailing Sen. was only able to point to his eye when he voted Yes."
Yes, Senator Clair Engle (D-CA) had suffered a stroke and was carried into the Senate chamber on a gurney to vote for the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He could not walk or speak but he signaled his aye vote.
More recently, another South Dakota senator, Karl Mundt, a Republican suffered a stroke and he wanted the governor to appoint his wife to take his seat. The governor wouldn't appoint Mrs. Mundt so Senator Mundt held on to his seat for three years till his term was up without ever showing up.
Thanks for the specifics.
Now that precedence has been set, it is apparent that Johnson will be in the Senate until his term expires in 2009.