Posted on 08/07/2007 10:20:48 AM PDT by SmithL
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson is returning to his home state of South Dakota for the first time since suffering a life-threatening brain hemorrhage eight months ago.
The senator has been recovering at hospitals and in his Fairfax, Va. home and has not appeared in public since he fell ill. He will travel to South Dakota this month and is expected to return to the Senate in September. Johnson has been undergoing speech therapy and is expected to use a scooter to get around in the Capitol.
In a statement released Tuesday by his office, Johnson said his doctors have cleared him for travel.
"I know my return has taken longer than some people have liked — count me among them," he said in the statement. "But I learned early on in this journey the importance and necessity of relying on the advice and counsel of those doctors, nurses and therapists without whom, my return would have been impossible."
Johnson, 60, was rushed from his Senate office to George Washington University Hospital after becoming disoriented on a conference call with reporters in December. He underwent emergency surgery for arteriovenous malformation, a condition that causes arteries and veins in the brain to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst.
He was stricken a month after elections that gave the Democrats a one-seat majority in the Senate, and his ailment raised the possibility that, if he were incapacitated, South Dakota's GOP governor would appoint a Republican successor and return the Senate to GOP control.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Article 5.It isn't up to Reid, it's up to the State of South Dakota.The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Generally a statement released by a pol's office is written or read aloud by a staffer -- approved by but not necessarily even written by the pol.
Prayers for recovery.
I wonder if the MSM will ask him about the quality of his medical care? Did the doctors do a good job in treating him? Was his insurance adequate or did the family have to sell everything to pay for it? What kind of insurance does he have? Can ordinary folk like me get the same insurance he has?
His office, and the Democrats, are trying to give the impression that Johnson is alert and coherent. If he is, why is he not speaking to the press?
Thanks for the info. I thought for sure Thune was up since I keep getting his re-election fiscal support letters. Oh well, perhaps she will win.
Fewer earmarks for South Dakota this year. Hope he retires and recovers.
“How long will South Dakota be denied equal suffrage in the Senate?”
All Americans are suffering equally under the Democratic Congress.
“Do you believe Johnson actually made that statement? The statement was in quotes, as if Johnson uttered those words himself. If it was a statement by a staffer, it should have be referred to as a statement from the office; not a direct quote.
His office, and the Democrats, are trying to give the impression that Johnson is alert and coherent. If he is, why is he not speaking to the press?”
It’s similar to how the politburo used to handle things.
It was so predictable and funny when some senior Soviet dude got 'a cold'.
The cold war was downright enjoyable compared to this Islam containment thing.
On a serious note, very glad to hear about Sen. Johnson and wish him continued recovery.
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