Sen. Tim Johnson Returns to Home State for 1st Time Since Brain Surgery

FOX News ^ | 8/8/07 | AP

[Obadiah]

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 motorized scooter to get around in the Capitol.

In a statement released Tuesday by his office, Johnson said his doctors have cleared him for travel.

[Obadiah]

The guy still can't make it to the Senate to vote. While I sympathize with his condition, if this were a Republican in the Senate with a one seat margin like the Democrats currenty have, they would have hounded the guy out of office!

The article also notes that Johnson has raised $1.3 million for reelection. I have come to doubt that even the Democrats are that stupid that they would put Johnson up for reelection. Therefore, the Democrat's grand strategy now is apparent.

1) Keep Johnson in there as the warm, if not comatose, body so they can continue to control the Senate. (Of course, Democrats can count on the spinless Republicans not to utter a word.)

2) Use Johnson as a fundraising tool to raise gobs more Washington money (currently $1.3 million). This is money that cannot not be easily raised by any challenger in the small state of South Dakota.

3) Johnson will ultimately announce that he is not going to run for reelection.

4) Someone close to Johnson will announce that they are going to run in his place and carry on his torch, ala Wellstone. (A campagn staffer? A family member?)

5) From his wheelchair, Johnson will endorse this candidate.

6) With a stroke of the pen Johnson will sign a campaign finance form allowing him to transfer his $1.3 million campaign stash, or whatever he ultimately raises, over to this new candidate.

7)Johnson and Democrats will line up and tearfully urge the electorate that they can carry on the work of Sen. Johnson if only they will vote for this candidate.

How much you wanna bet this has already been scripted by the DNC?

[small voice in the wilderness]

All he has to learn to say is one word: “Aye.” When Kennedy pinches him.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Couldn’t his state have recalled him and the governor appoint a replacement? The fact that Republicans in his state didn’t howl and push for his replacement is puzzling. Does nobody have any guts anymore? When are Republicans going to learn that Democrats NEVER play nice and that they should always fight back?

[MuttTheHoople]

Republicans have been spineless pansies for years. I remember reading a newspaper article from 1958 and the same things were being said about Republicans that are said here today. If it wasn’t for Ronald Reagan, the GOP would be a 3rd party.

[The Lumster]

How much you wanna bet this has already been scripted by the DNC?

I think you are 100% correct. The guy is still a veg but the staff will keep up the pretense for as long as possible.

[Wolfstar]

Before you indulge in the knee-jerk blame of Republicans that’s too common aroung here these days, it would help if you checked the U.S. Constitution. Elected federal officers can’t be recalled. They can only be impeached or thrown out by their respective branch of the congress. Before the 17th Amendment, senators coulf be recalled by their states, because they were appointed by the states. The 17th was one of two extremely bad amendments passed and ratified about 90 years ago (the other being the income tax). We have been living with the disasterous consequences ever since.

[snowman1]

Johnson will come back here and sit on his ASS doing nothing just like he did when he was in Washington. He should have resigned like a man but the Dims probably told him “no way”, that would have allowed Gov. Rounds to put a Republican in his place. .

[Stingray51]

Is the Democrat majority 51-49, such that if a vote was forced and T. Johnson was not present, the GOP would still lose 50-49 (assuming no defectors)?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Are you aware that in Florida there is a recall petition to remove Senator Mel Martinez?

[livius]

There is no reason to remove Mel Martinez. I don’t like him either, but he hasn’t done anything wrong and he’s coherent and capable of attending Senate sessions, unlike Johnson.

People make themselves look like idiots by trying to remove someone they disagree with - just get a better candidate the next time and try to make sure Martinez doesn’t get elected again. In addition, I’d wager that there are many people here in Florida who are perfectly happy with having a do-nothing Senator “representing” them.

[Wolfstar]

People can do all the recall petitions they want, but they have no force and effect for elected federal officials. Only action by the senate, itself, can remove a member of that body (or by the house for its members). The people get to vote in elections if they want to “recall” senators and house members. The only other federal elected officials, potus and vpotus, can be impeached or voted out. Recall efforts to remove federal elected officials are irrelevant because they are blatantly unconstitutional.