Roger L. Simon: Sen. Tim Johnson

I am going to be on MSNBC this morning (Allison Stewart - 9:30-10A PST). I was scheduled to talk about blogs and the political season, but the news about Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) broke quickly over night, so the subject has shifted. The man is only 59 and it is a terrible situation. Many of us have had strokes in our families and we know what it can mean. If an appointment has to be made, I think the situation ... and the climate in the country ... calls for something statesman-like and non-partisan to the degree it can be.

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The Democrats have the football. Let's see what they do this time (remember Wellstone?)

Rog, it seems like you'd like to see a status quo of dems. I think that's what "stateman-like and non partisan" means. Please tell me different

I disagree and think partisanship would be great right now with the appointment of a Republican. I feel bad for the guy and his family, but have to say that it would be quite lovely to see a split and a tie breaker go to us silly republicans rather than stay with those dangerous dems.

Here in NJ the democrats have perfected the vacant slot handover. They did a Torricelli Lautenberg lateral so flawlessly Corzine repeated it passing the ball to Menendez a few years ago. (the devil is in the details ;)

They'll prop-up the senator ala Christopher Reeve - Ted Williams and wheel him in if they have to.

Agree, first hope he recovers, second, hope the degree of danger the senate democrats pose the world, somehow lessens if there is to be a change.

At times like these it is important to think like a regular person, not like a political junky. This can be hard, but you've got to do it.

Like it or not, the people of South Dakota voted for a Democrat. If Johnson has to be replaced, he should be replaced with another Democrat.

I am well aware that if the shoe were on the other foot, the Democrats would not extend a like courtesy to us. But we still need to be statesmanlike. It's okay to fight like a tiger during the election season, but the election is over and the voters chose a Dem. We should honor that choice.

My mother had this kind of surgery and she was never the same. She collapsed in church of all places and was rushed into emergency surgery. She had clamps in her brain when it was over to stop any further ruptures. I would not wish this on anyone.

I'm just glad (not) we will finally see a paragon of statesmanship in Senator Leahy as chairman of the Judiciary.

Won't that be just swell?

I guess many of you have forgetten about Senator Paul Coverdell of Georgia. He was a Republican who won election and died in office. Roy Barnes the democrat governor appointed Zell Miller, also a democrat, to replace Coverdell in the US Senate.

What I read from the comments is there should be one set of rules for the Republicans and a different set for the democrats. This seems to be acceptable. It surely is in the M$M.

You're kidding right!!! That's the problem with us republicaners, we always play fair.

If the poor fellow isn't able to serve as Senator, I say let's be unstatesmenlike and appoint a Republican.

I'm praying that he is restored to perfect physical and mental health. And of course the latter will cause him to switch party allegiance. Sounds like a win-win to me!

I have to side with those who favor a Democrat replace Senator Johnson. The people voted for a Democrat, they should get a Democrat as his replacement.

OldCoot has the right idea. They caught it early, apparently; with luck they didn't do any permanent or significant damage.

Sigh. The important thing in this instance is that a stroke victim should get well. Fortunately, it appears that appointments will not be an issue.

However, the people of SD elected a *particular* Democrat. There is no reason to suspect that they would favor another Democrat. Moreover, the people of SD also elected a Republican as governor--knowing that in the event of a vacancy, said Republican could appoint whomever he wants. Electing and appointing are two different things.

When we bend over backwards and encourag the Democrats to posture about gaining any advantage they can, we don't encourage civility. We encourage three things:

1. Glee at getting any edge they can.
2. Incentive to keep the double standard.
3. Incentive to think first about politics in cases like this.

If I'm not mistaken, Tim Johnson ran against John Thune in 2002 and barely won. Some Indian tribal votes made the difference for Johnson. Thune decided not to contest the election and instead ran against Tom Dashcle in 2004 and won. Consequently, it may be that the people of South Dakota would not be averse to having a Republican replace Johnson should he be unable to continue in the Senate.

Like it or not, the people of South Dakota voted for a Democrat. If Johnson has to be replaced, he should be replaced with another Democrat.

Listening to Democrats on this topic reminds me of the old Russian foreign policy, "What's mine is mine and what's yours in negotiable." It didn't take too much effort to find two examples of where a Republican senator died in office only to be replaced by a Democrat (by a Democrat governor). We have the example of Georgia mentioned above (Republican Senator Paul Coverdell replaced by Democrat Zell Miller). There's also the 1991 example of Republican Senator John Heinz (killed in a plane crash) being replaced by Democrat Harris Wofford.

Funny how I didn't hear Democrats talking about the will of the people back then.

I don't think the point is how do the Democrats act or not act. I have been the daughter in one of those ICU units, let's just show some respect here.

That's just not true. If he has to be replaced, he should be replaced by whomever the SD Guv deems is best for the state. Period. That's the law. The Dems knew this when they ran a candidate for this race. If they had a problem with it, they didn't have to run someone. Or they can change the law. Until the law is changed, we don't go changing the rules after the fact.

Do some Repubs have Abused Spouse syndrome? Some seem to think we should bend over forward and go beyond what the proper procedure is just to prove our love. Look, nobody at the fashionable salons, or the MSM, or Hollywood or anyone else on the Left is going to give us credit anyway; so quit trying to please them. Just follow the Law and let the chips fall where they may.

Hopefully, he will recover fully and this will all be moot for now. The last reports I heard were that he was making progress.

December 14, 2006: Sen. Tim Johnson

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