Tim Johnson (D-SD) suffers stroke

moniker

Malkor wrote:

bone daddy wrote:

3lwap0 wrote:

Either way, i'm sure it's pretty bad. I'm not sure what his chances of recovery are, but i'm sure it's somewhere between Ariel Sharon and Terri Schiavo.

How the hell do you figure that?

Yeah, he's not gonna die, but there is a possibility that he'll be disabled, though doesn't neccessarily mean he can't serve.

He might just come out of this with a Bob Dole arm.

Rygar there isn't a special election for a Senator. There is an appointment up until the next general election then whoever wins that serves out the remainder of the original senator's term. That appointment is what matters, especially given that committee chairs are what hang in the balance.

moniker

Irond Will wrote:

Tiemler wrote:

That said, I don't believe the Dems would be prevented from taking control of the Senate. There'd be something of a race between the few remaining, increasingly alienated moderate Republicans to go before the cameras and switch parties. In his speech, televised on pretty much every network on Earth, the defecting Senator would basically say, "the American people demanded new leadership when they went to the polls, and we need to respect that."

I don't know that there are enough of them left to actually make this happen. Snowe is the most obvious candidate, but she just cruised to an overwhelming victory in 06 as a Republican in Maine. Collins, maybe? I don't know who else is really wavering, since we knocked Chaffee out.

The appointee, perhaps. Threaten this or that against him then offer to leave him alone completely afterwards, so long as he votes for Reid.

Phoenix-D

moniker wrote:

Rygar there isn't a special election for a Senator. There is an appointment up until the next general election then whoever wins that serves out the remainder of the original senator's term. That appointment is what matters, especially given that committee chairs are what hang in the balance.

SD law says otherwise.

http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=12-11-1

3lwap0

According to the interwebs:

Approximately 10% of cases in which hemorrhage is the first symptom are deadly. Some patients may have permanent seizures and neurological problems.

His career may very well be done - futher complications:

* Intracerebral hemorrhage
* Subarachnoid hemorrhage
* Seizures
* Permanent neurologic changes such as paralysis or sensory problems
* Focal weakness
* Numbness of any part of the face/body
* Vision changes
* Language difficulties
* Persistent headache
* Hydrocephalus (dilated cavities of the brain - "water on the brain")

I think his career is done.

Malkor

I heard otherwise on the news so far. This is like, the best and worse thing to happen to South Dakotan politics since the abortion thing.

bone daddy

3lwap0 wrote:

According to the interwebs:

Approximately 10% of cases in which hemorrhage is the first symptom are deadly. Some patients may have permanent seizures and neurological problems.

His career may very well be done - futher complications:

* Intracerebral hemorrhage
* Subarachnoid hemorrhage
* Seizures
* Permanent neurologic changes such as paralysis or sensory problems
* Focal weakness
* Numbness of any part of the face/body
* Vision changes
* Language difficulties
* Persistent headache
* Hydrocephalus (dilated cavities of the brain - "water on the brain")

I think his career is done.

There's no reason to assume that. I mean, Strom Thurmond kept on trucking even after they embalmed him. That was previously thought to be incompatible with life, let alone a career.

Irond Will

bone daddy wrote:

There's no reason to assume that. I mean, Strom Thurmond kept on trucking even after they embalmed him. That was previously thought to be incompatible with life, let alone a career.

Yeah but they had to dig out tha beeg juju for that to work, chere.

Tiemler

Malkor wrote:

Maaaaaan, I was listening to NPR this morning and they played the phone interview, you could literally hear his brain crashing. Freaked me out.

Malkor wrote:

Yeah, he's not gonna die, but there is a possibility that he'll be disabled, though doesn't neccessarily mean he can't serve.

GoodOmens

Tiemler wrote:

Malkor wrote:

Yeah, he's not gonna die, but there is a possibility that he'll be disabled, though doesn't neccessarily mean he can't serve.

HEY-YOOOOOOOOO!

Target Practice

It should be pointed out that in most previous occurrences, incapacitated Senators and Reps haven't been replaced; the houses have just gone on with a member missing for the remainder of that person's term.

...of course,I don't think there's ever been a case where control of the Senate was at stake.

Thanatos

Target Practice wrote:

It should be pointed out that in most previous occurrences, incapacitated Senators and Reps haven't been replaced; the houses have just gone on with a member missing for the remainder of that person's term.

...of course,I don't think there's ever been a case where control of the Senate was at stake.

Uh, to my knowledge, Senators are usually appointed replacements. The chick who's the junior Senator from Alaska was appointed that way. Murkowski, maybe? The exception tends to be when it's hella close to an upcoming election, like when the dude in Minnesota died campaigning. The guy there pre-Coleman.

Goddamn, I need to get to bed before I forget my own name.

Shinto

Thanatos wrote:

Target Practice wrote:

It should be pointed out that in most previous occurrences, incapacitated Senators and Reps haven't been replaced; the houses have just gone on with a member missing for the remainder of that person's term.

...of course,I don't think there's ever been a case where control of the Senate was at stake.

Uh, to my knowledge, Senators are usually appointed replacements. The chick who's the junior Senator from Alaska was appointed that way. Murkowski, maybe? The exception tends to be when it's hella close to an upcoming election, like when the dude in Minnesota died campaigning. The guy there pre-Coleman.

Goddamn, I need to get to bed before I forget my own name.

Wellstone?

mcc

Thanatos wrote:

Target Practice wrote:

It should be pointed out that in most previous occurrences, incapacitated Senators and Reps haven't been replaced; the houses have just gone on with a member missing for the remainder of that person's term.

...of course,I don't think there's ever been a case where control of the Senate was at stake.

Uh, to my knowledge, Senators are usually appointed replacements. The chick who's the junior Senator from Alaska was appointed that way. Murkowski, maybe? The exception tends to be when it's hella close to an upcoming election, like when the dude in Minnesota died campaigning. The guy there pre-Coleman.

Goddamn, I need to get to bed before I forget my own name.

When they die, yes. When they die it's probably generally required by law.

Incapacitation, however, is historically a different manner. In particular there's specific precedent of a Republican senator from S.D. spending out most of his term in a coma.