Musings on Sen. Tim Johnson

While I didn't exactly keep up with current events while in Jamaica, we did have cable TV in the room (and little else going on in the evenings, since we are not big drinkers, as evidenced by the fact that the rum punch we had one day at 6 PM was obviously made with overproof rum and pretty much knocked us flat). So we did hear the first reports of South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson's stroke.

I'm glad most bloggers resisted the temptation to say "Narm!" in their blog entries on Johnson's condition ,once we found out that what he has is arteriovenous malformation, otherwise known as "The Thing Nate Fisher Had on Six Feet Under" -- there are a few exceptions.

One thing that it seems the right and left are agreeing on is the disgusting speculation by the network news programs, which were already salivating at the prospect of the Senate changing hands. Although there is NO provision in South Dakota law for removing a sitting Senator because of illness, Bob Schieffer was already speculating about a Republican replacement.

Even the right-wing site Newsbusters dropped its partisanship long enough to comment:

Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s drop the partisanship for a second and recognize that the media coverage of Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-SD) sudden illness has been nothing but disgraceful.

The first reports I heard on this issue came early yesterday on CNBC, and immediately the discussion was about how this could change the balance of power in the Senate. I was disgusted. (Update follows with how the network evening broadcasts covered the story.)

As my daughter and I left the gym in the early evening, she questioned me about the Senator, and how this would impact politics. I was a bit shocked, and asked her where she had heard about his malady. She said that it was on the television in the ladies’ locker room, and the announcers were discussing how this might hurt the Democrats.

Let’s get a grip for a second here, folks. A man is fighting for his life right now, and that should be much more important than how this impacts who will control the Senate. Yet, just moments ago, this was the headline of an Associated Press article: “GOP governor has the power to appoint Senate replacement.” These were the first two paragraphs:

Control of the U.S. Senate could be determined by Republican Gov. Mike Rounds if a replacement must be named for Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson.

State law would allow the governor to appoint a temporary replacement for a vacant Senate seat until the next general election in 2008, when Johnson's term expires.

How disgraceful. Our thoughts and prayers should be going out to this man and his family without any discussion about the balance of power…unless we really have lost all sense of decency, morality, and humanity in this country.

Thanks to Newsbusters (this time) and others who have wished Sen. Johnson well. There may be hope for this country yet.