The Balance of Power

[DrMaddVibe]

Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota suffered a possible stroke Wednesday and was taken to a Washington hospital, his office said.
Johnson became disoriented during a call with reporters at midday, stuttering in response to a question. He appeared to recover, asking if there were any additional questions before ending the call.



If he should be unable to continue to serve, it could halt the scheduled Democratic takeover of the Senate. Democrats won a 51-49 majority in the November election. South Dakota's governor, who would appoint any temporary replacement, is a Republican.

Johnson spokeswoman Julianne Fisher said he had walked back to his Capitol office after the call with reporters but appeared to not be feeling well. The Capitol physician came to his office and examined him, and it decided he needed to go to the hospital.

He was taken by ambulance to George Washington University Hospital around noon, Fisher said.

"It was caught very early," she said.

Johnson's office released a statement saying he had suffered a possible stroke.

"At this stage, he is undergoing a comprehensive evaluation by the stroke team," the statement read.

The White House issued a statement wishing him a speedy recovery.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Senator Johnson and his family," said spokesman Alex Conant.

If the two-term senator, 59, is unable to serve when the 110th Congress convenes Jan. 4, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds would appoint a replacement. Johnson had surgery for prostate cancer in 2004. He is up for re-election in 2008.

South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson said there are no special restrictions on such an appointment and a replacement would not have to be from the same political party.

Johnson turns 60 on Dec. 28. The centrist Democrat was elected to the Senate in 1996 and has been one of the more reserved members of the chamber, rarely taking center stage at news conferences.

He served in the House for 10 years from 1987 to 1997. His focus has been on committee assignments important to his state's interests _ Indian Affairs and Energy and Natural Resources _ as well as a spot on Appropriations. The latter allows him to direct funds to South Dakota.

Johnson has worked as a lawyer and county prosecutor and served several years in the 1970s and 1980s in the South Dakota state Legislature.



Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.






http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/13/D8M07D081.html

[katie]

YAWN Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz................................

[Lqskdiver]

Let's hope he pulls, huh. No one's politics is above their health.

[FORD]

Stay out of this forum if you have nothing to contribute, bitch.

Same with main, for that matter.

If you were ACTUALLY British, as opposed to an AOL troll, I'd tell you to hop a plane to Florida and get over your obsession with AssVibe already, since you stalk him from thread to thread.

But this topic is serious. it affects the future of this country. I.e. there won't be one if republicans manage to steal control of the Senate again.

And if they do it this way, they are TRULY scumbags.

BTW, I forget which state, but there's actually a Republican senator somewhere who's also questionable for duty.

My honest belief, in either case, is that the will of the people of that state should be respected. If Johnson should die or be incapacitaed and unable to serve, the governor should appoint a Democrat to finish his term. And in the case of the other state, a Republican should be appointed to fill that seat if neccessary.

Or appoint their spouses to fill the positions, as Jean Carnahan did for her husband, or Mary Bono did when Sonny smacked his head into a tree.

[FORD]

Er, the previous rant was directed at Katie, not Lq.

[DrMaddVibe]

frod, how can you blame anyone else for a stroke?

[FORD]

Originally posted by DrMaddVibe
frod, how can you blame anyone else for a stroke?

I'm not blaming anyone else for a stroke. At least not in this case. Ariel Sharon - that's a different story.

Anyway, my point is political opportunism coming from such a tragedy, should Johnson not recover. That would be just plain WRONG.

[katie]

Originally posted by FORD
Stay out of this forum if you have nothing to contribute, bitch.

Same with main, for that matter.



The main has EVH news dumb ass!

So Fuck Off you boring little cunt.
Ban me if you feel that you are being owned (LOL)
It’s about time you did some fucking moderating!
Until then I shalll say what i fucking like.

[FORD]

Whatever, you fat mental whore.....

[katie]

Originally posted by FORD
Whatever, you fat mental whore.....


Baited & OWNED!!! (LOL)

[scamper]

Originally posted by FORD
My honest belief, in either case, is that the will of the people of that state should be respected. If Johnson should die or be incapacitaed and unable to serve, the governor should appoint a Democrat to finish his term.

Hopefully Tim will be OK, but we didn't vote a democrat in, we voted Tim Johnson in because he is a good man. I met with him once for about an hour and he is truely a caring person who is looking out for our state. As far as that goes we voted John Thune and Stephanie Herseth in because they too were the right people for the job not because they were republican or democrat. Get Well Tim....

[FORD]

Get well Tim. And get hit by a bus, FlAB.

[Sgt Schultz]

I'm waiting for the inevitable kook theory that this "stroke" was actually the result of an evil plot of the Wascally Wepubwicans

[DrMaddVibe]

S.D. Sen. Johnson in Critical Condition
Dec 14 9:23 AM US/Eastern

By MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON

Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson was in critical condition Thursday after late-night brain surgery, creating political drama about which party will control the Senate next month if he is unable to continue in office.
Johnson suffered from bleeding in the brain caused by a congenital arteriovenous malformation, the U.S. Capitol physician said, describing the surgery as succesful.

"The senator is recovering without complication," the physician, Adm. John Eisold, said. "It is premature to determine whether further surgery will be required or to assess any long-term prognosis."

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by FORD

But this topic is serious. it affects the future of this country. I.e. there won't be one if republicans manage to steal control of the Senate again.

And if they do it this way, they are TRULY scumbags.



FORD, get off of your high, hypocritical horse.

My best wishes go to Senator Johnson and I actually hope he does recover and take his seat when the Senater reconvenes. If not, and if the Republican Governor of SD appoints a Republican in his place, that's just too fucking bad, right? That's the way the system works. If the shoe was on the other foot, you'd be giggling your ass off.

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by Sgt Schultz
I'm waiting for the inevitable kook theory that this "stroke" was actually the result of an evil plot of the Wascally Wepubwicans

Yeah, like FORD's theories about Reagan's and other's dimentia brought about by the BCE with a syringe. Too funny. :D

[sadaist]

Originally posted by FORD



BTW, I forget which state, but there's actually a Republican senator somewhere who's also questionable for duty.





Senator Craig Thomas, a Republican from Idaho, is being treated for leukemia.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/14/news/senate.php

[FORD]

Originally posted by sadaist
Senator Craig Thomas, a Republican from Idaho, is being treated for leukemia.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/14/news/senate.php

Yeah, that's the guy.....

I haven't heard any updates on Thomas since November, which is why I forgot who it was. Hopefully that means all is going well with his treatment.

Arlen Specter managed to serve in the Senate through chemotherapy to the point where he resembled a 200 year old alien more than himself. Yet it turned out to be some of his best work, because it gave him a personal voice in the battle against idiots in his own party over the stem cell research issue. Maybe Thomas will have a similar revelation?

And maybe Tim Johnson will eat a little less South Dakota beef. Though he probably should leave the soybeans alone, according to the latest "research" ;)

[Sgt Schultz]

Transcript of The View’s Behar on the Senator's Stroke: 'Did Someone Do This to Him?'

On Thursday’s edition of The View, the ladies, along with guest co-host Dari Alexander of Fox News, discussed Democratic Senator Tim Johnson’s emergency brain surgery and the potential political fallout. Alexander explained to the audience that if Johnson had to resign from the Senate, the Republican governor of South Dakota would pick an interim senator to fulfill the remainder of Johnson’s term, thereby creating the potential for an even split in the Senate between Democrats and Republicans. Joy Behar chimed in and put forth another tin foil hat worthy conspiracy theory:

Joy Behar: "Is there such a thing as a man-made stroke? In other words, did someone do this to him?"

Transcript (http://newsbusters.org/node/9660)

[FORD]

Is there such a thing as a man made stroke?

Ask Ariel Sharon. I doubt he'll be able to answer, but you can ask him.

That doesn't neccessarily mean Johnson was targeted, of course.

Unless there's some resource that the corporations really really needed to steal from the Indians and the BCE needed some fucking stooge like Thune in place in order to pull that off. In that case I wouldn't put it past them. I haven't kept up with South Dakota politics, so I don't know if anything like that is pending at the moment.

[blueturk]

The Dems should retain control according to past protocol....

Senate Has History of Lengthy Health-Related Absences

Published: December 14, 2006

South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson underwent surgery Thursday after being diagnosed with bleeding on the brain, and even under the best of circumstances faces a period of recuperation that could cause him to miss work time after the 110th Congress convenes Jan. 4.

But the Senate has a long history of holding the seats of members forced to be away for months or even years.

The following list, dating back to 1942, was provided by Senate Historian Richard A. Baker; it names the senators along with the durations and causes of their absences.

• Styles Bridges, New Hampshire Republican: January-June 1942; fractured a hip in a fall on Dec. 31, 1941.

• Carter Glass, Virginia Democrat: June 1942 until his death on May 28, 1946; absent because of old-age infirmities, even as he held the posts of Senate president pro tempore (1941-45) and chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Despite his declining condition, Glass was re-elected by Virginia voters in November 1942.

• Robert F. Wagner, New York Democrat: January 1947 until his resignation on June 28, 1949; had a heart ailment that prevented him from attending any sessions in the 80th or 81st Congresses.

• Arthur H. Vandenberg, Michigan Republican: October 1949 until his death on April 18, 1951; after a major surgery to remove a tumor on his lung in October 1949, he returned to the Senate briefly in January and February 1950, then was absent for most of 1950. He had a second surgery that April and another brief return to the Senate in May of that year.

• Clair Engle, California Democrat: Various periods from 1963 until his death on July 30, 1964; underwent repeated operations for brain cancer, which left him partially paralyzed. In June 1964, he was carried into the Senate chamber to cast a key vote on the Civil Rights Act; unable to speak, he signaled in the affirmative.

• Karl E. Mundt, South Dakota Republican: November 1969 to January 1973; suffered a stroke that prevented him from returning to the Senate, but he declined to resign and served until the expiration of his term.

• Joseph R. Biden Jr., Delaware Democrat: Feb. 12-Sept. 7, 1988, after undergoing surgery for a brain aneurysm.

• Al Gore, Tennessee Democrat: April 3-May 1, 1989; on opening day of the major baseball season in Baltimore, the senator’s son — four-year-old Albert Gore III — was struck by an automobile and seriously injured as he and his father were leaving the stadium. The elder Gore spent much of his absence at Johns Hopkins Hospital caring for his son until his release en route to a full recovery.

• David Pryor, Arkansas Democrat: April 15-Sept. 10, 1991, after suffering a heart attack in Washington, D.C.

http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/12/14/cq_2041.html

[FORD]

Originally posted by blueturk


• Al Gore, Tennessee Democrat: April 3-May 1, 1989; on opening day of the major baseball season in Baltimore, the senator’s son — four-year-old Albert Gore III — was struck by an automobile and seriously injured as he and his father were leaving the stadium. The elder Gore spent much of his absence at Johns Hopkins Hospital caring for his son until his release en route to a full recovery.



Wow, less than a month for circumstances that anyone would find reasonable. I'm surprised they even counted that one. They might as well add on the 2 or 3 votes that Hillary missed a couple years ago when Bill was going through heart surgery.

[DrMaddVibe]

Sen. Johnson 'recovering' after surgery
By MARY CLARE JALONICK and TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writers 24 minutes ago
Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson (news, bio, voting record) remained in critical condition but was described as recovering and holding his wife's hand Thursday after emergency overnight surgery to repair bleeding inside his brain.

His sudden illness had raised questions over whether the Democrats would hold their newly won slim control of the Senate.

The South Dakota lawmaker, 59, was on "an uncomplicated postoperative course," the U.S. Capitol physician said after visiting him Thursday afternoon. Johnson suffered a hemorrhage in his brain caused by a rare and sometimes fatal condition.

"He has been appropriately responsive to both word and touch. No further surgical intervention has been required," said the physician, Adm. John Eisold. He had said earlier, "The senator is recovering without complication."

Johnson was responding to the voice of his wife, Barbara, and following directions after the surgery, the senator's office said in a statement. "He was reaching for and holding her hand."

Johnson was stricken as Democrats prepared to take fragile 51-49 control of the new Senate when it convenes in three weeks. Democrats seized control of both chambers of Congress from Republicans in November midterm elections.

If Johnson were to leave office, a replacement would be named by South Dakota's Republican governor, Mike Rounds. A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie and effectively allow the GOP to retain Senate control because of Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote.

Johnson was rushed to the George Washington University Hospital at midday Wednesday after becoming disoriented and stammering during a conference call with reporters.

Eisold, the Capitol physician, said doctors stopped bleeding in Johnson's brain and drained the blood that had accumulated there. "It is premature to determine whether further surgery will be required or to assess any long-term prognosis," Eisold said.

On Thursday afternoon, Johnson underwent an additional procedure to prevent blood clots. The procedure is standard after surgery, said Julianne Fisher, Johnson's spokeswoman. Otherwise, she said, there were no new developments. "No news is good news," she said.

Johnson's condition, also known as AVM, or arteriovenous malformation, causes arteries and veins to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst. The condition is often present from birth.

Johnson spokesman Noah Pinegar said the senator's diagnosis was a surprise. "No one was aware of it, including Tim," he said.

Sen. Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., who is to become majority leader when the new Senate convenes on Jan. 4, said, "We're all praying for a full recovery. We're confident that will be the case."

Reid, who visited Johnson at the hospital Wednesday night and Thursday, told reporters the senator "really looks good." However, Reid declined to provide any details of Johnson's medical condition.

Politically, "there isn't a thing that's changed," he said, adding that he was keeping incoming Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky "totally advised" of developments.

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., visited the hospital Thursday afternoon.

Senate historian Donald Ritchie said senators serve out their terms unless they resign or die. He said there was precedent for senators remaining in the Senate even though illness kept them away from the chamber for long periods.

Just this year, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, missed three months of votes because of back surgery. Sen. Joseph R. Biden (news, bio, voting record) Jr., D-Del., was away for seven months in 1988 after undergoing surgery for brain aneurysms.

In 1969, another South Dakota senator, Karl Mundt, a Republican, suffered a stroke while in office. Mundt continued to serve until the end of his term in January 1973, although he was unable to attend Senate sessions and was stripped of his committee assignments by fellow Republicans in 1972.

The White House offered best wishes.

"Our prayers are with Senator Johnson," said White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. "Look, he's a great guy, and it's one of these things where everybody's concerned and our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family, his staff, his colleagues."

Johnson, who turns 60 in two weeks, was taken to the hospital by ambulance after experiencing what his office initially said was a possible stroke.

In a conference call with reporters, Johnson at first had answered questions normally but then had begun to stutter. He paused, then continued stammering before appearing to recover and ending the call.

Johnson spokeswoman Fisher said that after making the call from the recording studio in the basement of the Capitol, the senator walked back to his office but appeared to not be feeling well.

The Capitol physician came to his office and examined him, and it was decided he should go to the hospital.

Arteriovenous malformation is believed to affect about 300,000 Americans, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The institute's Web site said only about 12 percent of those have any symptoms. The symptoms, which range in severity, can include severe headaches, memory loss and dizziness.

It's common to take several days for someone to wake up after AVM surgery, said Dr. Sean Grady, neurosurgery chairman at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Someone who is awake and alert and talking in the first day or two typically has a shorter recovery Ñ in the range of four to eight weeks, he said. If it takes longer to wake up, it in turn takes more months to recover.

"We wouldn't make any immediate long-term prognoses for at least one to two days," he cautioned. "There can be a period of time where the brain is still swollen and the patient may have trouble responding."

Barbara Johnson, the senator's wife, said the family "is encouraged and optimistic."

South Dakota's governor, elected to a second four-year term last month, has been widely seen as the Republican candidate with the best chance to challenge Johnson in two years.

Other than Rounds himself, top possibilities if a replacement senator were needed include Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard and state Public Utilities Commission Chairman Dusty Johnson, considered a rising star in the Republican Party. Retiring GOP legislative leaders, such as state House Speaker Matthew Michels and Senate Majority Leader Eric Bogue, also might be considered.

Johnson was first elected in 1996 and is up for re-election in 2008.

The last time the Senate convened with a perfect balance of 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats was in January 2001. Then, the two parties struck a power-sharing agreement that gave control of the Senate to Republicans but gave Democrats equal representation on committees.

Johnson, a centrist Democrat, was elected to the Senate after serving 10 years in the House. He narrowly defeated Republican John Thune in his 2002 re-election bid. Thune defeated Sen. Tom Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader, two years later.

Daschle also visited Johnson in the hospital Thursday.

Johnson is in line to become chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee.

He underwent prostate cancer treatment in 2004, and subsequent tests have shown him to be clear of the disease.

Johnson is the second senator to become ill after the Nov. 7 election. Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas (news, bio, voting record), a Republican, was diagnosed with leukemia on Election Day. He is back at work.

____

Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Natasha Metzler and Lauran Neergaard in Washington and Dirk Lammers in Sioux Falls and Chet Brokaw in Pierre contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

[FORD]

My prescription for Senator Johnson......

http://heavenlyheathotsauce.com/2/HH096.jpg

Tim, start using this shit on everything you eat, except ice cream and Mrs. Johnson.

Natural blood thinner. It will knock out those clots upstairs or anywhere else you might have them.

[knuckleboner]

Originally posted by blueturk
The Dems should retain control according to past protocol....

Senate Has History of Lengthy Health-Related Absences

Published: December 14, 2006

South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson underwent surgery Thursday after being diagnosed with bleeding on the brain, and even under the best of circumstances faces a period of recuperation that could cause him to miss work time after the 110th Congress convenes Jan. 4.

But the Senate has a long history of holding the seats of members forced to be away for months or even years.

The following list, dating back to 1942, was provided by Senate Historian Richard A. Baker; it names the senators along with the durations and causes of their absences.

• Styles Bridges, New Hampshire Republican: January-June 1942; fractured a hip in a fall on Dec. 31, 1941.

• Carter Glass, Virginia Democrat: June 1942 until his death on May 28, 1946; absent because of old-age infirmities, even as he held the posts of Senate president pro tempore (1941-45) and chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Despite his declining condition, Glass was re-elected by Virginia voters in November 1942.

• Robert F. Wagner, New York Democrat: January 1947 until his resignation on June 28, 1949; had a heart ailment that prevented him from attending any sessions in the 80th or 81st Congresses.

• Arthur H. Vandenberg, Michigan Republican: October 1949 until his death on April 18, 1951; after a major surgery to remove a tumor on his lung in October 1949, he returned to the Senate briefly in January and February 1950, then was absent for most of 1950. He had a second surgery that April and another brief return to the Senate in May of that year.

• Clair Engle, California Democrat: Various periods from 1963 until his death on July 30, 1964; underwent repeated operations for brain cancer, which left him partially paralyzed. In June 1964, he was carried into the Senate chamber to cast a key vote on the Civil Rights Act; unable to speak, he signaled in the affirmative.

• Karl E. Mundt, South Dakota Republican: November 1969 to January 1973; suffered a stroke that prevented him from returning to the Senate, but he declined to resign and served until the expiration of his term.

• Joseph R. Biden Jr., Delaware Democrat: Feb. 12-Sept. 7, 1988, after undergoing surgery for a brain aneurysm.

• Al Gore, Tennessee Democrat: April 3-May 1, 1989; on opening day of the major baseball season in Baltimore, the senator’s son — four-year-old Albert Gore III — was struck by an automobile and seriously injured as he and his father were leaving the stadium. The elder Gore spent much of his absence at Johns Hopkins Hospital caring for his son until his release en route to a full recovery.

• David Pryor, Arkansas Democrat: April 15-Sept. 10, 1991, after suffering a heart attack in Washington, D.C.

http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/12/14/cq_2041.html


and then there was strom thurmond. if memory serves me right, he was dead from 1994 through 2000 and still held his seat...

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Sgt Schultz
I'm waiting for the inevitable kook theory that this "stroke" was actually the result of an evil plot of the Wascally Wepubwicans

Yeah, that would almost be as funny as your "Iraq is just like WWII" or, "all Muslims are part of a global jihad of Islamofascism" kook theories...

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by FORD
My prescription for Senator Johnson......

http://heavenlyheathotsauce.com/2/HH096.jpg

Tim, start using this #### on everything you eat, except ice cream and Mrs. Johnson.

Natural blood thinner. It will knock out those clots upstairs or anywhere else you might have them.

That's some good facking stuff man!

[ODShowtime]

gw&friends are so low and underhanded and backed so far into a corner that I'd believe they'd induce a stroke on someone.

After some of the hammer's antics, I'll believe anything.

But it sounds like this was a congenital thing.

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by ODShowtime
gw&friends are so low and underhanded and backed so far into a corner that I'd believe they'd induce a stroke on someone.



Geez, you people astound me. Your ignorance is stunning.

:)

[ODShowtime]

Originally posted by BigBadBrian
Geez, you people astound me. Your ignorance is stunning.

:)


the irony is even crazier!

[ODShowtime]

Originally posted by BigBadBrian
Geez, you people astound me. Your ignorance is stunning.

:)

BTW, I said I "would" believe, not that I "do" believe.

That's not a backpeddle, just pointing out the words I chose.

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by BigBadBrian
Geez, you people astound me. Your ignorance is stunning.

:)

Oh, that's just rich!

http://www.thegrillstoreandmore.com/image/products/big-pics/1531796d.jpg
"yer black!!"

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by ODShowtime
BTW, I said I "would" believe, not that I "do" believe.

That's not a backpeddle, just pointing out the words I chose.

Point taken.

:)

[DrMaddVibe]

Johnson Remains in Critical Condition
Dec 28 5:52 PM US/Eastern

By MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON



Sen. Tim Johnson turned 60 on Thursday, two weeks after emergency surgery to repair a brain hemorrhage that has left him in critical condition.
Julianne Fisher, a spokeswoman for the South Dakota Democrat, said Johnson won't be present in the first days of the new Congress next week but is continuing to improve. She said he is responsive to directions from his wife but has not yet spoken.

It's too early to tell how long recovery will take, Fisher said.

In a statement Thursday, Johnson's doctors said he remains in intensive care at George Washington University Hospital. They have released few new details about Johnson's condition and prognosis since the days after the Dec. 13 surgery to stop bleeding in his brain.

Dr. Vivek Deshmukh, head of Johnson's surgical team, said in a statement that the South Dakota senator's overall condition has improved and he is gradually being weaned off sedation to help his brain heal.

The statement said Johnson is expected to undergo more tests in coming days.

Johnson's wife, Barbara, said her husband "continues to give us great hope" and that two of the couple's three grown children were at the hospital to be with him on his birthday.

"While we were both looking forward to celebrating his 60th birthday with our family and friends, I know the celebration is just postponed," she said.

Johnson was diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, a condition, often present from birth, that causes arteries and veins to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst. He was rushed to the hospital after becoming disoriented on a call with reporters and had surgery hours later.

The senator's sudden illness raised questions about the Democrats' one-vote majority in the upcoming Senate session. South Dakota's Republican governor, Mike Rounds, would appoint a replacement if Johnson's seat were vacated by his death or resignation.

A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie and effectively allow the GOP to retain Senate control because of Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote.

There is ample precedent for senators to continue to hold office while incapacitated.

Dr. Keith Siller, director of the Comprehensive Stroke Care Center at NYU Medical Center and assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine, said it is unusual for a patient to be sedated after brain surgery for more than a few days.

"The two-week period is longer than I would be happy with," he said.

____

Associated Press Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this story.

[Guitar Shark]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/09/senator.johnson.ap/index.html

Senator's condition upgraded after brain surgery
POSTED: 2:12 p.m. EST, January 9, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Tim Johnson's condition has been upgraded from critical to fair, four weeks after he was hospitalized for a brain hemorrhage, his office said Tuesday.

The South Dakota Democrat, who was rushed to the hospital December 13 and underwent emergency surgery, remains in intensive care, said his spokeswoman, Julianne Fisher.

"The senator continues to make progress," Fisher said. "The next step would be rehabilitation and we hope that would happen within the week."

Johnson's office has said that his recovery is expected to take several months.

He underwent surgery to correct a condition called arteriovenous malformation, involving tangled arteries in his brain.

The senator's doctors said last week that Johnson was improving but still needed a ventilator at night to help him breathe. The ventilator has required a tube to be placed down Johnson's throat, making it impossible for him to talk.

His long-term prognosis is unclear. He has been responsive to his family and physicians, following commands, squeezing his wife's hand and understanding speech.

The senator's sudden illness raised questions about the Democrats' one-vote majority in the upcoming Senate session. South Dakota's Republican governor, Mike Rounds, would appoint a replacement if Johnson's seat were vacated by his death or resignation.

A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie and could effectively allow the GOP to retain Senate control because of Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.