GOP Might regain power in Senate [Archive]

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WRESTLINGFAN

12-13-2006, 02:25 PM

<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061213/ap_on_go_co/johnson">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061213/ap_on_go_co/johnson</a> South Dakotas governer is a republican. In case Johnson is unable to return, he will most likely appoint a republican to the Senate, thus a 50/50 split. Any tie would be broken by Cheney who as VP is also President of the Senate

HBox

12-13-2006, 02:32 PM

I'm glad you cut through all the meaningless minutiae of the situation and centered on what REALLY matters.

PapaBear

12-13-2006, 02:35 PM

HBox wrote: I'm glad you cut through all the meaningless minutiae of the situation and centered on what REALLY matters. They actually did that in the very beginning of the article, too.

MadMatt

12-13-2006, 02:37 PM

Yeah, but Wyoming's Governor is a Democrat and one of thier Senator's was just diagnosed with Lukemia.  Although he is still working, it could put the Dems up again.This is kind of a morose conversation...

Judge Smails

12-13-2006, 02:43 PM

hmmmm very interesting . . . . Democrats won a 51-49 majority in the November election. South Dakota's governor, who would appoint any temporary replacement, is a Republican.Get your tinfoil hats out of storage, all you conspiracy theorists.  Bush always talks about how friendly he is with Putin.  Just politics as usual, Comrade?<img src="http://images.scotsman.com/2006/11/21/2006-11-21T131443Z_01_NOOTR_RTRIDSP_2_OUKTP-UK-BRITAIN-POISONING.jpg" border="0" width="315" height="211" />

HBox

12-13-2006, 05:08 PM

<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-johnson14dec14,0,6151487.story?coll=la-home-headlines" target="_blank">Good News: Not a stroke or heart attack.</a>

Bulldogcakes

12-13-2006, 05:18 PM

HBox wrote: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-johnson14dec14,0,6151487.story?coll=la-home-headlines" target="_blank">Good News: Not a stroke or heart attack.</a>DAMMIT! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT SON OF A BITCH IS GOING TO LIVE? Boy, I tell ya ITS BEEN ONE OF THOSE DAYS! NOTHING has gone right!

HBox

12-13-2006, 09:06 PM

<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/14/johnson.ill/index.html" target="_blank">Looks like things aren't good at all. He's currently undergoing brain surgery.</a>

Yerdaddy

12-13-2006, 11:34 PM

FUCK!

Fezticle98

12-13-2006, 11:41 PM

I can't help but blame Fez.

Bulldogcakes

12-14-2006, 02:43 AM

HBox wrote: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/14/johnson.ill/index.html" target="_blank">Looks like things aren't good at all. He's currently undergoing brain surgery.</a>OK, all kidding aside. This is now obviously very serious for this guy. Thoughts and prayers. Its still very possible he will be able to continue as senator, As the article saidThe only way there would be a vacancy to fill is if Johnson died or resigned. Even if incapacitated, he could remain in office, according to the Senate historian's office. If it is a stroke, and they caught it early, a likely scenario is he would have some physical limitations but as far as cognitive functions he'd be fine. But strokes can be tricky. I had a customer who died at 44 last year after suffering a stroke and spending a few days in the hospital. And we really dont know exactly what it is at this point. They said "stroke like condition" which I'd imagine covers a range of possibilities, some grave and others not.  I'm not going any further into the political stuff at this point.    

This message was edited by Bulldogcakes on 12-14-06 @ 6:43 AM

angrymissy

12-14-2006, 07:45 AM

He has AVM, a birth defect.Do Republicans really want to gain control THIS way?  Wouldn't it be kind of fucked up for the Governor to appoint a Republican when a Democrat was elected by the people?I hope he recovers.

Freakshow

12-14-2006, 08:00 AM

The people elected the governor, too. And by a far wider margin. And less than two months ago. Johnson won reelection in 2002 by some 500 votes according to wikipedia.

I looked him up: Senator Johnson voted for Welfare Reform, voted to repeal the ban on semiautomatic weapons, and was one of 4 democrats to vote Samuel Alito. Intersting voting record for a democrat.

I hope he recovers, too.

This message was edited by Freakshow on 12-14-06 @ 12:03 PM

furie

12-14-2006, 10:00 AM

angrymissy wrote: He has AVM, a birth defect.Do Republicans really want to gain control THIS way?ÿ Wouldn't it be kind of fucked up for the Governor to appoint a Republican when a Democrat was elected by the people?I hope he recovers.

well, that's the flaw with a represenative form of government vs a true democracy.

Yerdaddy

12-14-2006, 12:29 PM

angrymissy wrote: Do Republicans really want to gain control THIS way?  Wouldn't it be kind of fucked up for the Governor to appoint a Republican when a Democrat was elected by the people?Yeah. You at least owe us a republican Zell Miller, like... well... Fez!

scottinnj

12-14-2006, 04:30 PM

As a Republican, I hope that my leaders do the honorable thing and replace democrat with democrat, if the situation calls for it.  I would hope that any governor worth his salt would respect the wishes of the citizens of his/her state and replace party for party.  It would be a politically savvy move to regain power in the Senate, but personally, I would chalk it up as a dick move to put in a republican just because you can.We lost power in both houses of Congress fair and square, now it is time to take our medicine and work to regain the trust of the voters.  Replacing a democrat with a republican isn't the good first step in regaining that trust.But I'm just saying......

Bulldogcakes

12-14-2006, 04:37 PM

angrymissy wrote: He has AVM, a birth defect.Do Republicans really want to gain control THIS way? Wouldn't it be kind of fucked up for the Governor to appoint a Republican when a Democrat was elected by the people?I hope he recovers.I have two words for you. Bob Toricelli.

Bulldogcakes

12-14-2006, 05:07 PM

scottinnj wrote: As a Republican, I hope that my leaders do the honorable thing and replace democrat with democrat, if the situation calls for it. I would hope that any governor worth his salt would respect the wishes of the citizens of his/her state and replace party for party. It would be a politically savvy move to regain power in the Senate, but personally, I would chalk it up as a dick move to put in a republican just because you can.We lost power in both houses of Congress fair and square, now it is time to take our medicine and work to regain the trust of the voters. Replacing a democrat with a republican isn't the good first step in regaining that trust.But I'm just saying......If you want to argue "will of the people" since they voted for a Democrat, you could also argue that the people voted in a Republican governor whom they gave the authority to replace vacant Senatorial seats. So thats a wash. And this notion that the country turned so far to the left that he should listen to the national election results is bogus. The country turned so far to the left that the Dems have a ONE seat majority in the Senate. Thats not exactly handing them the car keys and a bottle of scotch. Plus as the governor of SD its his job to worry about his state. You want to see a "dick move"? Look at what that scumbag Toricelli did when he caught for being the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Torricelli" title="crook he was">crook he was</a> right before the 2002 election. He and his party knew they were going to lose the election, so he stepped down (after the deadline to withdraw) since the party hacks knew the Supreme court would let them get away with it. Talk about manipulating democracy. He would have lost that election, fair and square. <strike>I consider this Karma for that sleazy (even by NJ political standards) usurping of democracy. </strike>  This edit courtesy of H-Box.    

This message was edited by Bulldogcakes on 12-14-06 @ 9:33 PM

HBox

12-14-2006, 05:16 PM

I consider this Karma for that sleazy (even by NJ political standards) usurping of democracy.Oof. Might have gone a little too far there.

angrymissy

12-14-2006, 05:29 PM

Bulldogcakes wrote: angrymissy wrote: He has AVM, a birth defect.Do Republicans really want to gain control THIS way? Wouldn't it be kind of fucked up for the Governor to appoint a Republican when a Democrat was elected by the people?I hope he recovers.I have two words for you. Bob Toricelli.   I'm too tired right now to research that, but if the Dems did something similar, it's fucked up as well.

Bulldogcakes

12-14-2006, 05:32 PM

HBox wrote:  <strike>I consider this Karma for that sleazy (even by NJ political standards) usurping of democracy.</strike> Oof. Might have gone a little too far there. You're right. I retract that. Thats why I didn't want to get into the politics, you forget theres a guy sitting in a hospital bed right now.

Ritalin

12-14-2006, 05:46 PM

HBox

12-14-2006, 05:50 PM

Yeah. I'm not going to defend the Torricelli thing. It's a different situation. Arguably it gave voters a better choice but the Democrats acted much sleazier than Republicans would by simply appointing a replacement. They rode Torricelli knowing he was dirty until it became lear he couldn't be re-elected or would have flat out gotten thrown out of the Senate.Here's a quick synopsis: Entering the 2002 election season Robert Torricelli was a Senator from New Jersey planning to run for re-election. He was under investigation for something that I can't even remember but it was REALLY dirty. But he has shitloads of money and is still laading in polls so no Democrat even contests him in the primary. The election gets closer, people start paying more attention, even more bad shit comes out about Torricelli and most importantly HE FALLS WAY BEHIND IN THE POLLS. So way past the deadline while ballots are already being printed (I believe it was September) the Democrats try and drop him from the ticket and appoint a replacement, Frank Lautenberg. It seemed against the law but the Supreme Court allowed it and only forced the Democrats to pay for printing new ballots. Lautenberg wins easily and the Democrats hold on to the seat.Edited for a really confusing typo.  

This message was edited by HBox on 12-14-06 @ 10:53 PM

Bulldogcakes

12-14-2006, 06:39 PM

From what I've been able to read, he has an excellent chance of survival. Long term effects, however, can be another matter depending on where the AVM was and how much damage it caused. <a href="http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/avms/detail_avms.htm" title="From the NIH site">From the NIH site</a> But for about 12 percent of the affected population (about 36,000 of the estimated 300,000 Americans with AVMs), these abnormalities cause symptoms that vary greatly in severity. For a small fraction of the individuals within this group, such symptoms are severe enough to become debilitating or even life-threatening. Each year about 1 percent of those with AVMs will die as a direct result of the AVM. Seizures and headaches are the most generalized symptoms of AVMs, but no particular type of seizure or headache pattern has been identified. Seizures can be partial or total, involving a loss of control over movement, convulsions, or a change in a person’s level of consciousness. Headaches can vary greatly in frequency, duration, and intensity, sometimes becoming as severe as migraines. Sometimes a headache consistently affecting one side of the head may be closely linked to the site of an AVM. More frequently, however, the location of the pain is not specific to the lesion and may encompass most of the head. AVMs also can cause a wide range of more specific neurological symptoms that vary from person to person, depending primarily upon the location of the AVM. Such symptoms may include muscle weakness or paralysis in one part of the body; a loss of coordination (ataxia) that can lead to such problems as gait disturbances; apraxia, or difficulties carrying out tasks that require planning; dizziness; visual disturbances such as a loss of part of the visual field; an inability to control eye movement; papilledema (swelling of a part of the optic nerve known as the optic disk); various problems using or understanding language (aphasia); abnormal sensations such as numbness, tingling, or spontaneous pain (paresthesia or dysesthesia); memory deficits; and mental confusion, hallucinations, or dementia. Researchers have recently uncovered evidence that AVMs may also cause subtle learning or behavioral disorders in some people during their childhood or adolescence, long before more obvious symptoms become evident.

scottinnj

12-14-2006, 08:21 PM

As for "The Torch" Torricelli, it was pathetic what we New Jersey Republicans put up to run against him.Doug Forrester? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? His whole campaign was "I'm not Torricelli" and when Torch dropped out and the Dems woke up Lautenburg from his nap to give him the nod for the Senate nomination, Forrester had nothing.  NOTHING!! Oh and then what did we do?  We nominated Forrester to run against Jon Corzine for the governor race.  We lost that election the second Dougie was finished his acceptance speech at the nomination press conference.Do you know how to spot a New Jersey Republican?  He's the one with the shotgun in his mouth.Don't blame me, I voted for Brett Schundler.

HBox

12-14-2006, 08:45 PM

scottinnj wrote: As for "The Torch" Torricelli, it was pathetic what we New Jersey Republicans put up to run against him.Doug Forrester? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? His whole campaign was "I'm not Torricelli" and when Torch dropped out and the Dems woke up Lautenburg from his nap to give him the nod for the Senate nomination, Forrester had nothing. NOTHING!! Oh and then what did we do? We nominated Forrester to run against Jon Corzine for the governor race. We lost that election the second Dougie was finished his acceptance speech at the nomination press conference.Do you know how to spot a New Jersey Republican? He's the one with the shotgun in his mouth.Don't blame me, I voted for Brett Schundler. I couldn't agree with you more. Forrester was an empty suit who only got himself nominated because he had a lot of money. Kean Jr. was a step in the right direction for them. If this was any other I probably would have voted for him.However with the way this state is headed if Corzine and the legislature can't get something done on property taxes by next November (and this week was a horrible sign) the Republicans could stumble into a goldmine like the Democrats just did on a national level. And the irnoic thing about it is that Corzine triggered the whole thing this summer with the State Shutdown. According to polls most people blamed the Democratic legislature and Corzine actually came out of it more popular than ever.

A.J.

12-15-2006, 04:08 AM

angrymissy wrote: He has AVM, a birth defect. An Arterio-Venous Malformation, or AVM is an abnormal collection of blood vessels. This concerns me a little.  About 10 years ago, I felt this lump above my left ear.  The CAT scan revealed it to be a mass of blood vessles that had fused together -- common in children but rare in a then-20-something.  I don't think it was a serious as AVM but it sure sounds similar.  Oh, and in my case it can recur even after the surgical procedure.

angrymissy

12-15-2006, 06:27 AM

I think AVM was what Nate had in 6 Feet Under.

Snacks

12-15-2006, 06:00 PM

How long do they give him to recover before they decide to appoint someone else?

epo

12-15-2006, 06:08 PM

Snacks wrote: How long do they give him to recover before they decide to appoint someone else? History dictates that Johnson holds the seat unless he dies or quits.  Until then the democrats hold the Senate 50-49.