Senator Tim Johnson Recovering, Republicans Everywhere Weep (Democrats Confused as Always)
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On December 13, 2006, while conducting an interview with a South Dakota radio station, Senator Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) became noticeably ill, badly slurring his words and becoming entirely incomprehensible (in an entirely different way than a typical politician). He was rushed to a medical facility in Washington D.C. where he underwent emergency surgery to stop bleeding to his brain. This was a huge deal at the time for two major reasons. First, many of the great people in the media were incredibly concerned about the man’s physical well being.Secondly, because Democratic control of the Senate, and thus of Congress as a whole, hinges on a 51-49 majority (and keep in mind that one of |
those 51 is Joe Lieberman, a.k.a. every Republican’s favorite Democrat), the idea that Senator Johnson might die or become permanently disabled—his replacement would be named by South Dakota’s Republican Governor—was big political news. I’ll leave it up to you to imagine which of these two aspects of the story received more attention. For those who have forgotten about the coverage, here are the original stories from CNN and MSNBC.
Within days of the Senator’s surgery, it became clear that his recovery would be a long, drawn-out process and that the situation in the Senate would remain stable for the foreseeable future. As we all know, the media does not have any patience for any story that is long and drawn out (unless it involves Britney Spears’ use of alcohol and/or underwear), so within days updates about the Senator’s condition were consigned to page A2789 of the major newspapers before being completely forgotten within a couple of weeks of his falling ill.
Well, for those of you who actually care about the man, It’s Still News has a very positive update on his condition. By the middle of January, Senator Johnson was “taking part in three hours of physical, occupational and speech therapy every day, and his tracheotomy tube has been removed from his throat” according to a story by CBS News. To give credit where it’s due, President Bush wished the Senator well during the State of the Union Address, when he said “Two members of the House and Senate are not with us tonight, and we pray for the recovery and speedy return of Senator Tim Johnson and Congressman Charlie Norwood.” While Charlie Norwood has sadly passed away since, Senator Johnson seems to be getting better with every passing day.
By February 10, Johnson was reading news clippings (those must have cheered him up!) and doing some basic office work while still in the hospital. On February 15, his condition had improved to the point where he actually co-sponsored a piece of legislation, the Emergency Farm Relief Act of 2007. On February 20, the good senator finally left the hospital, and he is now recovering at an undisclosed rehab center. According to his official website, he is now co-sponsoring bills left and right. While his recovery is expected to take another couple of months, according to a Roll Call article from last week (via Daily Kos), he is not only fully committed to returning to the Senate but is actually actively preparing to run for reelection next year. While I don't know much about South Dakota politics, I don't think it would be very fun to run a typical "Republican-style" campaign against a guy who has just recovered from a debilitating stroke. Of course, knowing the Democrats, they are probably urging him not to run for reelection since they are afraid that having a stroke survivor running on the Democratic side will make them seem "weak."
In any case, It's Still News wishes the senator a speedy recovery and we will keep you posted on his progress.