CNN: Potential vacancy could determine Senate control

[DeepModem Mom]

Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Potential vacancy could determine Senate control

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- News of Sen. Tim Johnson's possible stroke has raised the possibility that the balance of power in the Senate could tip back to the Republicans if the South Dakota Democrat is unable to complete his term.

Under state law, South Dakota's Republican Gov. Mike Rounds has the authority to fill a Senate vacancy with a successor of his choosing. If Rounds decides to appoint a fellow Republican to the post, the Senate would be evenly split between Democrats and Republicans with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote in the GOP's favor.

The process for filing senate vacancies is not uniform from state to state. In 43 states -- including South Dakota -- the governor has the power to appoint whomever he chooses. In five states -- Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Utah and Wyoming -- the governor must appoint a member of the departing senator's party. In only two states -- Oregon and Wisconsin -- a special election is required to fill a vacant seat....

http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2006/12/potential-vacancy-could-determine.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ruggerson]

2. Historical precedent

shows that Senators can be laid up for months or years with a disability and not give up their seat. As a matter of fact, a Republican Senator from South Dakota did just that in the late sixties.

No one, no Republican, can make the decision to force the Senator to retire if he is disabled.

[No Exit]

51. If S.D. law says the (repuke) governor would've appointed

a replacemtn, can't S.D. change its law in its legislature's next session?

I am ecstatic to hear that Sen. Johnson's surgery was successful. I look forward to seeing him recover fully.

In the meantime, as your post says, no one can force him to retire. In the meantime, though, can S.D. change its law? Which party has the majority in the S.D. legislature? (Democrats...? I hope? I don't know.)

Could they change their law to, say, require that the replacement (in such an unhappy event) be of the same party? Or that a senator's spouse would succeed him/her, as did Mary Bono? (And she is not the only example of that.)

[Radio_Lady]

54. No Exit, you've made some good points. Now we need a gubernatorial guru

to give us some idea of what our country might face.

Prayers to Sen. and Mrs. Johnson and family.

[ruggerson]

61. The constitution leaves it up to the state

so you are correct, the legislature could change the law. But the incumbent Gov would have to sign any change. I believe SD is very Republican to begin with, so I doubt any change in the law would benefit our side.

[Contrite]

3. Interesting.

And in the five states where the governor must pick someone from the same party--which of them has Democratic senators who defeated a GOP up-and-comer like Thune?

[Name removed]

4. Deleted sub-thread

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[Erika]

7. Thune is a rubberstamping bushbot

Certainly not "up-coming" More like he's going to be flushed.

[Contrite]

9. I don't view him as one either (an up and comer).

But that seems to be the "take" on Thune by the GOP. I remember that Daschle was anthraxed. I also recall that the Thune campaign was particularly slimy and nasty.

[flordehinojos]

5. specter has had brain cancer surgery not once, but twice, i think and he has returned to the senate.

let us not dismay. let us not despair. let us be hopeful and may senator tim johnson return to the senate in full health!

:)

[tom_paine]

47. Yes, among all the terror fostered by the Bushes, THAT is most important

Get well SOON, Senator Johnson!

[Ken Burch]

6. FYI, that story isn't completely correct...

in Alaska, the governor no longer has the power to appoint a senator.

[Contrite]

10. Hmmm. And so what is the new rule?

Interesting, since the governor is a Republican and the two senators are Democrats.

[Ken Burch]

15. Our senators and Gov are ALL GOP as of now...

The rule is there must be a special election within 90 days.

This was changed because of great public anger over our last governor, Frank Murkowski's decision to fill his own vacated Senate seat by appointing his daughter Lisa.

(It was mainly GOP right-wingers who were really angry, because Lisa Murkowski, as a state legislator, was a moderate Republican and was also pro-choice.)

[Contrite]

16. So, guess Alaska wouldn't have been a good bet.

I mean, a special election would probably have produced a Republican anyhow, so no loss and no gain there.

Edit to add: my initial response was in error. I was thinking "Hawaii" and realized you said Alaska.

[Contrite]

17. Self delete.

[Ken Burch]

19. No problem. Send us some Hawaiian weather and we can call it even.

n/t.

[snowbear]

34. Not necessarily... the races here are VERY CLOSE...

The only reason we have 2 ReTHUG Senators are:

1 was appointed by her father
1 has been a senator since dinosaurs walked the earth

The elections here are always close, and Democrats have just as good of a chance of winning as a ReTHUG.

Alaska has more registered Independents than any other political party...

The only reason the state has a history of voting for ReTHUG presidents is because of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.. Drilling is a vital issue here because every resident gets a BIG FAT FREEBIE oil revenue check every single October...

Residents don't want to give up the free money, so they vote for anyone who isn't opposed to drilling..

Democrats win governships, or just about any other office as often as THUGS --- but only if they are pro-drilling.. :shrug: Just the way it is here..

The mayor of Anchorage is a VERY PROGRESSIVE Democrat and he won re-election last year in a landslide..

[Contrite]

37. I see.

Since now that rule has changed, I guess you're right. A pro-drilling Dem could just as easily win a special election (if it was fair, that is--didn't Alaska just have some VERY questionable elections and Murkowski refused to release the results to the Dem party there?).

[snowbear]

38. Yes.. but thankfully he is LONG GONE...

And there isn't a person in this state who misses him... :shrug:

[rodeodance]

50. I do recall that story----vaguely

[snowbear]

13. Ken.. that's what I just added... As soon as I sent my message, I saw yours..

LOL!

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

39. I wonder if it's because Murkowski appointed his daughter

to fill his vacant Senate seat when he was elected governor.

[SmellsLikeDeanSpirit]

8. Why is it that a governor gets to choose, why not just have a special election?

[Ken Burch]

18. Its a leftover gubenatorial privelege from the days when Senators were NOT popularly elected

(until 1912, U.S. senators were elected by the state legislators. And due to gerrymandering, this produced some blatently undemocratic results. In 1858, for example, legislators pledged to support Abraham Lincoln for the Illinois U.S. Senate seat defeated those pledged to Stephen Douglas by 54$ to 46% in the popular vote, but due to the way the districts were drawn, Douglas' supporters won a majority in
the Illinois legislature and Douglas took the seat.)

[tom_paine]

48. Wow, Freepers were thwarting the will of the people even then!

I always thought John Wilkes Booth was The First Freeper.

Perhaps I was wrong.

[snowbear]

11. I can't believe how the media (and freepers) are circling like vultures!

It's just INSANE!!

Can't they at least wait until the first press conference that's held to disuss Senator Johnson's status???

Look at the news that came out only a month ago ---- that U.S. Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) was just diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia -- which, considering his age, is also an extremely serious situation.

DU'ers didn't start sending out death wishes like the asswipes at Free Republic have done! The thread that was created about Senator Thomas was full of nothing but well wishes and complete respect.

Wyoming has a Democratic Governor --- and yet still, there were no morbid comments about "gaining another seat".

The media and FreeAKers are drooling over this incident though and it's SICK!!

Between CNN and MSNBC (I don't do Faux), I'd have to say that Scarborough was the WORST. He was fighting like hell to hold back a smirk when he talked about the possibility of Democrats losing the senate.

Then he brought Pat Buchanan on and he blabbed on and on about how this would affect Roe v Wade, Supreme Court Justices, and a host of other political matters. Buchanan had already written Senator Johnson off and was talking about how the next two years could pan out.

They are SICK BASTARDS. :mad:

Btw:

In five states -- Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Utah and Wyoming -- the governor must appoint a member of the departing senator's party.

This is no longer the case in Alaska as of about a year ago. After former (pathetic) governer Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter to the U.S. Senate, voters went to the polls and changed that law. Now it's up to the residents of Alaska to select a replacement in an emergency special election.

[Erika]

22. Agreed n/t

[bobbie]

43. They are just doing their jobs. Spreading propaganda for the regime.

And desensitizing us for what's to come.

[Daphne08]

45. I had to turn off the news tonight because of the media frenzy

over this! It's disgusting.

[jgraz]

12. Does anyone know which of the incoming Senators could cause this change?

In other words, how many of the Dem Senators had the potential to flip Senate control if they were to leave office? It would be interesting to see just how "lucky" the Rethugs would be if Johnson had to retire.

[dweller]

14. fucking vultures .... CNN .

how about an update on Sen.Johnson's condition instead?

dp

[Contrite]

20. Wyoming (R) senator Craig Thomas has leukemia.

It was diagnosed on election day. Yet he is at work.

[Erika]

24. And not one Dem gave any political speculation, did they?

We don't hover as vultures as do the GOP.

[Egnever]

21. Would the governor dare to appoint a republican?

I mean all this hypothetical BS is fun and all but the american public was pretty clear in their rebuke of the Republican party. Would Rounds really stick his neck out and try to thwart that?

I find it extremely difficult to believe.

It has the potential to start rioting if he did IMHO. If it wasn't going to affect the balance of power in the senate I could maybe see him trying to pull it off but not in the scenario we are now looking at.

[Contrite]

25. This guy is a whack job.

Look what he did to abortion rights.

If people protested here I doubt it would be like Oaxaca but who knows? Upsetting the balance of the Senate like that is huge.

[Erika]

29. The House Not the Senate sets the agenda n/t

[regnaD kciN]

32. But the Senate, not the House, votes on SCOTUS appontees...

Both Stevens and Ginzburg are in questionable health. It would take only one more Alito-clone to give the administration's "imperial Presidency" the status of precedent that would last forever. With a Democratic majority, that possibility was off the table. If the Senate goes 50-50, with Cheney breaking the tie, it's a very real possibility once again.

:scared:

[Contrite]

33. Bingo. Heard this on Air America tonight.

On our local AA show Minnesota Matters. One of the hosts is a close friend of Tim Johnson's. He seemed to think the whole thing was "odd", said something about Johnson being in good health (despite the earlier bout with prostate cancer). Also said he was a real good guy.

Then they discussed how losing Johnson and gaining a Republican in SD would affect SCOTUS. Wow. That really hit me hard; made me really question what's going on here. I will be staying tuned to the show to see what other inside information the host might have on Johnson.

[bobbie]

44. Good post thank you. And it's beyond "odd." It's blatant.

They didn't steal enought votes in November, so they poison a Senator in December.

It's been going on for decades. This is SOP for the regime.

[snowbear]

36. Hopefully we won't have to fill any more vacancies until **OUR** D-President is elected in '08

... Which WILL BTW happen!!

[still_one]

26. Yeah he would, but in 2008 we are poised to take back the Senate in a big way

there are many republican seats up for re-election

The next 48 hours are critical

[Contrite]

23. My fiance asked tonight what would happen if Byrd died.

I mean, he is pretty old. But West Virginia has a Democratic governor so I guess we'd probably be safe there.

[Erika]

27. Wellstone, Carnahan, Johnson

are a bit different than Byrd. What would happen if Larry Craig died?

[Contrite]

28. The Wyoming governor would have to appoint a Republican.

That's their law.

[Erika]

30. Larry Craig is from Idaho n/t

[Contrite]

31. Sorry. I thought you meant Craig Thomas.

I need to read better, duh. In Idaho, the governor would have discretion on whom to appoint apparently.

[SmellsLikeDeanSpirit]

35. I couldn't help but notice Scarbourgh and that dope from CNN froathing from the mouth with glee

when talking about a possible GOP controlled senate.

[snowbear]

41. Scarborough tried like hell to fight back the smirks and smiles..

He tried to sound serious, but there was a disgusting GIDDY undertone everytime the possibility of Democrats potentially losing control came up.

Joe Scarborough doesn't always suck --- but he SUCKED royally today!

[AX10]

56. Joe is a conservative. All conservatives are just like that.

They are vile and power hungry.

[No Exit]

53. And why did YOU leave Congress, Mr. Scarborough?

There is absolutely NO easier way to line one's pockets than to be a member of either house of our congress. NONE. Now, we know that to a repuke such as Scarborough, lining one's pockets is ALWAYS the number one goal.

So I continue to wonder at Mr. Scarborough's abrupt resignation from congress.

Meanwhile, Lori Klausutis is still dead, and Joe's ex-wife is no doubt a dim memory in his dim brain. Wonder what she had on him.

And republicans continue to strengthen The American Family with their outstanding Family Values.

[countmyvote4real]

40. America, eat me.

Oh, and the GOP regrets the condition of a respected (non-affiliated) Senator.

Slime is slime.

[Contrite]

42. Holy smokes

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003476370_webjohnson13.html

This article says that Johnson is a "top target" of the GOP for 2008, with Rounds being the top pick to replace him!

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SAXMAR]

49. We work on turning a GOP Senator!

We need to find a Republican Senator to change party Affiliation if Johnson is unable to continue. Arlen Specter might if he gets to keep his seat on the Judiciary committee. He is not a big fan of the Bush administration's violation of Constitutional rights and their use of the Patriot Act.

[NotGivingUp]

52. with a policy like this, seems to me we have a lot of sitting ducks

who's to stop foul play????

[jordi_fanclub]

55. Anyone can "help" me?...

... interpreting the South Dakota Codified Laws? :)

"12-11-1. Special election to fill congressional vacancy--Time of election of representative.
If a vacancy occurs in the office of a senator or representative in the United States Congress it shall be the duty of the Governor within ten days of the occurrence, to issue a proclamation setting the date of and calling for a special election for the purpose of filling such vacancy. If either a primary or general election is to be held within six months, an election to fill a vacancy in the office of representative in the United States Congress shall be held in conjunction with that election, otherwise the election shall be held not less than eighty nor more than ninety days after the vacancy occurs.

Source: SL 1890, ch 84, § 19; RPolC 1903, § 1956; SL 1915, ch 182, § 2; RC 1919, §§ 7214, 7308; SL 1929, ch 117, § 5; SDC 1939, §§ 16.0602, 16.1401; SDCL, § 12-11-2; SL 1974, ch 118, § 46; SL 1979, ch 99, § 5."
http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=12-11-1
(Statutes are current as of 7/1/2006. This includes all changes made during the 2006 Legislative Session.)

EDITED: So... "sorry" pukes, freepies & other right-wing affiliated criminals... sit down!
I'm a foreign and english isn't my first language but my half-brain still can read... seems someone in the MSM can't do that!

[Benhurst]

58. Assuming this is correct, and I checked your link, then the corporate

media has the story all wrong. Why am I not surprised?

Let's hope Senator Johnson has a complete recovery.

Nevertheless, if South Dakota law dictates a special election in the case of a U.S. Senator's being unable to fulfill his term, then that should be known.

I've forwarded your post via email to Skinner and the administrator for the front page.

[jordi_fanclub]

59. Ok, laws are a "little" hard to read but...

... lets complete my previous message and try to "guess" the right-wing/MSM trolls confusion:

If you go there: http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=12-11
You can see the source "list" (or the WHY) of all this "attempt" of disinformation:

To the fundies they think "no election until next general election" according to this sole paragraph of the SD Law:
"12-11-5. Special election to fill senate vacancy.
The special election to fill the vacancy of a senator shall be held at the same time as the next general election. The general election laws shall apply unless inconsistent with this chapter.
Source: SL 1979, ch 99, § 2."
http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=12-11-5

BUT (and a BIG "but" here) this paragraph DO NOT say "no special election",
what the fundies/MSM "forget" to read are the words "unless" and "chapter" in the above paragraph!
Since 12-11-1 and 12-11-5 are at the same chapter and my half-brain is still working... so 12-11-1 is the applied. ;)

PS - And more, even the "12-11-4 Temporary appointment..." is only applied until the "special election" described in the 12-11-1. :)

[NotGivingUp]

60. that's great news! it must be wishful thinking on the part of MSM!

[KansDem]

57. I think CNN is a little too quick here in reporting this, for my tastes.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, "the reports of a Democratic Senate death are greatly exaggerated"