I need some rumor control re. Senator Johnson.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

My daughter called me tonight and said that she heard on CNN (she was certain about it being CNN) that the governor of SD can replace Johnson if he feels it is necessary because his condition occurred before the official January swearing in date. I told her that this was nonsense because Johnson is already a sitting senator and as long as he does not resign or otherwise vacate the office, by precedent he can remain in his job. She said that the talking heads on CNN had a discussion about this being the normal protocol but that Johnson's case did not fit the norm because of the time frame.

I have not heard this on any other show, nor have I seen it discussed here, but I just don't believe it. I told her that unless she misunderstood (and she was pretty vehement), it was probably a bunch of "republican commentators" spouting off wishful thinking.

Anyone else hear anything like this?

[kikiek]

1. He has been in office for 10 years now. Is 4 years into 2nd term.

[Harper_is_Bush]

2. Yeah. Sounds like his daughter was the victim of CNN talking head ignorance.

Common affliction.

[kikiek]

7. Sad times we are in. Make news to make people tune in. Just waiting

for the next murder, storm, or whatever. I remember when the news was just reported. And not written by pre released talking points, PR firms, corporations with agendas. We got the facts and made up our own minds about what to think. Sigh.

[MOB]

3. Any Sensitivity to the man?

Does anyone want to offer this poor man some sensitivity?

My god, I left classes for the metro at GWU this evening and there was a swarm of media hovering the hospital like a pack of vultures. My god that was disgusting

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. Sad isn't it? I feel for his family, having to watch this disgusting circus.

[hlthe2b]

4. Federal LAW only allows for a vacancy to be declared:

in the case of death, resignation, or explulsion--not for incapacitation. This is BS Rovian press manipulation.... He probably thinks it will whip up public expectation and result in pressure on the DEMS and/or Johnson to resign...

[tinfoilinfor2005]

5. I agree. It's the only reason I could give her.

I just wish I'd heard it myself so that I could have gotten the names of these false rumor mongers and sent an email to CNN demanding a truthful retraction.

[hlthe2b]

6. It must be rampant (not watching tv in my house)...

as there have been several DU posts on this today... :mad:

[tinfoilinfor2005]

10. Sorry, I hadn't seen any threads having to do with

the "special circumstances" of the January swearing in date. If I'm being redundant, I apologize. :(

[hlthe2b]

21. oh no.. that wasn't my point...

I think we need to make sure as many as possible of us can counter these RWers and their complicit media.

I just meant to point out that there is evidence that the media, is, indeed feeding this erroneous (or at least misleading) story and its related talking points.

[kikiek]

9. He wouldn't be sworn in. He was when he was last elected. He just returns.

He's been "sworn". They can't remove him either. 2/3 of the Senate would have to vote to remove him.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

8. No, I don't think so

My understanding is that he either has to resign or be removed for malfeasance. Other lawmakers have served with far worse medical conditions. There was a Senator from his own state who served for 4 years after suffering a stroke, who didn't show up for a single vote his entire term!

[lunerod]

11. Hopefully he was a Republican

less repuke voting to destroy our civilization.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

12. Hey, welcome to DU!

I don't remember what his affiliation was. It was during the Nixon admin. They were talking about it on CNN tonight.

[SoCalDem]

22. One word says it all... Strom !

and he WAS a republican.. so they have NO reason to challenge Johnson's staying on , even if incapacitated.

Biden missed 7 months due to his brain surgery..Specter missed a lot too.

Unless Johnson dies, he will remain a senator..even if in name only for a while.

I don;t think he will be fit enough to run in '08, so the troops on the ground in SD better start looking for someone to step in if he does decide to not run again..

(Tom Daschle..don't you DARE do it!)

[elperromagico]

25. Stephanie Herseth strikes me as a possibility.

She's run, by my count, in four statewide elections. It would be a close race but I think she could pull it off. South Dakota's a lot more receptive to Democrats at the state level than at the presidential level.

[Mz Pip]

13. It doesn't matter

what the talking heads and political pundits say or think.

Johnson is the Senator from SD and will remain so unless he resigns, dies or is removed for some criminal reason.

All of this speculation and spin is starting to make me physically ill. It is really disturbing. It is making everyone nuts.

All anyone needs to focus on is sending good thoughts and prayers Senator Johnson's way. The rest of the crap does no good.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Dhalgren]

15. And on top of everything else, the Gov. of SD does not appoint

a replacement. By SD law if a replacement is needed for a Senator there must be a special election held within ninety days. The Gov. doesn't appoint, the people elect the replacement Senator. It is all very sloppy bullshit from the fascist controlled press. I've heard it all day and it is infuriating...

[Crabby Appleton]

16. Actually the SD Governor does appoint. and there

would not be a special election under section 12-11-6

The relevant SD election laws are:


12-11-4. Temporary appointment by Governor to fill vacancy in United States Senate. Pursuant to the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, the Governor may fill by temporary appointment, until a special election is held pursuant to this chapter, vacancies in the office of senator in the Senate of the United States.


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.

12-11-6. No special election if appointed senator's term expires at normal time. No special election, to fill a vacancy, may be held if the term of office of the appointed senator expires in the month of January immediately following the next general election that would occur after the vacancy.

12-11-7. Vacancy within ninety days of general election--Concurrent elections. If a vacancy occurs within ninety days of the next general election, the special election to fill the vacancy shall be held concurrently with the general election to be held two years later.

[Warren Stupidity]

18. So if he is up for election in 2008

and the next general election is november 2007, the special election would have to be november 2007, unless general election measn something other than what happens once a year.

Still it seems that you are correct that there is no 90 day timeframe. Lets hope Tim stays healthy enough to serve.

[MonkeyFunk]

19. General elections

are every two years, so the next General Election in SD is Nov. 08.

[Dhalgren]

27. Thanks for the correction. I completely misunderstood the law.

:hi:

[Warren Stupidity]

17. I didn't know about the 90 days.

This came up at work - could the governor stall by appointing one of theirs and then holding off on the election. Thanks for the info.

90 days isn't even worth their while - but I assume that the governor could be an asshole and make an appointment for that three months, right?

[MonkeyFunk]

20. The 90 days

only has to do with replacing a Representative, not a Senator.

[Crabby Appleton]

23. Correct

[elperromagico]

26. We saw that at work when Janklow stepped down.

[elperromagico]

24. A death certificate or a resignation. That's what it takes,

unless somebody manages to define having a stroke as a crime.