Thursday, December 14, 2006

Theorizing upon Senator Johnson's Illness

I won't say I believe this, necessarily. But...considering what we know to date:
  • Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) has been stricken with a mysterious illness that is not a stroke but presents similar symptoms
  • If Senator Johnson dies his replacement will be appointed by the Republican governor of South Dakota
  • If he is replaced by a Republican, control of the Senate will go to the Republicans
  • Following the November election, a few rightwings were speculating as to which Democratic senators in states with Republican governors had the best chances of dying and thusly reversing control of the senate
  • In recent years, two Democratic senators from Midwestern states - Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and Mel Carnahan of Missouri - died in mysterious airplane crashes. Wellstone's death led to the election of Republican Norm Coleman; Carnahan's death should have left the field open for John Ashcroft but Carnahan won the election posthumously.
I hope I am just being paranoid. I pray that Senator Johnson recovers and the cause of his illness is discovered and is beyond question. But, there is a thought nagging at my brain that will not let me sleep. What if Senator Johnson was poisoned? Can we have faith that the cadre of true believers in Dick Cheney and George Bush did not have a hand in this? It is part of the sickness of the current administration that this is both possible and believable.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought the same thing when I heard this news. Too convenient for the Republicans isn't it?

Michael Hawkins said...

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one whose mind went directly to this possibility. There are too many ways to kill someone while making it look like "natural causes," and there are too many clandestine groups within (and without) the U.S. government who would be only too willing to carry out orders for this kind of hit.

It's sad that we live during a time and in a place where this sort of speculation comes so easily.

Anonymous said...

If it's any consolation, the only way Governor Rounds gets to appoint a replacement is if Johnson dies, and it doesn't look like that's going to happen. South Dakota's Constitution has no provision for incapacitation. So Johnson would have to resign. Short of that, there's not much the the governor can do.

Anonymous said...

Even if, as it now appears, that our fears are unfounded, the current climate brought on by the neo-cons demands our suspicion and constant vigilance.

PoliShifter said...

No, we cannot have faith that the BushCo sycophants would not stop as low.

Bush in a tenuous situation. No one likes to talk about it but January is around the corner and investigations will begin.

It is my opinion that those investigations will lead to impeachment. I think BushCo knows this. I think they are desperate and desperate people will do desperate things.

I don't trust the etremist wingnuts. I can easily see them trying something all the while telling themselves they are "good Americans protecting the President..."?