Posted on 02/20/2007 2:48:58 PM PST by shrinkermd
WASHINGTON — More than two months after suffering a brain hemorrhage, South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson has left a Washington hospital and entered a private rehabilitation facility, his office said Tuesday.
A spokeswoman refused to say whether the senator remained in Washington or was moved to a facility in South Dakota, citing family concerns about media scrutiny. "They just want him to focus on getting better and not worried about outside cameras snapping away," said spokeswoman Julianne Fisher.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Prayers for his full recovery as quickly and as dignified as possible.
If he was a Republican the calls for his resignation from the MSM and rats would be deafening.
Any indication of his mental state?
Or is his rehab going to go on until the next election?
I second that. Prayers for his family too.
Media scrutiny? He's a Senator and until he ceases being a Senator (hint, hint) he has to be subject to scrutiny. What about the opportunity to petition him for a redress of grievances?
I heard yesterday not to expect him back as a senator.
Unfortuneatly, when the hospital can't do anything else for you, you get put into a "rehab" center if you can't be taken care of at home.
Oh boy.
The guy must be approximating a veggie if they're so concerned about 'media scrutiny' (and to hell with whatever concerns his constituents might have.)
Yeah, I remember my dad being put into rehab after he had a stroke. A couple weeks later he was dead.
I'm sorry for the senator and his family.
I was going to ask if this was good news for him, but after reading the comments...
If he was in any sort of communicative state Digger Reid would have had the cameras there capturing a wave to the crowd.
His seat needs to be resigned. Otherwise as a public official he is subject to intense scrutiny. The family can't have it both ways.
What's the early line on who gets out of rehab first: Sen. Johnson or Britney Spears?
You really think that the family is calling the shots here?
Hope he is ok
100% correct.
Didn't they CLAIM that he had co sponsored a bill or something in the last week or two? Its amazing the restraint the dems and media show when it benefits themselves...
Amazing the Republicans could take back the Senate if they spolighted this. What a weak leadership we have.
But is he still voting ?
Yup.
Yeah, Reid will prop him up with sticks and tie strings to his arms if he has to.
But Reid aside I pray for the Senator and his family this can't be easy on them.
Even if he had severe brain damage, he'd still be smarter than Particia Bin Murray.
Apparently he is not voting but he did "sponsor" legislation last week.
Translation: WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S
that 22 week old baby that just went home is smarter than tennis shoes Murry
It is true. There would be MUCH MUCH more coverage of his condition and there would be show after show detailing the chances of "FULL" recovery and questions put to EVERY Republican that shows his/her face on TV about their "CONCERN" that the stricken Senator would be ever able to FULLY accomplish all the duties of an elected Senator.
And of course what about his constituents, those that put him in office, is it "FAIR" to them to have NO REP in the Senate for month after month etc.
His rehab will go on until the next election if it takes that long.
His seat for all intents and purposes is vacant. I don't know what is keeping the Gov. from appointing a temp senator till Tim can return, or not return.
I wish only the best for him and his family, but this does not sound positive. If there were really hopeful developments the family would be eager to emphasize that he was on his way to recovery, and the DNC and the MSM would trumpet every detail from the hilltops.
Try to imagine any Republican Senator in the same situation, and try to imagine the DBM showing such restraint, the DNC not building pressure for "candid discussions" about his condition and the (effectively) vacant seat denying representation to constituents, etc.
Anyone who doubts the double-standards of the MSM need only look at how "discreet" and "circumspect" the DBM still is now, months later, and think of how any R. is treated in the press.....
An Senator cannot vote, unless he/she is physically on the Senate floor!
If the roles were reversed (ie. he was an R and the governor was a D) the media would be screaming to let them pull the plug so he could die a "peaceful" death like Terry Schiavo.
It is obvious the Dims are using this poor soul to maintain their majority position in the Senate. How pathetic.
That, along with the fact that he has been in the hospital now for 3+ months. They don't keep you in the hospital for that long unless you are seriously ill...
If la Pelosi gets her way, she'll be redressing him for a petition of grievances.
Yep.
And, in fact, the rats would have already found a way to get Johnson retired and replaced if the governor was a rat.
Very good point.
There is no danger of Al Gore having a brain hemorrhage, but there is danger of cranium implosion.
"Prayers for his full recovery as quickly and as dignified as possible."
Prayers for a speedy resignation. The recovery can come later.
Is it not possible to file a suit stating that this man, tragically, is not fit to perform his duties as a Senator?
Seems to me there is something already figured out for such contingencies as this.
My guess is that it would take a suit filed on behalf of the constituents that they were not being represented by this person.
The GOP needs to stop being so intimidated by the other side.
The Republicans ought to be encouraging Joe Lieberman to switch sides and become a Republican - THAT also would alter the senate and send dingy Harry back to the lower dungeon where he and Hillary ought to be thrown. Senator Johnson's family does not need all the media scrutiny, but the dems sure do!@
Nature does abhor a vacuum, doesn't it?
No one can remove a seated senator to my knowledge. He can resign or die. That's about it.
There have been limited media reports that he is working on his computer and keeping up with the news via t.v., and he is "speaking"- at least combinations of words and names. I don't believe that he is a vegetable, just a very sick man who is need of a lot of rehab-probably years of rehab.
This exact thing happened to my Uncle. He is fine now, but cannot do even the simplest math. It took about a year to get him back to work-and he had to relearn everything.
Trying to use this to recapture the Senate would be ghoulish. The media would crucify the GOP if they attempted to do that and we could kiss any chance of winning seats in 2008 goodbye. Look what the bogus Mark Foley story did.
The news reports about this guy and about Castro are eerily similar. Is power more important than dignity?
"This exact thing happened to my Uncle. He is fine now, but cannot do even the simplest math. It took about a year to get him back to work-and he had to relearn everything."
So, someone like that should remain a Senator?
"Trying to use this to recapture the Senate would be ghoulish."
No, 'ghoulish' is keeping a disabled stroke patient in office when they obviously should resign and let someone competent replace them.
The people of his state need to start speaking up and asking questions and demanding answers.
I have no problem with people from his state saying something but the GOP Senate leadership should not.
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