Other Crap

Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota reportedly suffers a stroke; Senate power in the balance

Here's why. When a senator dies or becomes incapacitated, the state's governor appoints a replacement. The governor of South Dakota is a Republican. The loss of even one Democratic senator is enough to change the senatorial leadership. It could get quite ugly because South Dakota seems to have two mutually contradictory laws regarding the replacement process, so each side will line up a battalion of lawyers to support whichever law supports their advantage. The Republicans will line up in favor of a law that would let the replacement serve until 2008. The Democrats will line up in favor of a law that makes the appointment short-term and mandates a replacement election 80-90 days after the vacancy occurs. Both sides will pretend that right and justice are somehow on their side.