By Staff
On Tuesday, we heard the news that Tim Johnson, the Democrat senator from South Dakota, was stricken with bleeding in the brain caused by arteriovenous malformation and required emergency surgery.
Although Johnson is still listed in critical condition, his doctors have reported his surgery as successful and that he is beginning the recovery process.
However, Johnson had barely gone under the knife before political pundits and news analysts began pointing out that if Johnson chooses to resign or succumbs to his condition, the Republican Party would be in a position to remain in control of the Senate.
When vacancies appear in the Senate, the governor of the state possessing the seat appoints a replacement senator to fill out the remainder of the vacated term. Since South Dakota's governor, Mike Rounds, is a Republican, pundits suspect he would appoint a fellow Republican.
A GOP replacement would change the 51 seat voting majority that favors the Democrats to an equally tenuous 50-50 split that would favor Republicans simply because Vice President Dick Cheney would break any tie vote in the upper house of Congress.
It's not surprising the news of Johnson's illness has created this much tumult, considering what is at stake. But to so quickly begin the political calculations while the man's health is in question is not only disturbing, it is downright cold-hearted.
Johnson has served his home state and the nation honorably since winning his seat in 1996. But even more basic than that, he is a fellow human being, and he and his family deserves the respect that should be afforded to a person facing a life-threatening condition.
Should Johnson's seat become vacant due to his resignation or his untimely death, the State of South Dakota will have the singular duty to find a replacement to represent them in the Senate.
Despite the effect such a decision would have on fleeting congressional majorities, the people of South Dakota should also be allowed to debate the choice of senator without external pressures.
Like the politicians who send troops into harm's way, pundits need to remember that Johnson and his colleagues are real people – living, breathing human beings deserving of dignity and respect, not simply pawns in an overplayed political game.