Recent Articles | About Authors | About the Syndicate | Archives

To receive a plain text copy of this article by email, see info at the bottom of this page.

Real Answers™
gh94
Copyright: © 2007 Gary Hardaway
665 words

SENATOR JOHNSON'S CONDITION CALLS FOR BETTER SYSTEM OF SUCCESSION

By: Gary Hardaway

Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota is incapacitated. He currently lies in intensive care at George Washington University, one month after suffering a brain hemorrhage. On December 14th, after eight hours of neurosurgery to correct an arterial malformation in the brain, doctors expressed guarded optimism for a recovery.

The good news is that Senator Johnson survived and, with months of arduous therapy, may at least partially regain some functions. But don’t expect to see Senator Johnson back on the Senate floor anytime soon. In fact he may never return before his term expires in 2008.

He responds to stimuli but has not spoken. Some of the time he requires a respirator. He has obviously suffered significant brain damage, but doctors won’t say how much – if, indeed, they know. The Senator remains in critical, though stable condition.

The Senator’s plight raises several medical, political, and ethical questions. Should he resign? Can he resign? Does he have the capacity to understand his situation and make a responsible decision about serving in the Senate? Or has the brain damage rendered him mentally incompetent?

Assuming he retains sufficient cognition to make a valid decision, can he communicate what that decision is? Or is he imprisoned in an envelope of silence? Will the nation have to rely on relatives or proxy staff who will tell us how Johnson would vote.

Not long after the surgery, a reporter saw some of Johnson’s Senate colleagues at a restaurant, heads bowed in prayer for their comrade. The reporter wryly noted that they seemed motivated by both personal and “political sentiments.” That’s because if Johnson steps down, and the Republican governor of South Dakota appoints a Republican to replace him, the Democrats would lose control of the Senate. From their perspective, that would be a political catastrophe.

Johnson’s incapacitation reveals a flaw in our system of governance that needs fixing. South Dakotans needs a fully competent Senator to represent them. The Constitution assumes that all Senators are physically, mentally, and morally capable of participating in strenuous debates and making complex judgments about what is best for the country.  The current situation cries out for reform.

The federal legislative process deserves wholly capable individuals. We need some impartial set of criteria – applied evenhandedly to all – that assures that senators can function in their role. Such criteria would address not only brain damage but severe mental disorders, alcoholism, drug dependency, senility, and other conditions that gravely impair a legislator’s ability to serve.

The United States has a mechanism for dealing with presidential incapacity. In certain circumstances, the Vice-President can step into the void and assume the duties of the president. The country needs similar arrangements for legislators – and Supreme Court justices – arrangements that don’t rely on the personal decision of the affected individual. Several times in history, the nation has been ill-served by debilitated incumbents whose tenure outlasted their efficacy or sanity.

Ideally, the most effective leaders mentor and develop younger apprentices who eventually take their place. Moses had his Joshua. Jesus trained his twelve disciples to carry on his mission. Billy Graham, now afflicted by old age and Parkinson ‘s Disease, prepared his youngest son, Franklin, to assume his mantle of leadership. Long before that, Billy mentored a young man named Leighton Ford, who served the Graham team for many years before moving on to mentor a strategic cadre of younger leaders.

Richard Kriegbaum, former president of Fresno Pacific University, in his book Leadership Prayers: “Help me remember, God, I can be reassigned, neutralized, or

eliminated for a  thousand different reasons at any moment. My leadership is precarious, hanging by the silver thread of people’s trust in me. Countless things over which I have no control can break that thread . . . and I will be gone.”

In anticipation of that eventuality, the author asks for divine guidance to “prepare leaders and . . . help the organization be ready for them.”

We can each add our own “Amen.” 

Gary Hardaway has taught in universities in the USA, Lithuania and Canada. He holds a Ph. D. in foundations of education. "Real Answers™" furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; amyfoundtn@aol.com

Request this article:
To instantly receive a plain text copy of this article by email, enter your publication title, city and state, and email address, then retype the article number (shown in bold below). Then click the "Send It" button once.
Fields marked (*) are required

back to top