Frank Lautenberg Diagnosed With Stomach Cancer

50% of those so diagnosed respond well to treatment, but Frank Lautenberg is 86. I know nothing about chemo personally, fortunately, but of course I know it is hellishly tough on anyone unfortunate enough to need it, including the very young and strong.

Allah adds:

Something worth flagging in case Lautenberg opts for early retirement: New Jersey Democrats introduced a bill in the state legislature back in November, almost certainly with him in mind, to replace special elections for vacant U.S. Senate seats with a rule that would let the governor appoint a successor. With one catch — the governor could only appoint someone from the same party as the outgoing senator. Obviously, that’s a response to Chris Christie’s gubernatorial win, with state Dems worried that in this political climate a special election would be no automatic win even in a state as blue as Jersey. Their fears proved well founded two months later in Massachusetts; I wonder what’ll happen to that bill in light of today’s news.

Well I expect a full-court press on the issue with the bizarre claim offered up by Democrats that anyone refusing to vote in favor of (or sign into law) the bill is "politicizing cancer" or some nonsense, conveniently overlooking the fact that's exactly what the bill itself intends to accomplish.

I can't believe that just a few months after the end of the "Kennedy Seat" Democrats are now gearing up to tell us there's such a thing as the "Frank Lautenberg Seat," and that we are harming Frank Lautenberg's health if we do not pass a law that passes his seat into the hands of a hand-picked successor.

We'll be undoing his legacy. Or something.

What the hell is Frank Lautenberg's legacy?

Again: Look, no one really wants to act all super-psyched that another human being has become unwell. But obviously this is on the Democrats' mind, too. (Lautenberg has been mentioned as having "health issues" in the past, because, you know, he's 86.)

We cannot pretend we are uninterested in contingency planning out of respect for Frank Lautenberg's great legacy (whatever that is) while the Democrats are cooking up Frank Lautenberg Succession Bills.

posted by Ace at 01:25 PM

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