October 27, 2008
Mac Zilber
Alaskan senator Ted Stevens was found guilty today on seven corruption charges, and could face up to five years in jail for each charge for which he was found guilty. This is not just interesting from the perspective of a powerful politician being brought down by the justice system, but it is interesting because of the fact that Stevens is neck-and-neck in a senate race against Democrat Mark Beigich, and this decision may well be the deciding factor in the fate of that seat.
Stevens was found guilty of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from Veco, an oil corporation, and not reporting the received gifts on his senate disclosure form. He says he intends to continue his bid for senate, as there is no law against convicted felons serving in the senate. He will not be sentenced until January 26, and federal sentencing guidelines suggest he will get little to no prison time.
The Stevens story will also be yet another embarrassment to Sarah Palin, the governor of Stevens’ state who ran the “Ted Stevens For Excellency in Public Service” PAC and teamed up with him to bring billions of dollars of pork to Alaska. Now that he is being convicted, Palin, who has already been found guilty in a corruption probe, will be further tied to the Alaskan corruption that she originally claimed she “rooted out.”
Stevens, who has served in the senate longer than any other Republican in history, is only the fifth senator in history to be convicted of a crime. It would take a two-thirds vote in the senate to expel him, and, if he were to be expelled, he would be only the second senator in history, not counting those expelled for being confederate sympathizers, to be expelled. He is walking in territory that is basically uncharted.
Alaskan voters don’t tend to be the brightest bunch, but I think it’s probably safe to say that Ted “Tubes” Stevens’ career is over, and the Republicans have just lost another senate seat.
Questions or Comments? I answer every email I receive at themuse @ albanyhighcouar [dot] com
Well, now the Republicans have two convicted sitting Senators: one for soliciting gay sex; the other, for accepting bribes.
And the Demos have Tim Mahoney confessing to “multiple affairs” during his two years.
“Alaskan voters don’t tend to be the brightest bunch”: based on what? Electing Palin governor? How’s about Louisiana’s Huey Long and Edwin Edwards? Or D.C.’s Mayor and City Coucilman Marion Berry? Florida’s Congressman Alcee Hastings? Charles Diggs of Michigan? At least Palin hasn’t (yet) been convicted of a felony – merely an “abuse of her powers of office”.
I’m pretty sure that 99% of people who voted for Huey Long are dead, and I don’t think you can count people like Edwin Edwards or Richard Daley who were elected by political machines as reflecting badly on the voters. I don’t believe that it’s stupid to vote for a single corrupt candidate, as all of your examples are of one single person, and you can find a single corrupt person representing nearly any electorate. Alaskan voters “tend not to be the brightest bunch” because nearly every single person they elect turns out to be corrupt, incompetent, or both. Don Young? Corrupt. Sarah Palin? Both corrupt and incompetent. Ted Stevens (to 7 terms)? Both corrupt and incompetent. Frank Murkowski? Both corrupt and incompetent. That’s a pretty bad record for a state that only has four major statewide elected officials at any given time. Lisa Murkowski is the only elected statewide official that isn’t either corrupt or incompetent or both. Since 1981, at least three of Alaska’s “big four” positions (with the four positions being their governor, two senators, and their congressman) have been corrupt. That’s a pretty horrible batting average. You can forgive a state or district for elected a bad apple here or there, but Alaska has a uniquely jarring record of voting that is paralleled in few places.
Hopefully they’ll build a bridge to some kind of Common Sense. Yeesh. I feel bad for my friend Max, living in Juneau.