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Blogs Eric Reads
Down the Tubes
The next U.S. Senator for Alaska will be Mark Begich:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has lost his bid for a seventh term. The longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate trailed Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3,724 votes after Tuesday’s count. That’s an insurmountable lead with only about 2,500 overseas ballots left to be counted.
Stevens, who turned 85 Tuesday, also revealed that he will not ask President George W. Bush to give him a pardon for his seven felony convictions.
Begich leads by 1.18%, surpassing the 0.5% threshold for a mandatory recount. Congratulations, Senator-Elect Begich!
Update: Oh yeah, that makes 58!
Update 2: Really, this is just obligatory at this point. Tubes Techno Remix!
Something Is Rotten In the State of Alaska
- In case you forgot, the day before the election Alaska’s Personnel Board–a group of Palin appointees–released it’s own Troopergate report clearing Palin of any wrongdoing. Except they missed a spot, since it looks like Palin may have committed perjury. Trooper Wooten’s attorney testified under oath that Palin called him in January 2007. Palin testified under oath that she didn’t. That means someone’s pants are on fire. Only replace “pants are on fire” with “a felon.” (The Daily Dish)
- And speaking of America’s Governor, Palin said in an interview with CNN that she would be willing to serve in the administration of a friend of terrorists. No, seriously. In the same interview, Palin said that it would be her “honor to assist and support our new president” and that she was “still concerned” about Obama’s ties to “an unrepentant domestic terorrist.” Um, putting aside that the presidential campaign is over, you can’t exactly say both of those things in the same breath and expect to still have any credibility. (CNN)
- Don’t worry, all hope is not lost for Seward’s Folly! As of 2:09 pm local time today, convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens’ lead over Democrat Mark Begich is down to 971 votes. Nate Silver says that there are about 60,000 ballots left to be counted and that most are from rural districts where Begich performed well. (State of Alaska/FiveThirtyEight)
Break’s Over
- President-Elect Obama is wasting no time getting in getting to work. First up, reversing the Bush Administration’s war on science. His transition team is putting together a long list of regulations and executive orders on climate change, stem cells, reproductive health, and other issues that Obama can rescind after taking office. Thank God. It’s good ot have a pesident who believes in science again. (Washington Post)
- More than half of Americans said they closely followed Obama’s press conference yesterday, and 52% say his remarks set the right tone. Voters are fairly confident that he can handle the economic crisis. Over a quarter of the GOP can’t figure out of if they love him or hate him. (Rasmussen)
- Speaking of the GOP, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is threatening to filibuster judicial nominations that have not been named for Supreme Court seats that are not vacant. Kyl doesn’t think that judges should make the rulings based on “the factors in each case”…um, what? What the heck are they supposed to base their decisions on then? Oh, and because this is a Republican that we’re talking about, it goes without saying that three years ago when the Republicans contolled the White House and the Senate, Kyl strenuously opposed the filibuster of judicial nominees. My, how times change. (Phoenix Business Journal/PBS)
- If Kyl gets his way, though, it might get a little bit easier to overcome that filibuster. Sen. Ted Stevens leads in Alaska, but Nate Silver isn’t ready to count Democratic challenger Mark Begich out yet. According to Silver, most of the ballots remaining to be counted are early and absentee ballots in which Begich currently leads. Does anyone know what Nate Silver is going to do after this election is totally over? The man is a genius. (FiveThirtyEight)
- Also, Harry Reid is getting ready to cut up to two Republican seats in each Senate committee to reflect the increased Democratic majority. Hopefully this will prevent a lot of Obama’s intiatives from getting stuck in committee. Back to work. (The Hill)
Sen. Stevens Convicted
Guilty on all seven felony counts:
Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was found guilty on Monday of violating ethics laws for failing to report gifts and services that he was given by friends.
A federal jury of eight women and four men from the District of Columbia found that the 84-year-old Republican, who has represented Alaska in the Senate for more than 40 years, knowingly failed to list on Senate disclosure forms the receipt of several gifts and tens of thousands of dollars worth of remodeling work on his home in Girdwood, Alaska. The verdict came after more than three weeks of testimony, the highlight of which was Mr. Stevens making the calculated risk of taking the witness stand in his own defense.
The maximum sentence is 5 years in prison for charge, but it is doubtful that Stevens would serve the maximum if he even spends a day in prison–the NYT reports that some of Stevens’ supporters already thinking of asking President Bush for the Scooter Libby treatment. Regardless, this is excellent news for Mark Begich, the next U.S. Senator for Alaska.
Incidentally, via Kos, guess who’s a big Ted Stevens fan?
Shocker, right? Alaska Republicans just can’t help letting people buy stuff for them.
Update: Prison: It’s not a dump truck, it’s a series of tubes!
Update 2: Kos notes that as a convicted felon, Sen. Stevens can’t vote for himself.
Update 3: NRSC Chairman John Ensign:
“This is a sad day for the United States Senate,” said Ensign. “Ted Stevens served his constituents for over 40 years and I am disappointed to see his career end in disgrace.”
Ted Stevens Indicted
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, has been indicted:
Government sources tell CBS News Republican Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has been indicted on seven charges related to a corruption probe.
A federal grand jury in Washington has handed up the indictment against Stevens — which the Justice Department is set to announce very shortly.
Stevens faces seven counts of false statements involving VECO, the oil services company in Alaska, and the renovations done on his home.
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. More details as the story develops. Also, now wouldn’t be a terrible time to send some love over to Mark Begich.
Update: Teh Funny, courtesy of the fine folks over at CBS:
Update 2: It’s like Christmas in July:
Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate and one of the chamber’s most powerful members, was indicted Tuesday in Washington for failing to disclose more than $250,000 worth of gifts that he received from businessmen who were seeking his help on federal issues and projects.
The seven-count indictment charges Stevens with making false statements by failing to disclose things of value he received from the Veco Corp., an Alaska-based oil services compmany, and from its CEO, Bill Allen, over an eight-year period.
The indictment charges that among the undeclared items were substantial improvements to Stevens’ home in Girdwood, Alaska; automobile exchanges in which he received new vehicles that were worth far more than the old ones he exchanged; and household goods, including a Viking gas grill.
Update 3: Here’s a thought. If the agents and prosecutors responsible for this indictment had been applying for their jobs when Alberto Gonzales was AG, would Monica Goodling have tossed out their applications?
Update 4: Teh Funny continues:
You’ve got ten prison cells going down a corridor. And what happens to your own personal prison cell? Just the other day, one of my staff members put me in a prison cell at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday. I just got out yesterday. Why? Because I got tangled up with all these things going on in the prison commercially.
The problem is that they want to deliver vast numbers of Republican convicts into the prisons. And again, prisons are not something you can just dump something in. PRISONS ARE NOT BIG TRUCKS. Really, they’re a series of tubes.
Now, if you don’t understand, you can fill these prison tubes with Republican felons, and if these tubes are filled, when you put more Republican convicts in, they get in line and they’re going to be delayed by anyone that puts into these tubes enormous amounts of Republican felons. Enormous amounts of Republican felons.
(Look over here if you don’t get it. )
Update 5: CQ Politics upgrades the Alaska Senate race from leans Republican to leans Democratic as a result of the indictment. Meanwhile, all across the country, vulnerable incumbent Republicans who took money from Stevens are giving it back.