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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!
- Since he’s decided to be a Democrat again, Joe Lieberman tried to scratch the McCain ‘08 bumper sticker off of his car. He only got half of it off, but that will probably be enough for him to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security committee. The decision from Senate Democrats will be handed down today. (Washington Post)
- On the other side of the aisle, convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens gets a lucky break, sort of. In honor of his 85th birthday today, Senate Republicans were planning on voting to expel him from the GOP caucus. They’ve put their plan on hold since it looks like Stevens might actually lose his election and the whole thing would just be moot. Happy birthday, dear Tubes! (CNN)
- Must… control… schadenfreude… Focus on the Family, American’s very own Colorado-based Taliban, has had to lay off 20 percent of its staff after pumping half a million dollars into California’s Prop 8 and then suddenly realizing that they were out of money to pay people. Beating up on the gays is a higher priority for these “Christians” than the livelihood of the people who work for them. Nice one, Dobson. (Colorado Independent)
- Some random Dartmouth professor, who is in no way involved in the actual counting of votes in Minnesota, says that Al Franken will beat Norm Coleman. This would certainly be nice. The only thing is that he’s basing his prediction on statstical models and voting patterns but not, you know, how many ballots were cast. (Huffington Post)
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)
11/11
- Sarah Palin, who is now talking to the press as much as possible, blames her campaign staff for expecting her to read the speeches that were placed in front of her and do other non-mavericky things. Also too, she hopes God will show her the way to the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. This will be the ultimate test of my faith. (The Caucus)
- Some Alaskan got Ted Stevens to autograph a VECO hat. VECO, of course, is the oil company that bribed Stevens resulting in his conviction on seven felony counts. Ha! (Wonkette)
- So the Clinton people are all still pissed off at the Obama people. This time, it’s because they don’t think the President-Elect has done enough to help Hillary Clinton pay off the campaign debt she racked up by attacking him. If Barack Obama won’t cut Clinton a check for $5 million to pay Mark Penn, it is a slap in the face!!!!! (Politico)
- It’s Veterans’ Day. May God bless all those soldiers across the world who have served in defense of their nations and their people.
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)
Depends on Your Definition of “Convicted”
Shorter Actual Ted Stevens:
- Sen. Stevens: I’m innocent and not convicted
”I have not been convicted of anything.”
Young: Stevens Is Innocent, Just Like Nixon
While John McCain, Sarah Palin, and Barack Obama have all called on Ted Stevens to resign, hopefully-soon-to-be-former Alaska Congressman Don Young offers the strangest defense of Stevens I’ve seen so far:
“I can remember Richard Nixon, you know, his years of service, what he’s done, and everybody [was] ridiculing him, and he ended up being the greatest president in the history of our century. … The Senator will be re-elected. He will appeal it. When he does go, he will win it because there’s no way this is a jury of his peers,” Young told the Anchorage Daily News.
I don’t even know what to say. Richard Nixon was the greatest president of the twentieth century? Is Young thinking of some other Richard Nixon? You know, one who didn’t resign the presidency in disgrace and probably only stayed out of prison himself because he was pardoned on the way out the door?
Anyway, Young is also under investigation for having ties to VECO, the same firm that bought Stevens some of the gifts that got him convicted, so Young can’t really call for Stevens’ resignation without resigning himself. But the Richard Nixon defense? Please.
McCain Calls for Stevens to Resign
“Yesterday, Senator Ted Stevens was found guilty of corruption. It is a sign of the health of our democracy that the people continue to hold their representatives to account for improper or illegal conduct, but this verdict is also a sign of the corruption and insider-dealing that has become so pervasive in our nation’s capital.
“It is clear that Senator Stevens has broken his trust with the people and that he should now step down. I hope that my colleagues in the Senate will be spurred by these events to redouble their efforts to end this kind of corruption once and for all.”
Stevens, of course, has no intention of doing so:
I am innocent. This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial. I ask that Alaskans and my Senate colleagues stand with me as I pursue my rights. I remain a candidate for the United States Senate.
Here’s hoping that Stevens becomes a big issue for the GOP across the board for the next week.
A Song for Ted Stevens
Long live the Tubes!
(Yeah, I know that I’ve already used this for Sarah Palin)
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.”