Recently convicted of 7 felony counts Senator Ted Stevens is now back in Alaska. This man who has been asked to resign by dozens of important politicians on the current national scene (including McCain, Obama, and Palin) is somehow still loved by many Alaskans. He maintains that he's going forward with his re-election campaign, and I believe that he just might be stubborn enough to do so. As a convicted felon he won't be able to vote next Tuesday but he is asking Alaskans to go to the polls and vote to send him back to Washington for another 6 years (at which time he would be 90 years old). I can only assume that to a large portion of the people following this story outside of Alaska this seems ridiculous (as it should), but somehow in politics up here the ridiculous has a way of coming to seem normal.
Thursday night "Uncle Ted" is scheduled to appear on Alaska Public Television in a one hour debate with his opponent Mark Begich. My guess is that they will mostly avoid discussing his crimes and the fact that he is a convicted felon, but it will be interesting to see what they talk about instead since obviously that is what everyone will want to hear about. In case anyone is interested in seeing how this issue is discussed (or not) the debate will be broadcast online at 9:00 pm Alaska Time (4 hours behind EST) at the following website: http://www.360north.org/
This likely will just be a boring old debate, but it seems at least a little intriguing to see how someone who was convicted of 7 felonies just a few days ago is going to go in front of the people of his state and try to make a case that even one of them should vote for him, let alone enough of them for him to win re-election... Only in Alaska.
And if your Internet connection is too slow to support the live video feed you can listen to the audio here: http://www.ktoo.org/
13 comments:
The only difference between Teddy and 90% of this country's elected officials is that Ted got cought.
McCain, Palin, Obama or any other Washington Porker calling for him to drop out is laughable.
Hopefully Ted rots in jail and the FBI continues on to nail many more of these turds.
It doesnt matter what party you are from there is no excuse to break the law and still be elected. Also Begich is under federal investigation currently as well. We need someone else to represent us but there isnt anyone worth note.
Gee, between your Iditarod donation fund, Palin's $100,000 wardrobe bill to the Republican's and Steven's various felonies, you Alaskan's have the art of "donation" down to a science. No wonder people say that those who live in Alaska are either criminal's,someone trying to hide or running away from some problem.
whoa there van looser...
Geoff didn't make it personal, but you definitely did. I'm sure you and the state of Nevada have NEVER been the benefactor of anything, have you? Please be a little more respectful.
This is a tough campaign issue for me. On one hand, we the voters are to blame because we want politicians to bring money back to our state through projects and earmarks. They grease rails and strike deals in order to bring money back to our state and then we reward them by re-electing them. Ted Stevens is wildly popular because he took tax money from citizens of every other state and brought it home to benefit Alaskans. However, only after the moment he is formally conficted does we start to care where and how he got the money.
Politics is a nasty and corrupt business...but unfortunetly I think it's because us voters haven't demanded it not to be.
Anon, Nevada (just a big mining town with indoor plumbing) is probably more corrupt then Alaska !
anon #2,
begich under federal investigation? this is news to me. care to elaborate?
You would think there would be a law that if you were not elegible to vote for an office, you couldn't hold that office. In fact I am stunned that there isn't.
BTW between Palin and Stevens, I have to say thanks for taking the reigns from New Jersey as the most rediculous politcally. At least for now...
An Anchorage Daily News staff reporter wrote “When the Begich administration leased a downtown parking site from influential developer Mark Pfeffer, the city overpaid -- by a lot.”
“Without subpoena power or wiretap authority, it's impossible to know if the mayor's defense is just a smokescreen. But whether it was favoritism or just an honestly overpriced contract, it turned out to be an embarrassingly bad deal for a mayor who prides himself on his business acumen.”
They happen to be good friends.
yeah drew, you would think there would be a law...
although they did announce today that stevens will be able to vote since he hasn't been sentenced yet. for whatever that is worth.
yeah, it's safe to say that alaska is politically a joke right now. it's actually been this way for awhile but recent events are making it much more obvious to the rest of the nation. i think 2008 will prove to be a major turning point in alaskan politics. things could be a disaster for a little while here but in the long run i think this is all good for the state. a wake up call if you will.
The Berkowitz/Young debate was the real gem in this debaucle. Name-calling, Young covertly flipping his opponent off and leveling death threats ... it doesn't get much better than that!
Uncle Ted "I have not been convicted of anything" Stevens really needs to get a clue. So sad. Sadder still if he's actually elected. I'm going to have to stop admitting that I actually live in such a backward state. Amazing to see a state like Utah start to look progressive in comparison.
I love my home state but our politics are a little discouraging.
Geoff -
Hope you're above all the politics, and just keep at your individual lifestyle.
My experience is that most of the politicians, regardless of party, are in it for the power and not for helping people.
You strike me as an individualistic sort, and somewhat immune to all the grandstanding and "let's do what's best for society".
I read your blog both to learn about running and to share.
At age 45, I just set my PR last weekend for 50K. I keep learning and keeping an open mind - and try to stick to what's right for me, and not what the power-hungry do.
Dave
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