Good riddance to Ted Stevens
Alaska’s GOP corruptocrat has lost his Senate re-election bid.
Shouldn’t have taken so long. Not surprisingly, the entrenched, pork-stuffed politician refused to concede tonight:
Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was defeated in his bid for re-election on Tuesday.
Mr. Stevens, a Republican and a 40-year incumbent, was trailing his Democratic challenger, Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, by 3,724 votes out of more than 315,000 cast after state election officials on Tuesday counted more than 35,000 absentee and other outstanding ballots.
Only an estimated 2,500 ballots remain to be counted next week, according to Gail Fenumiai, the state elections director.
“I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the United States Senate,” Mr. Begich said. “It’s been an incredible journey getting to this point, and I appreciate the support and commitment of the thousands of Alaskans who have brought us to this day.”
Mr. Stevens did not immediately concede the race. Presuming the results are certified, the senator could request a recount, but he would have to pay for it.
As Mr. Begich’s lead was increasing during the day, a spokesman for Mr. Stevens said in an email message at midday that it had not been determined whether Mr. Stevens would concede the race or request a recount if the trend in the results continued. Earlier in the day, Mr. Stevens told reporters in Washington, “My race, I don’t think, will be determined until the 25th. That’s the day they’ll count the last ballots, the overseas ballots.”
The ballots remaining to be counted include overseas voters, special absentee ballots given to people who planned to be traveling out of state on Election Day or who live in remote parts of the state. The election will not be certified until early December.
In an initial count after Election Day, Mr. Stevens had led Mr. Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, by 3,257 votes. Republicans said at the time that traditional voting patterns among absentee voters favored Mr. Stevens holding on to win, but Mr. Begich noted that he had made a concerted effort to win absentee voters. More than 90,000 ballots have been counted since Election Day.
Mr. Stevens, whose 85th birthday was Tuesday, was convicted last month in federal court in Washington of seven felony counts of failing to disclose more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations he received. He is the longest serving Republican in Senate history.
Theodore F. Stevens, will you please go now?
***
Marathon Pundit: Time to rename the Anchorage airport.
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Trackbacks
- Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid : Stop The ACLU
- Oh Well: Ted Stevens Loses Re-election | The American Pundit
- Bye Bye Senator Ted Stevens - Finally | FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
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- One worthless GOP senator gone | Prepare To Be Offended
- Rapidísimo: Stevens pierde y el futuro de Palin se aclara « Sarah Palin en Español
- Alaska: Race is over « WitSnapper | The Blog
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I’m in agreement. Goodbye and good riddance. It’s still kinda sad to see an 84 year old ruin his name like this and possibly wind up in “the joint”.
Sad but no mercy for any of the corruptocrats on both sides of the aisle
MJ, I agree with you on this one.
Now, how about Cold Cash Jefferson? Oh, that’s right. Different standards for Democrats.
Awesome…Now I would like to see him behind bars. Restroom b**st*d Larry Craig and freezer cash hoarder William Jefferson – You are next.
I forgot to add…the fact that he lost the election was poetic justice of a sort…he didn’t have enough character to drop out of the race, so instead he chose to LOSE. The people of AK have finally given him the boot he deserves. I feel sorry for him, in a way. Of course, it also hurts the R numbers, but who needs this type of R???
Good riddance indeed; The wind driven snow of Alaska will now be without that yellow tinge to it; Maybe they can name that bridge to nowhere after this poster boy for pork barrel politics.
Proverbs 22:1
In the end, he lost, and he should step aside, turn himself in, and face the music. Sad, but necessary.
As I have said before:
*”Country First” should include self-imposed term limits
*Term limits results in no future Ted Stevens
Almost all of them ooze with the slime of corruption after so long.
How about Robert KKK Byrd? He’s 91 years old. Time to go…
“Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
‘This is my own, my native land!’
Whose heart hath ne’er within him burn’d
As home his footsteps he hath turn’d
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonour’d, and unsung.”
~ Sir Walter Scott
I understand all of the Stevens should go sentiments. I agree. However, I would have preferred a Stevens win followed by a resignation and replacement over another Democrat in the Senate.
Yes, I was hoping he would win, resign, then another (R) would’ve replaced him eventually.
In 2010, the Republicans have a pretty good chance of picking up a few seats. Need to look forward to that, especially after two years of unchecked liberal thugocracy.
Agreed, and DLTDHYITAOTWO! Happy birthday, Ted…now go away.
Had he retired at a reasonable age, he wouldn’t be going through all these “sleepless nights.” The scary part is that he doesn’t think he did anything wrong…it must be a disease that strikes incumbent politicians. Greedus Corrupticus Politicimus? Alaskan crab-stuffed pork? Let’s see if the Democrat, Be-otch is any better.
Clean up the party. Good start.
Two things to remember. First, the governor in Alaska doesn’t appoint to fill vacant Senate seats. They have special elections.
Secondly, Ted Stevens is the near perfect picture of all that is wrong with both parties. That the GOP stood by this guy is a disgrace and clearly points to one of the several reasons for the complete failure of the GOP over recent years.
Goodbye and good riddance. There has never been a better argument in favor of term limits.
I hope Chambliss can pull it off here in Georgia…I hate to see another (D) gain a seat
Stevens should have removed himself from the race when first indicted so the GOP could have put up someone respectable; The GOP should know such actions and commitments as that is where to start in separating themselves from the Dems, who we all know will never get out of the pigpen.
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. I hope he enjoys retirement in the joint.
Arrogant scumbag.
Tough, he earned it.
How can the RNC chairman standby and let Stevens keep running for his seat?!
We need new leadership next year. This is beyond the pale. A seat any republican but Stevens would have won handily.
Michael Steele.
I just wish Stevens would have won, and then have Palin replace him. He’s a scumbag, but we needed that seat.
I’m hoping Saxby Chambliss can hold on here in Georgia. The electorate is so dumb sometimes, that they amaze me. Bill Clinton is coming to town to stump for Jim Martin (what a moron). Seriously, how dumb would a voter have to be to have not already made up their mind, and that it takes a former president to sway their vote? Honestly, I wouldn’t care if Elvis rose from the dead and endorsed Martin…I already know who I am voting for.
The seat is lost for six years becuase the GOP let this jerk try to keep his seat. The party should have abandoned the corrputocrat and ran someone who was not up on charges.
Dead Elephants 08.
I am in total agreement that at 84 Ted needs to go. Ted has done a lot of great things for the State of Alaska over the years. And for his country as well. It’s sad that his error in judgement has damaged his legacy. What is even sadder is now the senate gets Begich who was a crappy mayor (of Anchorage). I would rather have Stevens and as far as being crooked goes Begich has his baggage too but being a (D) gives him a free pass I guess. Too bad everyone is crapping on old Ted. You would think he had raped and killed someone from the way he has been treated!
I don’t look at this as good news. Stevens needed to go, no doubt, but if he won the election then Sarah Palin would have been able to appoint a replacement. Now we’ve simply lost yet another seat to the Democrats, who are corrupt as a party.
Why not? He has more cash stashed away than Vic Mackey.
Don’t the Dems still have one guy who is on life support (and Im not talking Teddy) and hasnt been able to vote in years?
I havent heard any updates in a long time so he might have passed or his term expired?
(Vic Mackey or Training Day?)
Well, hopefully the GOP will manage to seal their fate when the other two Dems “win” their seats.
Im still holding out for moving to New Zealand… maybe I will just drop off the grid and build myself a new Kon Tiki and sail there.
I think the GOP still thinks it can play by the same rules the democrats have. Serious mistake. Only corrupt democrats are allowed to keep their seats and avoid prosecution. Right, Jefferson, Kennedy? When Pelosi spoke of the “most ethical” congress, that meant that they will go after any corrupt conservative they can find. The senate is the same. Different rules, GOP; get used to it.
On the other hand, a Stevens win would have let Palin either appoint another Republican or even herself to that seat. With another DIMocrat in the Senate and with Frankenstein’s pals creating new votes for him in Minnesota, “The One” will have total immunity from conservatives and/or Republicans. He and the George Soros MoveOn gang can simply roll through any piece of socialist / communist anti-American legislation they can dream up. Bye bye talk radio. Bye bye 2nd amendment. Bye bye traditional values. Bye bye the America I once knew.
I’m afraid I will have to chime in with those who wanted Stevens to win the election. You see, the very reason that the Democrats are kicking our miserable butts is that we pride ourselves on trying to play “fair” whilst the Lefties go to win at any cost. Sure, we can “feel good” about doing things right, but we will only get to do so from our bunks in the koncentration Kamps when the guards put their whips away for a few minutes.
If we want to somehow save this nation someday, we’re going to have to learn how to play nastier than our opponents. Anything less is to guarantee failure.
Good riddance Teddy.
Teddy Stevens, don’t go away mad, just go away. I’m sorry to see another Senate seat fall to Dumb-Old-Craps, I mean Democrats. But, I believe, yesterday Norm Coleman was certified as the winner. And Saxby Chambliss has a real good chance to win his run-off.
The law in Alaska is unclear about appointment to fill a vacancy in the Senate. Governor Murkowski was the other Senator for 22 years. He resigned to go home and run for Governor. After he won, he appointed his daughter Lisa to his old seat. This made many in Alaska upset about nepotism.
The legislature passed a new law about appointments. Then the public voted on a referendum that requires a special election within 90 days of a vacancy. The two are in slight conflict with each other, and a court case may be required to resolve it. Sarah Palin explained this on the local radio interview she did right after she got home from Pheonix.
I think Sarah could have appointed a replacement to fill the seat, then call for a special election and her appointment would be the defacto R candidate, who would have to run. No one is quite sure what would happen if the appointment was challenged in court.
None of that matters now because the felon lost anyway. FWIW, Sarah also said that she would not have appointed herself to that seat because when she ran against Murkowski in the R primary gov. race that was a main issue against him. This was all silly speculation from people who miss her already down here in the lower 48, as I do.
I’m not sure about the Senate for Sarah. She seems like the type of person that would not enjoy that place. She is an executive more than a legislator, that’s my read on it.
While I hate to see yet another seat go to the Corruptocrat party, I have absolutey no sympathy for Ted Stevens. He made his jail cot, now he gets to sleep in it.
A couple of points here: I don’t think Gov. Palin wants to join the U.S. Senate, and a lot of you seem to be forgetting that the Stevens trial has a number of fatal flaws on the part of the prosecution. The verdict could very well be overturned on appeal.
The whole purpose for bringing the matter to trial was to cause Stevens to lose his seat. Whether his former “good friend” made some extra embellishments on Stevens’ house beyond the pale is really immaterial to the prosecution’s efforts.
After all, Stevens did not get his house rebuilt for “free” – he paid for most of it.
What the prosecution did is allege that Stevens got a little more than he paid for from an old buddy at a time when Stevens was spending most of his time in DC and wasn’t keeping track of things, and it’s entirely understandable how that could have happened.
I think a lot of people seem to be totally missing an obvious point. It’s very easy to see that many government agencies have been infiltrated with Lefties and the “Justice Department” is no exception.
Don’t you think it’s kind of “strange” that Republicans get prosecuted for relatively trivial matters just before an election and Democrats don’t seem to ever get prosecuted?
How many Democrats has the “Justice Department” conveniently “neglected” to prosecute lately?
Why was no one prosecuted when the NYT printed classified information? Why was Chuckie Schumer not prosecuted for “conveniently” starting the Financial Meltdown just in time to make the Republicans look bad the election? Why is Charlie Rangel not in court yet? How come William Jefferson is still walking around without an orange jumpsuit?
I think the Left has figured out that Conservatives are really pretty S-T-U-P-I-D people who think their “image” is a lot more important than winning elections.
Maybe Conservatives deserve to lose.
Here’s the problem with that scenario: He wasn’t staying in the race just so he could then step aside and let another R take his seat. He didn’t think he did anything wrong…had he won re-election, he would have taken it as a signal that everything was OK, and that his conviction on several felonies was just “political.” For another example, look @ Larry Craig. Delusional, in denial. Gotta go.
bjc, my sentiments exactly.
What is everyone going to say if his convictions are overturned on appeal? Again, the trial was just a political witch hunt and was extremely flawed by the prosecution. The whole purpose of the trial was to gain the Democrats another Senate seat.
“Justice” my arse! More like “Leftist thuggery from the so-called “Justice Department”.
For Conservatism to prevail people like Stevens must go, and go, and go! Pork has to go and corrupt practices has to be punished! Period!
Stevens, you old corrupt pork producing embarrassment for Conservatism and for the Country! good by and all like you! I, as a citizen, am sick and tired of politicians like you!
#39
I have watched your other posts so I ask you a question with respect. Why do you think his prosecution was politically motivated? Has he been a porker, has he violated his office?