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AK-Sen: Stevens Found Guilty On All Seven Counts; SSP Moves Race to Lean Dem

by: James L.

Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 4:06 PM EDT


Ted Stevens was just found guilty of at least one all seven counts of making false statements. No link yet, but that's the word that I'm hearing. (Update: CNN confirms it.)

What a huge bullet dodged for Mark Begich.

UPDATE: SSP is moving our rating of this race from Tossup to Lean Democratic.
James L. :: AK-Sen: Stevens Found Guilty On All Seven Counts; SSP Moves Race to Lean Dem
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AK-Sen: Stevens Found Guilty On All Seven Counts; SSP Moves Race to Lean Dem | 52 comments
Convicted on all 7 counts
Just heard it on CNN.

Say hello to Senator Begich.  60 is now a very real possibility.

WOOT
I just applauded out loud IRL.

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
[ Parent ]
haha
I think I screamed out loud YES! and clapped my hands together! like I did it and was proud of my accomplishment! hahaha Politics are fun!
[ Parent ]
when I lived in Massachusetts
in the 1980s the joke was that Boston residents don't tolerate corruption--they demand it.

Can we be sure Alaskans are going to reject Stevens because of these verdicts?

[ Parent ]
AK is a welfare state
They know who can best bring home the bacon - a Senator in the majority over a convicted felon and member of the minority party.
[ Parent ]
Stevens Is Done Either Way
I agree, a Senator who can bring home the bacon, even if they are running on a platform of accountability like Mark Begich is doing, they still expect him to bring home money for roads, actually needed bridges, and other infrastructure projects.

Stevens hasn't done any of that lately, nor has he campaigned actively because he's been in court all the time. I don't see how Alaskans would elect a man they haven't seen to explain his woes to the electorate, as opposed to Begich who's been in Alaska all this time.

The CNN clip mentioned that if Stevens does somehow get reelected, it would be up to the Senate itself to expel him from its ranks. I think even with this tied Senate of 49-49, Stevens would be gone. Nobody wants someone about to go to jail eating lunch with them. The only downside I believe is that Governor Palin would have the discretion to appoint a replacement, and that person definitely won't be a Democrat.  

[ Parent ]
He'd Be Expelled
Stevens is not loved by either the Limbaugh or Dobson wings of the Republican party.  His only true constituency is Alaskans on the federal dole.  After the thumpin' they're about to take, I can not imagine Republican senators would want to begin the rehabilitation of the GOP brand by keeping convicted felon Stevens in the Senate.

Also, it's my understanding that Palin does not appoint a replacement, but rather there must be a special election.  Backlash from the Murkowski appointment.

[ Parent ]
Oh Yeah...
I forgot about that. The old fart appointed his daughter to his old seat after he became Governor.
[ Parent ]
Guilty on ALL 7 counts
So says CNN.
Just came here to post this LOL
CNN BREAKING NEWS: A jury has found Sen. Ted Stevens guilty on all seven counts of making false statements on Senate disclosure forms.
Interesting to see
What spillover effect this has, if any, in other races (besides Young)...
Unbelievable
How could a reasonable jury not believe Stevens perfectly logical explanation of someone switching stealing his old furniture from his house and replacign it with new furniture?
blah blah blah guilty verdict
blah blah blah furniture switching blah blah blah material in tubes blah blah blah bridge to nowhere blah blah blah.

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
[ Parent ]
blah blah blah
blah blah blah 80 something year old man in prison blah blah blah
[ Parent ]
blah blah blah card games
blah blah blah attack mode blah blah blah trap card blah blah blah face down blah blah blah.

Sorry, I just made my running "blah" comments reference the "blah blah card games" moment in YGOTAS.

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...

[ Parent ]
oh
Your blah blah comments always bring joy and laughter to my life. hahaha
[ Parent ]
Ha ha! Fuck you, Ted.
That was the sound of everyone upgrading the Alaska Senate race for us.

Follow the elections in Georgia at the 2010 Georgia Race Tracker.
If for some reason
They still re-elect this criminal can we please give the AIP their wish and let them form their own country?
[ Parent ]
I won't believe Begich has won until the votes are counted
The race has been that weird.  Let's hope that's what happens.
Same here
After the 2000 and 2004 elections, I think we all should know better than to take ANY election for granted.

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
[ Parent ]
I bet many Alaskans will vote to re-elect...
..in an act of defiance.  Ted Stevens will likely lose, but this race won't be a blow-out, imho.

If I were Stevens, I would play the victim card and protest to Alaskans that DOJ went after him on trumped-up charges.  It may be bs, but I wouldn't put it past him.  Never underestimate the sympathy vote for an 84-year old man, or his lust to hold onto power at all costs.

[ Parent ]
If he'd been acquitted that'd be one thing
But I have a hard time seeing someone who has just been convicted of a federal crime somehow pulling off a victory against a strong candidate I don't care what state you live in.

Your go-to source for great sarcasm
[ Parent ]
Utah maybe
I suppose a Utah Senator could get convicted of multiple crimes and still beat a strong Dem challenger.
[ Parent ]
Heh
Forgot about Utah, it seems to me that you'd have to commit murder before getting challenged, and even then the odds would still be in the Republican's favor :D

Your go-to source for great sarcasm
[ Parent ]
Isn't this a variation of a great Simpsons line?
From part 2 of the "Who Shot Mr. Burns" sage.

Chief Wiggum: [After learning Maggie shot Mr. Burns.] No jury in the world is going to convict a baby.  [Slight pause.]  Hmm... Maybe Texas.

I know I'm a nerd.

[ Parent ]
Perhaps
But not if they were polling a little behind the Democrat before being convicted.
[ Parent ]
Phew...
Just what we needed up there. I was getting worried for awhile.
Boom
So what happens now? Doesn't he go to jail? Can he still even stand for re-election?

And also remember. Sarah Palin and Ted Stevens go way back

At his age
I'd be shocked if he doesn't appeal this as long as humanly possible.  I know I would.
[ Parent ]
He can be relected, if voters want to
send a convicted felon to Washington.  The Senate could vote to expel him.
[ Parent ]
Wouldn't that mean that Palin is an asshole
buddying up with people as convenient and then throwing them under the bus when inconvenient?

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
[ Parent ]
I just check InTrade and Rasmussen Markets
Chances of Stevens winning the Senate race dropped to around 5%.  They were something like 35% before the verdict.  
Lean Democratic?
I am as cautious as can be James but this is a conviction of a sitting Senator on 7 felony counts a week before an election.

If Mahoney sticking his penis in a staffer can move it all the way to Likely Republican, this merits at least the same in reverse, my good man.

GTFO MAHONEY
If you replace it with someone who can campaign based on "Punch Mahoney for [name]" then at least you can get it up to a two-point race!

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
[ Parent ]
In another state
with another Senator, I think you might be right. But this is Ted Stevens we're talking about. He built Alaska with his bare hands. Every building higher than two stories is named after him. His legendary pork-barreling keeps the population from shivering in the dark.

Well, you know what I mean. Stevens is a legendary figure who is beloved in many circles there. "Lean" may be a bit generous for even him, but like Andy D says, I don't think this is gonna be a blowout.

[ Parent ]
I can kind of get what you're saying.
You have to remember I live next door to Massachusetts. Ted Kennedy could murder someone and get away --- oh, wait.
[ Parent ]
Uh
Poor taste, I think.
[ Parent ]
You must not get Masshole humor. (eom)

[ Parent ]
Good
One less corupt member staining my party. When he loses, the GOP will gain in the long run.

A cat can have kittens in an oven but that doesn't make them biscuits.
Well said Kyle
Ditto for Bill Jefferson.
[ Parent ]
amen
To both counts. I hope the people of New Oreleans and Alaska will see the light.
[ Parent ]
And Tim Mahoney
So far I don't think he's done anything illegal, well maybe harrassment, either way I can't wait till he's gone.
[ Parent ]
Hello
Haven't seen you for a while Kyle.  We need a Republican poster to minimize the group think so hope you stick around.
[ Parent ]
DSCC spending here?
I'd pull any DSCC ads running here and switch the money immediately.

I agree that there could be a backlash to the verdict -- "this old guy getting fuddy duddy maybe made a few mistakes but he doesn't deserve ..." And if there's any chance of that, I can't imagine any ad "Paid for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee" that wouldn't make things worse, provoking more wagon-circling feelings up in the Frozen North.

The tasteful thing to do is to quietly get out, go dark, even put out a release saying, "We are leaving this one in the hands of the voters of Alaska to decide" and put that last bit of money elsewhere.

And I think by Tuesday night the voters of Alaska will have decided that Begich is who they want to be their Senator.

Stevens cannot even vote in this election
A convicted felon may not register to vote unless unconditionally discharged from custody. When you are no longer on probation, a copy of your discharge papers will allow you to register.

http://www.elections.alaska.go...

Daily Kos posted this story.  Hilarious.

Redstate non-endorses Stevens and Berkowits
When a republican loses Redstate they've essentially lost everyone.

http://www.redstate.com/diarie...


We stand at a perilous moment in American politics, with thereal possibility that the Democrats could get to 60 votes in theSenate. This is no time for litmus tests of party loyalty, forabandoning our own. But we must make one exception: good conscience compels us to advise Alaskans not to vote for Ted Stevens for Senate or Don Young for the at-large House seat in Alaska. We leave it to the individual voter whether to abstain or take the step of voting affirmatively for Mark Begich, the Democrat mayor of Anchorage, and candidate for the U.S. Senate, or for Ethan Berkowitz for the at-large House seat in Alaska.

Non-endorses Stevens and Young I should have said

[ Parent ]
Larry Craig on Ted Stevens
"He is not guilty; he has never been guilty!"

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
I Better See
A fucking 20 point lead for Begich in the next release of polling from the Alaska races!
15-20 points
That's the range I'd put on it.  

Anyone know if Alaska has early voting?  Hopefully not many if any have voted yet.  

[ Parent ]
NRSC pulls out, calls Stevens "a disgrace".
http://thehill.com/leading-the...

Comes a little too late and I'm not even sure if they where spending in AK to begin with.

Now THAT
makes me somewhat more confident.

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
[ Parent ]
AK-Sen: Stevens Found Guilty On All Seven Counts; SSP Moves Race to Lean Dem | 52 comments

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