Stevens LOSES Re-election

[DavidS]

Stevens loses Alaska Senate race

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - 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.

Please read the USMB policy on copyright. Thanks, Gunny

 

[Red Dawn]

I find it incredible that a convicted felon could even get 48% of the vote.

 

[Gunny]

I find it incredible that a convicted felon could even get 48% of the vote.

Speaks volumes of the opposition.

Stephens should be in jail. He may not ask Bush for clemency, but he'll probably get it anyway.

 

[Grismonda]

Speaks volumes of the opposition.

Stephens should be in jail. He may not ask Bush for clemency, but he'll probably get it anyway.

Ciao! (to Sarah Palin....)

 

[Grismonda]

November 17, 2008, 10:00 am
Why Palin in 2012 Needs Sen. Stevens to Win

Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, specializes in polling of electoral battleground states, including Ohio and Florida. Click here for Mr. Browns full bio.

As bizarre as it may seem, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palins presidential ambitions for 2012 hang to a considerable degree on her states U.S. Senate race, a contest that could be decided this week

With about 24,000 votes still to be counted, its less than even money that she will get the break she needsSen. Ted Stevens will win re-election over Democrat Mark Begich so that she can slide into the Senate seat.

Sen. Stevens, Uncle Ted, as he is known around Alaska for his four decades in office and the federal dollars he brought home, was found guilty of felony corruption charges by a federal jury last month. If he wins another term, his Senate colleagues will almost certainly throw him out of the chamber next year, if he doesnt first resign on his own.

Gov. Palin could then appoint a successor, or there could be a special election. If Gov. Palin wants to run for president in 2012, common sense says she will appoint herself or run for the post, which would require her to stand for re-election in that job in 2010. Last week, she left open that possibility.

We may know the outcome of the Senate race Tuesday, when officails are expected to finish counting absentee, disputerd and challenged ballots. Mr. Begich held a 1,022-vote lead through Fridays ballot counting.

A Favorite of Conservatives

Gov. Palin has become a household name since Sen. John McCain tapped her as his running mate in late August. Although her popularity has waned among some groups, she remains a favorite of conservatives, who historically have had great sway in picking the GOP presidential nominee.

Becoming a U.S. senator would be a boost for her presidential ambitions for three important reasons:

Senate service will give her an opportunity to deal with the criticism that she lacks sufficient expertise in national matters to sit in the Oval Office. Polls show that to be the view of a significant segment of the electorate.

It would put her in Washington, D.C., where she could take part in the political rituals historically practiced by presidential candidates, and allow her to improve her image with the mainstream news media, parts of which savaged her during her vice presidential run. It would also give her more exposure to those who bankroll Republican presidential campaigns.

Relocation to D.C. would avoid the serious logistical problem of trying to run for president from Alaska, several thousand miles away from the voters that matter most in a primary fight while having to tend to her duties running a state.

If Sen. Stevens wins the race, the Senate can expel him by a two-thirds vote. That seems likely if he does not resign, but it isnt clear exactly when that might take place. His GOP colleagues this week may vote to strip him of his committee assignments and throw him out of the party caucus.

If Mr. Begich wins, then those opporunities are not there for Gov. Palin and the afore-mentioned obstacles will remain to her 2012 canddiacy.

But, if Sen. Stevens prevails, Gov. Palin could decide whether she wants to come to Washington, D.C., which many would interpret as an early sign she wants to run for president in 2012.

A Logistical Nightmare

Of course she could remain Alaska governor and still run for president. But, the logistics of getting to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the three states with the first primary contests where the 2012 GOP nomination could be decided, are more than formidable.

Seeking a major party presidential nomination is a full-time job and requires dozens of trips to states seeking delegates. Former California Gov. Pete Wilson sought the GOP nomination in 1996 and was unable to do either job well because of the conflicting demands on his time. Senators are nearer to the key states and, frankly, can give short shrift to official duties more easily than a sitting governor.

Gov. Palin could keep her job, not seek re-election in 2010 and run for president in 2012 while remaining in Alaska. That would not be quite as logistically daunting as doing so if she remained governor, but geography would still be a problem.

Of course, speculation about her potential candidacy is based on the assumption that she wants to be president. Her post-election round of interviews with most of the television and cable networks to put her spin on the campaign would seem to signal her interest.

But if she wants to run for president in 2012, she would be much better off if Sen. Stevens is re-elected. If not, the road from Juneau to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue could be considerably more difficult.

 

[DiamondDave]

Well.... thought he might pull it out, resign, and we'd get a new appointee... guess not

Now we just get a lefty and a bit closer to a super majority in the senate by the lefties

bad either way

 

[bigdaddygtr]

I wasn't worried about Palin, she had no chance in hell of ever being the President

 

[editec]

I find it incredible that a convicted felon could even get 48% of the vote.

I don't.

Remember Adam Clayton Powell?

Handsome devil, wasn't he?

Never underestimate how much locals can hate interference by the Feds..

Left or right, up or down, people get pissed when their local pols are attacked by what they percieve to be outsiders.

 

[del]

I don't.

Remember Adam Clayton Powell?

Handsome devil, wasn't he?

Never underestimate how much locals can hate interference by the Feds..

Left or right, up or down, people get pissed when their local pols are attacked by what they percieve to be outsiders.

that's why Congress has an approval rating somewhere below hitler's and a 90%+ reelection rate for incumbents.
they all suck, except my guy, right?