Well, kids, I had another movie poster ready to go, but how could I ignore what happened today?
From Time:
(WASHINGTON) — Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that tainted the 40-year Senate career of Alaska’s political patriarch. The verdict, coming barely a week before Election Day, added further uncertainty to a closely watched Senate race. Democrats hope to seize the once reliably Republican seat as part of their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
Stevens, 84, was convicted of all the charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor.
The senator showed no emotion as the jury foreman said “guilty” seven times.
…snip…
Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count when he is sentenced, but under federal guidelines he is likely to receive much less prison time, if any.
…snip…
The monthlong trial revealed that employees for VECO Corp., an oil services company, transformed Stevens’ modest mountain cabin into a modern, two-story home with wraparound porches, a sauna and a wine cellar.
The Senate’s longest-serving Republican, Stevens said he had no idea he was getting freebies. He said he paid $160,000 for the project and believed that covered everything.
He had asked for an unusually speedy trial, hoping he’d be exonerated in time to return to Alaska and win re-election. He kept his campaign going and gave no indication that he had a contingency plan in case of conviction.
Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel him on a two-thirds vote.
…snip…
Stevens’ conviction hinged on the testimony of Bill Allen, the senator’s longtime drinking and fishing buddy. Allen, the founder of VECO, testified that he never billed his friend for the work on the house and that Stevens knew he was getting a special deal.
From Jake Tapper at Political Punch at ABC News:
As you may recall, I’ve been asking the McCain-Palin campaign since September 9 whether Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin were endorsing then-indicted Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
…snip…
Palin’s statement: “It’s a sad day for Alaska, and a sad day for Senator Stevens and his family. The verdict shines a light though on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company up there in Alaska that was allowed to control too much of our state. And that control was part of the culture of corruption that I was elected to fight. And that fight must always move forward regardless of party affiliation or seniority or even past service. And as governor of the state of Alaska, I’ll carefully monitor now the situation and I’ll take any appropriate action as needed. In the meantime I do ask that the people of Alaska join me in respecting the workings of our judicial system, and I’m confident that Senator Stevens, from this point on, will do the right thing for the state of Alaska.”
So…we still don’t have an answer. And as far as I can tell, Stevens is still running for re-election.
It may be that Palin is trying to be compassionate. But is that the right political move for a self-styled maverick who takes on the old boys network?
Meanwhile, the editors of the conservative website RedState.com have endorsed not only Stevens’ Democratic rival [Mark Begich], but that of Rep. Don Young, D-Alaska.
Oopsie! Don Young is a Rethug, not a Dem. His opponent is Democrat, Ethan Berkowitz.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
yippee. ted stevens is one of the most repulsive critters crawling around the sewers of washington. nothing could be better than to see even this 84 year old douchebag to go to jail
but he wont…
just going down the tubes – for mr tubes is enough for me
and palin – what a tepid response —
Whaaaat?
You mean Palin’s political mentor was found guilty on seven counts of corruption?
Gee, they all seem to be crooked politicians up in Alaska.
Palin’s so guilty about claiming not to have fired whatshisname because he refused to fire her ex brother-in-law, she’s actually calling it “TaserGate” instead of Troopergate.
Sarah, I thought it wasn’t about the brother-in-law, you stupid ass.
dcAp,
when i read that he had been convicted, i had to rush out a movie poster to celebrate! i don’t even care if he doesn’t go to jail. it’s enough for me that he will forever be shrouded in disgrace.
the icing on the cake is that there will be a new light shining on alaskan corruption, and princess sarah will get even more scrutiny. if she’s such a maverick reformer who fights corruption, even in her own party, then why isn’t she loudly demanding that uncle ted resign immediately? i think she’s afraid that the old man might start flapping his lips and telling everything he knows about her.
karen,
if you look up corruption in the dictionary, there’s a picture of alaska next to it. i heard princess sarah when she called it tasergate. she’s such a moron. just give her enough rope, and she will hang herself every time.
Found guilty and still running for office? Shamelessness, thy name is GOP Stevens!
yeah, neon vincent, but shamelessness seems to have a lot of middle names…sarah, john, george, dick, etc..
Enough of Stevens. How about CU as Popeye?
nonnie, this poster is seven times funnier than usual! When listing shameless middle names, don’t forget Joe and Isadore! Senator Ted seems to have kind of a wide stance, doesn’t he?
I doubt they’ll re-elect the old douchebag. Sixty seats, here we come!
Now remember, it’s wrong to laugh at the misery of another….
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Unless that other is a lying old scumbag! Oh God, I hope Don Young is next!
Brilliant work, Nonnie! Like KarenZipDrive said, 60 seats, here we come. ‘Specially since old McCoot just asked Toobz to step down. LOL!
This is the kind of EPIC FAIL I like best.
neon vincent,
cu as popeye? already done! sorta.
nightowl,
you’re right! uncle ted does have a rather wide stance! 😯 is another scandal in the works?
karen,
uncle ted has been corrupt for years and years, as are a lot of other alaskan politicians. however, they keep bringing the pork back home, so they keep getting reelected. apparently, the alaskan population puts greed ahead of honesty. who knows what they will do this time around?
jeb,
the rethugs have no problem with laughing at the misery of everyone else, so have a hearty laugh, and feel no guilt whatsoever.
i think don young is so closely tied to uncle ted that, if uncle ted goes down, so will young.
helen,
i just saw that capt u and princess called for uncle ted to resign. the question is why it took so long. princess was asked yesterday, and she came out with some lame statement. the reformer had to wait a whole day to decide that resignation was the right thing for uncle ted to do? princess maverick reformer who takes on her own party should have been screaming for his resignation as soon as the foreman of the jury intoned the first guilty.
Well now Ted is a saint compared to Dick, George, Carl, Rice, Mukasey, Gonzales, Ashcroft, Chertoff, Paulson, Rove, McClellan, Rumsfeld, and that is the tip of the list. How on earth can we allow these others to walk free and anyone even think of casting the stones at Ted Stevens? And on top of that we have opinions like Rush and Bill-o spewing the most racist hatred their minds can conceive. Makes one question what is in their family tree.
hi TACO!
welcome to the raisin! 😀
what is the greater shame–being convicted of a crime and going to jail or having your character validated by being compared to chimpy, deadeye dick, rummy, rove, and the others you list? when the best you can say is that you are not as bad as that list of evil-doers, then it’s time to shut up and go away. 🙄
Yippie
On Tuesday, Democratic state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson — an eight-term incumbent — was arrested at her Roxbury home and charged with accepting $23,500 in bribes, including 10 $100 bills that she was videotaped secreting into her brassiere during a meeting at a tony Boston restaurant last June.
Another Dem bites the dust.
Great Uncle Ted shot, as he goes down a series of tubes on Tuesday. Keep up the good work!
I suspect that some Alaskan blogs will want to point to it…
hi harpboyAK!
welcome to the raisin! 😀
i would love for more alaskans to visit. i’ve been reading a few of them now and then, especially mudflats. reading about alaska politics is certainly interesting! 😉
hope you will stop by often.