Stevens Avoids GOP Ejection… For Now
EmailABC News’ Z. Byron Wolf reports: Convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, faced a vote by his colleagues this morning to kick him out of the Senate Republican conference, of which he is the senior member.
While that secret ballot vote would probably have passed in the closed-door meeting, most Republicans didn’t want to have to take the vote, especially with Stevens’ chances of re-election dimming.
So, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who is already on his colleagues’ bad boy list for making senators stay late on a Friday earlier this year, only to skip the vote himself, had planned to call for the vote. While it would have passed, it was unclear he would have gotten a second to actually hold the vote.
In a statement this morning, DeMint said he will wait until the Alaska election is over (counting finishes tonight) to call for Uncle Ted, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, to be booted from the conference.
DeMint said in his statement: "After talking with many of my colleagues, it’s clear there are sufficient votes to pass the resolution regarding Senator Stevens. The question now is timing. Some who support the resolution believe we should address this after the results of his election are confirmed in Alaska. For this reason, I will ask the conference to postpone the vote on Senator Stevens until Thursday."
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Sure, it makes lots of sense to wait until after the election is finalized to kick a convicted felon out of your conference. Because that would make a huge difference, right?
Posted by: MIguy | November 18, 2008, 11:20 am 11:20 am
Looks like Steven’s future is going down a series of tubes.
Posted by: Yukon Sam | November 18, 2008, 11:28 am 11:28 am
As usual, Congress doesn’t have the guts to do what’s right. I’m Republican and appalled that Stevens isn’t voted out now. He’s been convicted. Whether he’s re-elected or not is irrelevant.
Posted by: Alan Flood | November 18, 2008, 11:32 am 11:32 am
He is a convicted felon he should of not been in the senate race and not up for Reelection is the Gop ever gonna become Corrupt free then they wonder why they have gone down the drain ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Posted by: ANGIE | November 18, 2008, 11:51 am 11:51 am
Its time for Stevens to retire.
At age 85 he still wants to go on. He needs to step down and be grateful of what he has accomplished.
Posted by: FM | November 18, 2008, 11:53 am 11:53 am
I guess this means Palin will be the next senator from Alaska.
Posted by: Sam | November 18, 2008, 12:17 pm 12:17 pm
I want to see Ted die in prison.
Posted by: Anthony | November 18, 2008, 12:35 pm 12:35 pm
He should have lost his Senate seat the moment the last guilty verdict was read.
It seems the Republicans like the Democrats do not have a backbone!
Posted by: Diane | November 18, 2008, 12:50 pm 12:50 pm
Looks like Begich will beat him outright.
He should run for Governor of Alaska.
Posted by: Omentum | November 18, 2008, 1:21 pm 1:21 pm
“I guess this means Palin will be the next senator from Alaska.”
Last I saw, Begich had a slim lead. Alaskans love their pork, but even they can only stomach a certain amount of rot to it.
Posted by: Yukon Sam | November 18, 2008, 1:21 pm 1:21 pm
DO IT RIGHT
STEPHENS FOR GOVERNER—NO WORSE THAN THE TWIT
Posted by: rodney | November 18, 2008, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm
WHAT TAKES SO LONG TO COUNT THE VOTE IN ALASKA—-DOES THERE NEED TO BE SOME ALTERATIONS——AS EVEN BY DOG SLED IT WOULD BE FASTER
Posted by: rodney | November 18, 2008, 1:50 pm 1:50 pm
This is clearly a political move by republicans who do not wish to anger Stevens if he is elected and somehow gets to serve his term in the Senate rather than prison. They also do not want to show any more dissention within their ranks than they already have this year. It is in complete violation of Reagan’s “11th Commandment.”
If he loses, then the vote was pointless anyway, so (in their minds) why take the moral high ground and publicly eject him?
If he does win and has to resign, then Palin gets to replace him with another party line toting republican.
I suspect there was never an actual vote planned.
Posted by: Doug | November 18, 2008, 1:58 pm 1:58 pm
Where are the values that the “Party of Family Values” speaks of? You have to be accountable for your actions (even Ted Stevens) and they are finding it out now. The man is so arrogant he is walking around and acting as though nothing happened. This clearly shows how crooked this idiots are, after conviction he should have immediately been suspended. I hope he serves a number of years in prison to show this people they are not above the law. Next it should be Tom Delay and William Jefferson!!!!
Posted by: rickyt1234 | November 18, 2008, 2:00 pm 2:00 pm
he must be taking lessons from the dem party
Posted by: joe | November 18, 2008, 2:40 pm 2:40 pm
ah yes Alaska..the state that brought us ted stevens, the first dude and tina Fey(I mean whats her name), the lady that hunts animals from helicopters..the great frontier…they must be so proud…
Posted by: chris | November 18, 2008, 2:50 pm 2:50 pm
The man is a FELON!
The only difference between Ted and all the other senators is that he managed to be caught and convicted.
We need new politicians, ours are broken.
Posted by: Frank E | November 18, 2008, 3:05 pm 3:05 pm
Hmmm… I wonder what would happen to his pension if he had been voted out… I guess since he is going to lose against his competitor, he will keep it. If he had been voted out – I wonder if he would have lost the pension and other perks, and thus saved the US taxpayers THOUSANDS if not MILLIONS in $$$…
Posted by: fedup | November 18, 2008, 3:20 pm 3:20 pm
Stevens is a poster boy for term limits.
But so are Kennedy, Frank and many others up there.
Posted by: Grand Old Party | November 18, 2008, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
WE HAVE MORE TO DO:
Democrat Jim Martin is in a runoff against Bush Republican Saxby Chambliss for the Senate seat from Georgia. Bush’s Saxby Chambliss voted against spending a few measly dollars to provide health care coverage for Georgia, and Americas needy children. But he supported wasting hundreds of billions of your dollars, and the life BLOOD of Americas finest on an unnecessary war in Iraq.
At a time when 47 million of you have no health insurance coverage, and over 100 million of you with insurance are just one major illness away from complete financial destruction. Bush and Saxby Chambliss voted to make the heart break of bankruptcy relief even harder for all of you to use.
You see, Bush and Saxby Chambliss, and his family don’t have to worry about their health care coverage. They have the finest health care coverage your tax money can buy for them. Courtesy of you. The American Tax payer. In fact, no one but the super rich can afford the health care coverage you the tax payer provide for Saxby Chambliss, and his family for FREE! with your tax dollars.
He supposedly works for you. But he doesn’t think you and your family should have access to the type of taxpayer supported FREE health care that you provide for him, and his loved ones for FREE!. Doesn’t that just make you BURRING MAD!
Vote for JIM MARTIN for US senator from Georgia. Vote for JIM Martin who will be on your side. Vote for JIM MARTIN who will work with President Obama and a majority congress for you. Vote for JIM MARTIN most of all for your-self, your family’s, friends, and loved ones. Vote for JIM MARTIN for a better America, and a better World.
Don’t let Saxby Chambliss make a chump out of you by tricking you into voting against your own best interest. Saxby chambliss is NOT! on your side. He’s not one of you. He is on George Bush’s side. And we all know what a catastrophe the Bush Chambliss administration has been the past 8 years.
Contact all your family and friends and do every thing you can to see to it that JIM MARTIN and GEORGIANS! take that senate seat back for Georgia, and America. No matter where you live in America. This is important to you. President Obama will need all the help, and power you can give him to try and fix this catastrophic mess that the Corrupt Bush Chambliss administration has created.
As I said before you will have to vote in overwhelming numbers to overcome the Bush Chambliss “Let Them Eat Cake” vote fraud machine. Vote early if you can. Then help everyone you can get to the polls and vote for JIM MARTIN. You and your loved ones don’t have to be Saxby Chambliss’s victims anymore.
I know you will get it done. Just like you did for President Obama.
God bless all of you
jacksmith – WORKING CLASS… :-)
Posted by: jacksmith | November 18, 2008, 11:41 pm 11:41 pm
Let those without sin cast the first stone. Such hypocrisy in politics. They all know their evil ways, that’s why he is still in the Senate. I say, let’s get rid of all of them and start with a new Senate. One with guts to do the right thing and stand for the people and not their party.
Posted by: CHARLIE | November 19, 2008, 2:38 pm 2:38 pm