Ted Stevens' Senate Fate on Hold

By TChris, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 11:06:15 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

Republican senators were planning to vote today on whether to remove Ted Stevens from the party conference and divest him of his committee assignments. That bit drama has been postponed until Thursday in light of the uncertainty of the election's outcome. Mark Begich holds a narrow lead and there are still tens of thousands of absentee and other uncounted ballots waiting to be tallied.

Although Jim DeMint says there are enough votes to kick Stevens out of the conference, "Senate Republican leadership aides said it was unclear if DeMint had enough votes to approve the resolution." While it would be fun to see if Republican senators really want to pal around with a convicted felon, it would be more reassuring to learn that Alaska's voters didn't actually send a felon back to the Senate.

< Lieberman Gets A Pass | Breaking: Zogby A Crock >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

Ted Stevens' Senate Fate on Hold | 9 comments (9 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

They'd rather he just lose (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by andgarden on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 11:08:45 AM EST

And that's pretty likely at this point, anyway.

Yep. (none / 0) (#8)
by indy in sc on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 04:17:39 PM EST

I don't know whether an automatic recount will be triggered based on how close the final vote totals are, but you can believe that if there is no auto recount, the Repubs will not be clamoring for one if Stevens loses the first count.


: New count puts Begich even further ahead (none / 0) (#9)
by andgarden on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 04:28:52 PM EST

Stevens got fired by the voters.

Palin (none / 0) (#2)
by squeaky on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 11:09:08 AM EST

I bet that she will wind up with the seat.

: Not for a while (5.00 / 2) (#3)
by andgarden on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 11:16:42 AM EST

Begich is a heavy favorite to when when all of the votes are finally counted. Heck, he's ahead right now.

"While it would be fun to see " (none / 0) (#4)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 11:36:42 AM EST

While it would be fun to see if Republican senators really want to pal around with a convicted felon, it would be more reassuring to learn that Alaska's voters didn't actually send a felon back to the Senate.

It's that compassionate conservatism, TChris, they believe a man can rise up from his downfalls and be a respected and productive member of our society.

Only bigots would want to deny him the opportunity to learn from and rise above his mistakes.

In fact, if you voted against him, by definition you are a bigot.

This election cycle has certainly been educational, if nothing else...

Let's Keep Palin's Ass on the Ice (none / 0) (#5)
by cpa1 on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 01:29:09 PM EST

I have prepared a spreadsheet extrapolating the outcome of the next 24,000 votes based upon the districts from which they came. According to my calculations, the final total will be 150,982 for Begich and 148,765 for Stevens. That is a 2,217 lead. One half percent of the total votes is 1,587 which is enough to bypass an automatic recount. Stevens started this last phase of counting, down 1,022 votes, and that margin will increase by almost 1,200 votes.

That is the mathematical extrapolation but if the those who voted absentee or those who left questionable ballots behaved differently than their sociopathic neighbors who voted for Stevens then the outcome can change.

With 24,000 votes to go Stevens would have to change the extrapolated results by 2217. In other words, Stevens needs 54% of the remaining vote and his biggest areas are gone. Of the remaining Begich districts, there were a lot in the high 50s, the 60s and one in the 70s. Most of Stevens districts are 50.1 to 54 and there are less of them.

So, I am calling it for Begich.

bear in mind, (none / 0) (#6)
by cpinva on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 02:47:37 PM EST

this is the same state that elected sarah palin gov. convicted felon or not, stevens brings the federal cash cow to alaska, and that's what it all boils down to.

money is pretty much amoral.

: In his last debate (none / 0) (#7)
by Steve M on Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 02:54:31 PM EST

with Begich, Stevens argued that 40 percent of all the jobs in Alaska are dependent upon federal money.
I have no idea if that's a defensible number or not, but the point is still valid, as you said. If people believe that their job is in jeopardy unless Ted Stevens gets reelected, then they're going to vote for Ted Stevens, regardless of what he gets convicted of. You're not going to vote to put yourself out of work.