Norm Coleman Pulled A "Ted Stevens"

Ex-Senator Ted Stevens is out of a job and a convicted felon, all thanks to being caught taking bribes such as having his home renovated. Now it looks like Ted isn't the only politician that thinks having someone re-do your kitchen for special access and legislation is legit. Although the recount isn't going so well for Norm in his bid to beat challenger Al Franken, the election is the least of his problems.

From MyFox TwinCities:

The FBI is now reportedly investigating the allegations that Nasser Kazeminy tried to funnel $75,000 in campaign contributions through the Senator's wife. By why would a U.S. Senator, who makes about $180,000 a year, need the money?

Hmm, perhaps it was greed?

Two lawsuits allege that in spring of 2007, Edina businessman Nasser Kazeminy began a series of $25,000 payments to Coleman from Deep Marine Technology, a company he controlled in Texas, to Hays Companies, the Minnesota Insurance company where Laurie Coleman works.

So what does this have to do with home remodeling?

While Coleman didn't agree to sit down for a interview, his campaign did agree to share billing records of the remodeling project. Original projections in 2006 estimated a cost of $328,000, but four months later, the construction cost was estimated at $414,000, over-budget by $86,000.

During that time is when, the lawsuit alleges, Kazeminy was trying to get money to Coleman.

According to the lawsuits, in March of 2007, Kazeminy said that "U.S. Senators don't make s---" and he was going to try to find a way to get money to Coleman.

"On the one level it could just be a coincidence, on the other level this could be one of the reasons he's getting that money from elsewhere, to try to make up for his, to be able to pay off a loan, pay off a line of credit," says Schultz.

If/when this turns into a criminal complaint and/or indictment, Coleman is going to wish he was far, far away from Minnesota or Washington.

Begich Takes The Lead In Alaska!

Last week I wondered why in the hell Alaskans would vote to send a convicted felon back to the United States Senate. Then it was noted that the totals were way off from 2004. Well it turns out that it wasn't a majority of them that checked off Ted Stevens name but only a portion of the votes that Diebold had initially counted. When an additional 90,000-plus ballots were found, the totals magically changed.

From DailyKos:

Sweet. Begich leads.

Stevens (R) 125,016
Begich (D) 125,019

About 40,000 votes are in from today's batch of absentee, early, and question ballots to be counted today, so we still have another 12,000 or so votes to go before the day is finished. And remember, the districts that will be counted later this week are all Begich districts. While we need to wait for every vote to be counted, chances are we will win this thing if Begich ends up the day leading.

And right now, it looks like that's what we're going to get.

There are still tens of thousands of ballots to be counted and it all looks good from here for Mark Begich. Let's hope those blue districts live up to their names and ensure a solid margin of victory for the next Senator from the State of Alaska, and a resounding defeat for one of the newest convicted criminals from there as well. Not are things looking good for Begich, but unfortunately not so much for Ethan Berkowitz's challenge against Congressman Don Young. Merely ethically-challenged Young is up by over 15,000 votes or nearly six percent of the totals.

Update: And the lead grows!

Voter Fraud In Alaska?

The Presidential race is over, Barack Obama had a landslide victory, picking up electoral votes in such places as Indiana and even one of Nebraska's. Nothing like Florida in 2000 or Ohio 2008 happened and the race was called early at 11pm EST. Yet after many of us went to bed, the polls closed in Alaska one hour after the crowds were cheering for Obama and the results from up north are extremely troubling.

From RawStory:

Even though the polls this year have generally been pretty accurate, they were way off in Alaska. Stevens was running between 7% and 22% behind his Democratic challenger in the polls, but now he is narrowly ahead in the vote count

Polling analysis website 538.com comments, "The emerging conventional wisdom is that there was some sort of a Bradley Effect in this contest -- voters told pollsters that they weren't about to vote for that rascal Ted Stevens, when in fact they were perfectly happy to. Convicted felons are the new black, it would seem. The problem with this theory is that the polling failures in Alaska weren't unique to Stevens."

The polls also consistently showed Rep. Young as losing by at least 6%, but he is currently ahead in the vote count by 8%. Even in the presidential race, where polls showed McCain leading by 14% or less, the vote count has him winning by 61% to 35% -- precisely the same margin as George Bush in 2004. That represents a polling error of at least 11% to 14% in all three races.

At the same time, total voter turnout appears to be about 11% lower in Alaska this year than in 2004 -- despite over 20,000 new registrations, heavy turnout in the primaries, record early voting, long lines at the polls on Election Day, and the state's own governor being on the ballot, all of which had led to an expectation of record participation.

A possible "Bradley effect" in the opposite way is one possibility for Stevens' narrow margin that puts him ahead of Mayor Begich, but it doesn't add up for the other races at the Presidential level and for the Congressional seat. If I had to put on my Captain Obvious glasses, I might just see that Democratic votes were wiped off the tallies. Now who would do such a thing?

Well can you guess who tallies the vote up in the Last Frontier State? If you said "Diebold" then congratulations, but for the voters in the state, I apologize. Of course, Alaskans already know the company's miserable track record, with possible illegalities in 2004 as well as the primary race in 2006 with a state that scoffs at those that would dare question Diebold's accuracy. It is still early, but one thing is for sure, this whole thing smells fishy.

Stevens Proclaims His Innocence, Proves He Has No Shame Or Remorse

Even John McCain has called on his fellow Republican Senator Ted Stevens to resign, but that isn't slowing down the 84 year old convicted felon. Despite being convicted of several felonies, he is out and about, proclaiming his innocence with plenty of his conservative buddies saying that he wasn't tried with a jury of his peers, even though he lives in D.C. Listen to this crap he has to say for his convicted self:



Alaskan voters, regardless of party need to look at the race between Stevens and Begich again, because if they think that Sarah Palin is a national embarrassment to them, then having a convicted felon represent them takes that shame to a whole new level.

Give Mark Begich a hand so that Alaska can finally get rid of their shameful Senator.

Jury Confirms Sen. Ted Stevens Is A Corrupt Bastard

The fact that Senator Ted Stevens is a corrupt public official from Alaska isn't shocking or surprising. The fact that a jury of his peers convicted him of multiple crimes of corruption is fantastic news though. It is a great day for America when the system shows that it still works when an elected official can be held accountable for breaking the public trust and justice is served. Senator Stevens had put his self-interest ahead of his Alaskan constituents long ago and now he will have to pay the price for it.

From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON – Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has been convicted of lying about free home renovations and other gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor.

The Senate's longest-serving Republican, Stevens was found guilty on all seven counts of making false statements on Senate financial documents.

The verdict throws the upcoming election into disarray. Stevens is fighting off a challenge from Democrat Mark Begich and must now either drop out or continue campaigning as a convicted felon.

The trial hinged on the testimony of Stevens' longtime friend, who testified that his employees dramatically remodeled the senator's home.

Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count but, under federal sentencing guidelines, will likely receive much less prison time, if any.

Yeah so he probably won't go to jail which is a shame. Though the guy is 84 and doesn't have much time left as it is. He really should be put in jail or be forced to resign from office because the man clearly does not have the dignity required to leave office on his own accord. Now it is up to Alaskans to make sure Stevens goes on a long, permanent vacation and replaces him with Mark Begich.

Senator Stevens Knew He Was Guilty

Not all the news on corruption out of Alaska is about Sarah Palin. She may be the one running for VP, but Senator Stevens is campaigning for his re-election to the Senate and his little criminal trial is starting to get in the way. Instead of being able to hold rallies and fundraisers in Alaska, he is stuck in Washington so that a jury can decide whether he is guilty or innocent. Too bad for Stevens, he already knew he was guilty, though when he said it he was unaware that he was being recorded.

From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens told an oil-executive friend, in recordings played on Monday at the Alaska Republican's corruption trial, they both risked going to jail -- but he didn't think it would come to that.

"These guys can't hurt really us. They're not going to shoot us. It's not Iraq. What the hell?," Stevens told Bill Allen, founder of the former VECO Corp. oil-services firm based in Alaska.

Stevens is charged with lying on Senate disclosure forms from 2001 to 2006 to conceal more than $250,000 in renovations to his property and other gifts provided by VECO.

"The worst that can happen to us is we run up a bunch of legal fees, and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve a little time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that, and I don't think it will," Stevens said.

However, he said, "We've got a fight out there ahead of us, and we're going to win, because we didn't do anything wrong. You've got a right to spend all the money you've got to support the party you believe in."

If Stevens thought he wasn't doing anything wrong, then he wouldn't have lied and concealed all the gifts he received. Sorry Senator, I'm afraid logic has its way of blocking your path to innocence. The recording clearly shows that Ted knew that what he was doing was illegal and gambled on the outcome of being bribed. For him, giving attention to rich oil companies was more important than representing Alaskans. Stevens figured that by throwing as much pork as he could their way that they'd be happy, but clearly Ted never gave his constituents much credit.

Thankfully for them, they can put their trust in a man who will put Alaska first, Senate candidate and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.

Sen. Stevens Trial Starts Today

Its been fifteen years since Kay Bailey Hutchinson was indicted for abuses of power and now a comrade in the Senate GOP caucus is about to stand trial as she did back then. To be fair to Hutchinson, the decisions of the Grand Jury didn't speak to her budding Senate career, simply as a local politician. Stevens on the other hand has been a Senator almost as long as Alaska has been in the Union and he knows very well what he's been up to with his cronies. Now his trial will start tomorrow regarding those lobbyist relationships and specifically how he hid gifts from VECO.

From The Washington Post:

The first sitting senator to face a federal trial in more than two decades, Stevens, an 84-year-old Republican icon of both the Senate and his home state, was indicted eight weeks ago on charges that he failed to disclose lavish gifts he received from executives of an oil services company. If convicted, Stevens could face prison time, his 40-year Senate career would meet an ignominious end, and Republicans would probably lose a normally reliable Senate seat.

While battling prosecutors in what is expected to be a month-long trial, Stevens also will be running an uphill reelection campaign from the same Washington courthouse -- 3,500 miles from Anchorage. He may have to debate his Democratic opponent well after midnight by teleconference and make arduous red-eye flights to attend weekend campaign events.

It's a risky strategy but perhaps the only one that could result in his reelection, analysts say.

"We have an Alaska Senate race that's about to be decided by 12 residents of the District of Columbia," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "If he's acquitted, he goes home, and it becomes more of a victory lap than a campaign."

Twelve D.C. residents sure sounds like a nice metaphor for the United States' system of justice and the possible outcome for Stevens. Ultimately it is how they judge his actions and decide whether or not it is time to hold criminals like him accountable for screwing with our democracy. With six weeks to go in this race Stevens is seriously handicapped while Mark Begich campaigns around the state. He needs to get his name out and meet people, so that he can convince them that representing Alaska is not all about bringing home an obscene amount of pork while slicing yourself a nice piece of the national taxpayers' money.

An Endorsement For Sarah Palin

As a political neophyte, Sarah Palin is going to need a large boost for people to get behind her. Thankfully we have a distinguished an indicted Senator from her home state that can do just that:

Senator Stevens Thinks He's Above The Law

It seems that a common trait for Republican elected officials these days is an allowance to be free from the rules and regulations of our country. George Bush got Congress to pass a law making one of his illegal maneuvers legal. So perhaps Ted Stevens thinks he can get around the legal system as well.

Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was caught receiving gifts in the six figure range from campaign contributors like VECO who were the beneficiaries of Stevens' earmarks. Then Stevens lied about the gifts, netting him seven charges of falsifying records, each worth five years in prison. So when the law comes looking for Stevens, he tries to jump up over it.

From RetireTed:

Anchorage, Alaska – Last week, lawyers for Senator Ted Stevens filed several motions asserting that Senators are above the law and deserve special treatment. Specifically, the defense explained that since the Department of Justice is part of the executive branch, they cannot investigate Stevens or interview his staff since they are part of the legislative branch. Stevens’ attorneys went as far to say that only Congress can discipline a Senator who violates the law by lying on the financial disclosure forms. However, Stevens voted for the legislation which established the financial disclosure forms. In essence, Stevens’ defense is that legislation he supported is now unconstitutional, and therefore the case should be dismissed.

“Senator Stevens’ actions speak louder than words,” said Bethany Lesser, spokeswoman for the Alaska Democratic Party. “Senator Stevens voted for the bill that created financial disclosure reports, but now his defense says it doesn’t matter if a Senator lies on the forms because a Senator can’t be investigated. Senator Stevens’ lawyers are saying there are no consequences for breaking the very same ethics rules that Stevens voted in support of. Senator Stevens is not above the law.”

-----

In 1989, Congress amended the Ethics In Government Act of 1978 to require members of Congress to file financial disclosure reports including income and honoraria exceeding $200. The bill gave the Attorney General the authority to take action against anyone who falsifies the financial disclosure report. Stevens joined the rest of the Senate in a voice vote in favor of the legislation.

The Department of Justice cannot investigate criminal behavior? Oh, that's rich. Well, they don't really do such a good job of it at the moment, but the whole "Justice" in the Department of Justice should kinda speak for itself. This time around, I don't see Senator Stevens with too many friends in Washington...and with his anemic poll numbers versus Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, he won't have anyone to help him get out of trouble.

A Special Day For Ted Stevens

Kate Klonick of TPMtv explains why July 30th is such a memorable day or the Senator from Alaska:

Pundits Say The Darndest Things

Yesterday Ted Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury for making false statements concerning the bribes and/or gifts he received from certain Alaskan companies. It is one more mark to add to the litany of criminal and moral offenses the GOP brand is about when it comes to the stewardship of our government. Yet for one pundit (and I presume many more on the right) it could be an opportunity for John McCain.

From Politico:

Ted Stevens, the long-serving senator from Alaska and former chairman of the powerful Appropriatons Committee, is to be indicted today on seven criminal counts. No word yet from McCain or the campaign, but I'd be shocked if they didn't at least subtly remind voters about the clashes between the two senators over the years. McCain often likes to brag that Stevens had once deemed him, "The Sheriff," for his crusading ways.

John Cole tags this one under General Stupidity, I couldn't agree more. Of course, if John McCain wants to talk about Senator Stevens' indictment, then by all means, go for it!

Alaskan Catch Du Jour: Ted Stevens

I love fishing, but seeing federal authorities charge Senator Ted Stevens for false statements was on par with going out and landing actual fish. This all went down yesterday, but since I was flying all day, I still had to write about this now. So, the old, corrupt Senator from Alaska was found to have improperly taken gifts in exchange for favorable legislation....and get this, it concerns fishing laws that also helped his son. Nothing like a little father-son bonding time when unethically playing off your constituents.

From CBS News:

(CBS/AP) Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, was indicted Tuesday on seven counts of failing to disclose thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home.

Stevens, the first sitting U.S. senator to face federal indictment since 1993, has been dogged by a federal investigation into his home renovation project and whether he pushed for fishing legislation that also benefited his son, an Alaska lobbyist.

The investigation has upended Alaska state politics and cast scrutiny on Stevens - who is running for re-election this year - and on his congressional colleague, Rep. Don Young of Alaska, who is also under investigation.

Nearly every major Republican Alaskan legislator is in hot water of some form or another. Even the once-popular Governor Palin was found to have used the power of her office to get revenge for one of her family members.

Folks, this 'red' state is going to get a heavy dose of purple this year.

VA Sec'y And Sen. Stevens Trashed The Troops Yesterday

Republicans love to claim they support the troops more than anyone else, but their enthusiasm to help our nation's bravest doesn't quite match up. One of the scions of Congressional pork and a senior-level Bushie made note of it yesterday on the best of days, Memorial Day. They tried to make the case that our troops really don't need educational assistance to better their future. See if you buy this:

From VetVoice:

Speaking at the Disabled American Veterans' 19th Annual Department Convention, Senator Stevens told the majority of America's most recent war veterans that they had not yet sacrificed enough to have earned a GI Bill that would cover the full cost of their educations.

Sen. Ted Stevens warned of a "mass exodus" from the military Saturday if the so-called 21st Century GI Bill goes into law without major changes.
::
"There are worries that people who are already in for two years will serve one more and leave, and there's really no incentive to stay," Stevens said.

What Stevens is really saying is that today's troops are unpatriotic--that they're only in it for the money and the college. And while Stevens' "mass exodus" theory has been thoroughly discredited by the Congressional Budget Office, the true irony of the situation lies in the fact that Stevens earned his own college degree after World War Two by using the same GI Bill he's aiming to prevent today's veterans from receiving.

In today's military lingo, this makes Senator Stevens a "Blue Falcon" or a "Bravo Foxtrot."

Hypocritical jackass can also apply here.

Yet VA Secretary Peake didn't want to be outdone. The press asked him how he could have ignored the story and tried to hide from the press that thousands of our current crop of veterans have committed suicide in the last five years. Do you think he was regretful? Ashamed of his actions or should I say, mis-actions?

On the topic of PTSD, Peake questioned if the condition is being overdiagnosed, considering the mental health services available to those in the armed forces.

"I worry about labeling all these kids coming back," he said. "Just because someone might need a little counseling when they get back, doesn't mean they need the PTSD label their whole lives."

Now that's a top-notch Administrator. If there's a problem and you don't know what to do about it, just avoid labeling the problem. The message is to go out and buy a giant broom and hope this will all fit under the rug. That is how Sec'y Peake and his higher-ups (i.e. the President) truly feel about our nation's veterans.

Hogs At The Congressional Trough

The "waste in Washington" is generally described as the frivolous money being spent by members of Congress and Senators alike who push large contracts back to their own districts. Giuliani loves to decry these on the campaign trail, despite being a recipient of numerous earmarks himself. Bush and others high up in the GOP lambast the earmarks, supposedly trying to act like good conservatives that rein in wasteful spending. Of course reality has a way of getting in these people's shpeels. Ted Stevens(R-AK) and Thad Cochran(R-MS) personify the GOP brand, one that wastes more than any other sets of politicians at any other given time.

From The Hill:

Sen. Thad Cochran (Miss.), ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has collected $774 million worth of earmarks in 12 spending bills. After Cochran, Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska), the second-ranking Republican on Appropriations, secured more money for special projects than any other member of Congress: $502 million.

Rep. Bill Young (Fla.), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, is the second-biggest recipient of earmarked funds in the House, securing $161 million. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the subcommittee’s chairman, secured $162 million in funds.

Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan group that tracks earmarks and federal spending, compiled the figures.

Sure, there will be Democrats in that list. Not only Republicans are susceptible to greed and the old boys network. Still, there has never been a culture of corruption like that of the current GOP majority minority

FBI Raids Sen. Stevens Home, Not Looking So Good For Him

The good ole' boy Senator Stevens from Alaska is in a lot of hot water. Alaska has been trying to clean up the corruption that exists in their state, along with the help of the FBI and the IRS. Politicians have been in bed with people they have no business being with, while ignoring their constituents and the law. Well things are going to catch up with Ted Stevens soon, especially since the authorities raided his home yesterday.

From The Huffington Post:

Stevens, 83, has been under a federal investigation for a 2000 renovation project more than doubling the size of his home in Girdwood that was overseen by Bill Allen, a contractor who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators.

Allen is founder of VECO Corp., an Alaska-based oil field services and engineering company that has reaped tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts.

Agents from the FBI and Internal Revenue Service started their search at the senator's home Monday afternoon, said Dave Heller, FBI assistant special agent. He said he could not comment on the nature of the investigation.

Stevens isn't commenting either. He wouldn't want to jeopardize himself further, especially if and when the Feds press charges against him and he has to face a judge and jury. Of course he isn't the only one, his son is under investigation and so is Congressman Don Young (R-Of course) for their crooked ways. It isn't right that they use their office for personal gain. The people trust them to serve their constituencies.....not themselves and their friends in the oil industry.

Techno Ted (Stevens) At It Again

Senator Ted Stevens, who also goes by 'Techno Ted' and Mr. 'The Internet is a series of tubes' has yet another whacko moment. On his campaign website, an interesting message appears. What on Earth, or outside of this planet can it be?

"Through a series of highly sophisticated and complex algorithms, this system has determined that you are not presently authorized to use this system function. It could be that you simply mistyped a password, or, it could be that you are some sort of interplanetary alien-being that has no hands and, thus, cannot type."

But wait, it gets even better....

Also from the site as noted by the WaPo blog:

"If I were a gambler, I would bet that a cat (an orange tabby named Sierra or Harley) somehow jumped onto your keyboard and forgot some of the more important pointers from those typing lessons you paid for. Based on the actual error encountered, I would guess that the feline in question simply forgot to place one or both paws on the appropriate home keys before starting. Then again, I suppose it could have been a keyboard error caused by some form of cosmic radiation; this would fit nicely with my interplanetary alien-being theory."

Who could even make this crazy random shit up?

Stevens' staff members Aaron Saunders and Tim McKeever didn't know either. McKeever admitted to not knowing much about the internet, saying his teenage son was much more adept at the tubes. In fact the site isn't really up yet. So who posted that mysterious message? Perhaps Stevens took an internet course to find out about the truth of internet after all? Nah.

Mary Ann Akers who wrote the blog post did ask that question:

So who left that whacky message on the campaign site, and why? We thought the tabby cat reference a bit curious, considering Stevens had a pet cat who died recently. How mean to tug at the senator's heart strings that way! Though we hear the senator's cat was named Tigger, not "Sierra Harley."

Senate Democratic political operatives professed innocence. Though they were down right gleeful over having an excuse to dredge up "Techno Ted," as Sen. Stevens came to be known after his Internet speech in which he declared, among other musings, that the Internet is "not a big truck."

"Unfortunately, this is the least crazy thing Ted Stevens has said about the Internet," said
Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

It seems that these days almost anything out of the 85 year old Stevens is crazy. The guy is one of the captains of pork laden earmarks and zany comments.