R.I.P.

This week, Begich provided the deciding sixtieth vote to approve a takeover by the federal government of the health care industry, including penalties for citizens who do not purchase federally-approved health insurance plans, some of which will provide abortion coverage. This legislation has not yet become law, because it still has to be reconciled with the House version, which may prove difficult.

With that I now endorse Achance for Senator after Stevens wins and then steps down.

Begich, like Knowles before him, has been a fairly popular Anchorage mayor. He has the formidable Knowles organization, and one Helluva bunch of DNC resources and money. I really don’t know which R would volunteer for that meatgrinder. The only one that comes to mind that has anything like the money from his own resources is Johne Binkley, but he ran a dismal campaign against Palin when he ran for Governor. ‘Course, the only reason he was running was he was bitterly angry with Murkowski for not appointing him to the Senate. Mike Miller is a good conservative and former President of the Senate. Has money but not as much as Binkley. Didn’t do real well in the primary against Lisa Murkowski, but he really didn’t want to beat her, just make her defend the right so Knowles couldn’t run right of her. Don’t know that Mike could win statewide, but he came within 500 and change votes of being Lt. Gov. and his brother was a Republican Lt. Gov.

Since Sarah Palin “outed” Randy Ruderich, Republican organization has been tenuous at best. Since the FBI started camping out in Alaska, the Party has been in disarray. I don’t know how many established Republicans would walk into the meatgrinder. I very consciously established for myself a “bad boy” reputation throughout my career; I just wish I’d done some of the things people think I did. By the time I was an appointee, whenever the slime machine revved up, I was just living down to my reputation and nobody noticed or cared. That said, even I have lost my stomach for it in an environment where you simply have to assume that anybody you’re talking to, no matter how well or long you’ve known them, is wearing a wire and is a “cooperating” witness trying to goad or entrap you. It ain’t a pretty place these days!

As to the rest, if they could make the case against Ben, they would have. There is the slightest possibility that somebody in the Bush Administration noticed what the FBI was doing here and told them to lay off until after the election. Or, tactically, they now have a conviction against the old man that could cause him to die in jail; that is a serious bargaining position. That’s what they’ve done with Bill Allen; the old Roman thing: slit your wrists and we’ll spare your family. They’re still holding that over him. You’ll note he hasn’t been sentenced and he won’t be until the FBI is done here. I know the guy and had lots of opportunities to pal around in Room 604 – thank God I was smarter than that. I’ll guarantee you that he would recite any script that the FBI gave him to keep his family from being charged and to allow them to keep some of the money from getting rid of VECO. The FBI plays a nasty, nasty game.

The reality of this thing is Bill Allen was a guy who liked being a bigshot. Stevens wasn’t big on spending his own money, he played a bit fast and loose with dotting his i’s and crossing his t’s, they raid the Girdwood place and all they could come up with was this minor stuff. They had to know nobody was gonna make their career on this, and well ..the prosecution sucked. In the meantime, no charges towards the kid (Ben Stevens) or Don Young. Too strange.

There’s a reason the prosecutors chose the trivial reporting charges that have never been brought against anyone before. I suspect you could round up a pretty good mess of Congresscritters with a little scrutiny. They wanted a charge they could bring in DC! You’ll note that they’ve done nothing with the much more substantial allegations about earmarking to benefit his son and former staffers; they’d have to bring those charges to the federal district court in Anchorage.

Alaska juries have not been reticent to convict our own when corruption charges, even fairly flimsy ones, have been brought against them. We have three legislators in the clink right now and one more probably on the way over their dealings with the same Bill Allen.

I just really don’t believe that Stevens or any other relatively wealthy white Republican elected official can get a fair trial in DC. I know that were I ever charged with some sort of official misconduct I’d move Heaven and Earth to try to get a change of venue out of Juneau; it would be hard for any high ranking public officer to get a fair trial here and all but impossible for a high-ranking Republican public officer to get one. Likewise, when I was with the State, I was more than happy to make six figure settlement offers even in cases I thought we should win to avoid the tender mercies of a Juneau jury. Capital cities are company towns and jury trials are an easy place to take it out on the company. In DC you get to throw geography, race, and class in the mix as well.

No need to insist one’s barber be a saint either.

The damage from an Obama with a 60 votes senate would be incalculable and permanent.

more later

However, if he did, Palin is unable to appoint a successor after the nepotism of the Murkowski appointment (people up here were furious). There was a ballot initiative that removed from the governor the ability to appoint a successor in cases of a sitting US senator’s resignation, and instead calls for a special election within 90 days. My understanding is that there would be no interim representation, and Alaska would just have an empty seat for up to three months.

As for being brought up on charges for being a Republican, I doubt the prosecution would have had enough evidence to convict in his case. That said, that has nothing to do with why he should have resigned from the Senate long ago. He has embarassed his Party, his state, and his country, and will continue to do so as long as he fights the conviction. He belongs in prison and will hopefully live out his days there.

Finally, as for the earmark deal, I’ll take it without hesitation provided that the money that currently goes to earmarks instead goes either toward debt reduction or tax relief rather than to more bureaucracy.

He and Stevens should be bunk buddies in the slammer.

You don’t even have to like kos to agree with me; he would say (I would agree) that even from a cynical POV, Jefferson’s presence does more harm than good, considering it is only one seat (in a district with a PVI D+28, at a time that Dems are overperforming those numbers) but always provides a counterpoint to Dem arguments about corruption.

It was just a nice evening; the kind you can have in any working class hero bar here. It’s just that the working class hero happened to be a Congressman and his principal aide.

Since then I’ve gotten to know him better. So, OK, he wouldn’t be on my Christmas card list, but I’ve known a lot of people I liked less.

There is no way that you can write this and endorse two Dems over two Republicans at this late in the game and beat the crap out of conservatives who like Paul (I don’t … I think he’s crazy on a couple of levels) and others who pound on McCain.

You wax eloquent on “the primary is over its time to get behind McCain” and then pull this stuff.

Stevens — okay .. maybe … but TACTICALLY, it’s better to elect Stevens and then have him kicked out of the Senate and replaced in an election then to put a Democrat in now. Stevens wins and is kicked out or resigns then you have a pretty good chance to run the AG or the Lt. Gov against a Dem in the special election.

Don Young — hate his guts, but he’s not convicted of anything. I sent Parnell money.

This is a tactical mistake and hypocritical as well.

And that’s coming from someone who (95% of the time) thinks you guys walk on water.