The Tip of the Iceberg

The amazing thing about Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens isn't that he was convicted of seven counts of fraud. It's how trivial his infractions were in the first place, ranging from accepting a free massage chair to a dog sled. But even if Stevens is going down for fairly minor crimes, his conviction offers a potent reminder of over a decade of GOP larceny that reached its apogee with the looting of the federal government on behalf of corporations and George W. Bush and Dick Cheney's cronies.

What really worries Republicans about an Obama presidency, then, isn't simply the prospect that he will have a veto-proof majority in the Senate, one that has become even more likely with the Stevens imbroglio. It's also that the Justice Department would no longer be in the hands of pliable functionaries who have shielded the administration from the kind of scrutiny it deserves. While Obama will be preoccupied with mending a wrecked economy, more revelations of Bush administration misdeeds are sure to surface in coming months. In that sense, the downfall of the Alaska Senator could well be the tip of the iceberg.

Comments

[TommyMcCarthy]

No amount is too small to steal
tm

[MinuteMan]

It might actually help the economy to locate places where large amounts of money have been embezzled, misused, etc., and recover some of it.

[NationalTreasure]

It is past time to put the stewardship of our justice system back into the hands of Americans who have read The Constitution, respect our Constitution and understand our Constitution.

[Kindheart]

Republicans have gotten away with a lot over these past 8 years. One can only hope that all of the stuff they have done will come out and they will pay for what they have done. George has gotten away with so much with his repug Congress for 6 years. Isn't it ironic that the repugs are so worried about a democratic prez and Congress???

[skeptaholic]

Eight days until a Presidential pardon.

Congress needs to pass a law that all Presidential pardons after the election be subject to Congressional approval.

[wtfcharlie]

They got Capone because he didn't pay his taxes.

[DuPageDem]

Bingo. And Rostenkowski got nailed in the '80s for stealing dishes. Whatever it takes.

[jsj20002]

I was just wondering. How were these "gifts" to Stevens treated on his own tax returns? Does he owe the IRS anything? I think the Alaska office of the IRS will have some work to do after Barack takes office? Palin, Stevens, and Don Young should all be audited.

[VOTER]

One has to wonder if Senator Stevens isn't grateful that these crimes
are the ONLY ones to have brought him into court.

He better hope the "digging" has stopped.

[WilliePilgrim]

Excellent points. I would add however that while the corruption charges over which he was convicted might seem pretty trivial, those are only the ones he was charged with because, trivial or not, they seemed prosecutable. Some of the de-facto corruption and ethically questionable machinations he's been involved with, let alone the blatant hypocracy, is another matter.Wer­e these charges over which he was convicted the real issues, I'd feel sympathy for him. I don't however. But much of my antipathy goes to those first days just following 9/11 when I heard Ted Stevens marshall the suspicions of the nation and cautioned them when seeking-out the perpetrators to not overlook the environmentalists. Really, as if granola munchin, tree sitters were likely to fly airplanes filled with people into the pentagon. That statement was an attempt to do nothing except generate antipathy against a largely harmless group who want little more than to respect the beauty and balance of nature. Not prosecutable but hate speech of the worst kind. Grrrrr.... I'm a strong advocate of public service instead of imprisonment, recognizing the futility and terribly self-destructive consequences of that horrible practice; revenge and torture disquised as humane treatment, and hope Stevens doesn't go to prison. Instead I would love to see him dressed in an orange jumpsuit cleaning the restrooms at the airport in Anchorage which he named after himself. It would serve as a humbling experience while doing good work to repay the constituency he'd cheated..

[davedave]

i don't care a fig for retribution. however it would nice to see some circumstances that would inhibit future acts.

not just mr. stevens but the entire republican party could stand a little "truth and reconciliation" south africa style, with pardons as the carrot and prosecution as the stick. this last eight years was as cynical a time as i could imagine.

the question is would the democrats be willing to do this and "cast the first stone"?

d

[Doofus]

Here's a surprise: if you've ever been in politics (at any level), if you've
ever read or watched a political biography (e.g., LBJ!), if it's not 'all
about deals', there are always a lot of favors being done, and the
trick is, if you can or must, to stay out of that, & miss out on the 'fun'.

[kapo]

Imagine you were in the position of the Bushies. You have created a superstate with the ability to spy on anyone, lock them up and loot the treasury at the same time. Now imagine that an election was approaching and you were about to lose those powers to your opponents. Ethics 101 says do as you would be done by. They didn't and that is why this election is so bitter.

[Manx]

You call them "infractions," but they are really crimes. Why do you minimize them? Stevens accepted $ 250,000 worth of improvements to his home, a felony, from a company that benefited from his political decisions. You make it sound as if he was penalized for accepting tickets to a baseball game.

[beaupritchard]

"The amazing thing about Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens isn't that he was convicted of seven counts of fraud. It's how trivial his infractions were in the first place"

Much like Jim Trafficant in Ohio (who by the way is slated to be released soon(September 2, 2009) and could win again here in the 17th district of Ohio )

[drkazmd65]

And,... with any luck,... some of the graft-covered Democrats will be taking a powder along with their Republican cronies,..­.

The only way our Government gets better, and gets more responsive to the will of us, the people who (allegedly) run this Government, is for a fairly extensive House and Senate cleaning.

Term limits,... hard and fast term limits,... are what our Government needs.

Nobody should be in the Congress or Senate for decades.

[BBackSoon]

While I agree with the term limits in theory, that is not really going to help. We have people that roam the halls of power as lobbyists after serving one or two terms in Congress. And the worst is all the staff, that we average people have never heard of that are not elected but hired again by the new Senator because they know how the game is played.

How do we purge our government of these people?

Also as long as a Congressperson has to start collecting money from day one for their next election the system will never change. We need public financing. It cannot cost any more than the theft and graft that are going on now.

[JerseyGirl4Obama]

They can be in for decades if they work for the people and are honest.

Republicans or Democrats should be prosecuted when they dishonor their office by accepting money to betray their constituents.

[Liberal2]

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The problem isn't how long a person holds office, it's the honesty of the person holding office. Under our present system, a candidate has to sell their soul to a group of wealthy, greedy, donors.

Even if there were your "hard, fast" term limits, our choice would still be limited to bribed candidate "A" or bribed candidate "B".

Rep. Dolittle (CA. R) revealed on C-Span (1995??) that he had been losing his first campaign for a local office until he was approached bt six wealthy potential donors. He did not reveal the subject matter of the conversation. These donors gave him a great deal of money, Dolittle won that campaign. Dolittle is considered by many to be corrupt.

[WmC]

You're on the money, Liberal2. It's not clear how term limits would improve legislative outcomes; in fact it would probably give lobbyists more control and a freer hand.

Instead, the reform that's crying out for passage is the public financing of campaigns.

[skippypicasso]

Term limits are about as effective as keeping the whole class after school because of the misdeeds of 1 or 2 students.

Either you have transparent government or you don't. People seem to think that corruption is something that has a start date and worsens over time, or they blame the 'process.' I believe what some don't really want to acknowledge. Ted Stevens didn't arrive in Washington pure like driven snow, without greed or the desire to enrich himself.

He, like so many others, term-limited or not, already had motive. Election Day provided the means and opportunity. If you're argument is that term limited legislators will "steal less stuff," I can tell you from my experience with term limits here in Michigan that you will pay even more due to incompetence in governing.

[pikaomega]

Indeed.

Winning the election is only a means to an end. Remember that the whole point is governance. If you are on the take-regardless of your party-my hope is to see you in cuffs right next to Uncle Ted. If the left decides to shield their criminals in the spirit of the last eight years, then we have no business being in power either.

[ChefPete1]

I'll betcha' dollars to donuts, kiddies, that the very moment Stevens was found guilty; our favorite Maverick was on the phone to Wasilla to mobilize her troops! THIS IS PERFECT for her. Stevens is still on the ballot and can still win. With Palin's people campaigning for Stevens with the understanding he will probably be kicked out of the Senate...h­e WILL WIN.
Stevens gets booted from the Senate and Palin gets to appoint his replacement! And whom might that be? YOU BETCHA! WINK...WIN­K

[metivo]

Senator Todd? How long has it been that we got a senator with only a high school diploma? Reminds me of that bumper sticker: "My kid kicked your honor student's ass." Nice.

[milurOH]

Fortunately she wouldn't get to appoint a replacement in such a case. A special election would be held in AK if Stevens is booted from the Senate.

[davedave]

no bet. w the way we're going to have to print money with the current bailouts, dollars and donuts will soon have parity!

d

[tbone99]

I'm always shocked to see how little a corrupt candidate is willing to sell his office for. Just goes to show their ethics were only a cheap cover , easily discarded.