Can You Say Senator Sarah Palin?

At first, I thought it was a little odd that John McCain would stick his toe in the waters of the corruption trial of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. But shortly after the jury announced it had found Stevens guilty of seven counts of ethics violations related to unreported favors to Stevens and his family, McCain called on Stevens to step down one week before Stevens' latest re-election bid.

Then, it hit me -- if Stevens still got more votes than his Democratic opponent, Alaska would then have to appoint an interim Senator until a special election could be called. And who might Alaska name to an interim term?

You know. Say it.

Senator Sarah Palin.

And now Palin has called for Stevens to step down, as well, even though she had been quoted earlier as saying Stevens would have to decide for himself what was "right" for the State of Alaska and his family. (Given that Palin also was found to have violated some ethics laws recently, I'm surprised she didn't advise Stevens to just pretend that he was exonerated -- sort of like she did).

And you know she wants it. She's already been trying to throw McCain under the bus on the campaign trail, paving the way for a larger role on the national political stage for herself. She's already gained diva status according to the media.

So what would a diva do if she can't be number 2? A diva always takes matters into her own hands! Palin, as the Governor of Alaska, could appoint herself to the position since, if Stevens won as a Republican, Palin would be required by law to appoint a Republican to the interim seat!

Now THAT'S all neat and tidy and tied up with a shiny bow!

Um, I hate to mention political contributions again since I just asked the other day, but now might be a good time to make a small contribution to Stevens opponent, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich?

Joanne Bamberger is a political commentator and writer who is the Editor-in-Chief of PunditMom, her blog about the intersection of motherhood and politics. Joanne is also a contributing editor for Politics & News at BlogHer. Her political commentary has appeared this election season on CNN, Fox News, ABC.com, BBC Radio and XM Radio POTUS '08, among others.

Comments

[mebble]

The worst thing for the Republicans and for Palin in particular would be if Stevens had to resign from the race before Tuesday.

The best thing would be for Stevens to win and then Palin to appoint herself to take his seat ... after all, Stevens is a felon and cannot serve.

Senator Palin. That's what she's wanted to be all along.

[zorak1704]

This is so funny. I logged on here to ask just this question. Let's hope Stevens doesn't bow out and loses next Tuesday. The thought of Palin as a senator is just as terrifying as Palin as vice-president. She is badly needed on the north slope to keep an eye on the Russians.

[lmt27]

I predict that the Dem running against Stevens in Alaska will win the senate seat. I also predict that Obama will win the Alaska's 3 or 4 electoral votes. Once Palin returns to Alaska she will either be impeached or her favorability will drop much lower. If she were to run for governor again, she would not win; I don't think the good people of Alaska would be stupid enough to elect her again after all the info about how she is running her office has come out in the presidential election. After that her political career will be over because she cannot win on the national level without the support of all Reps; not just the conservative right nuts. My suggestion for her would be to try to get her own talk show or maybe her and E Hasselbeck can get a show on Faux network. After this her political career is over.

[Kindheart]

That was the first thing I thought...Gov. Palin appointing herself as the new senator. I can't imagine what that would mean for her ego. I hope all the Alaskans rise up and impeach her before she can do that harm to our nation.

[larry278]

There is the ramus(sp?) of the mandible; that is anatomy. Senator Sarah Palin means that Alaska has another ignoramas serving in the US Senate; that is politics.

[faith]

Sorry, but I cannot help but think of Cheney. Wasn't he to find an appropriate vice presidential candidate to run with Shrub, er Bush, jr.? Just to declare himself the perfect running mate, hence Cheney in charge. Yep, I believe Palin will do it if she gets a chance. After all, she doesn't have to follow the same set of rules that the rest of us must follow.

[TexasDem0]

She has also established the fact that she is a shallow, vacuous ignoramus.
What -informed- person would vote for her?

[CompetenceMatters]

Just for fun: the current Senator Lisa Murkowski's dad was a Senator from Alaska for years. He then ran and won the governorship midway through a senate term. He then, as governor, appointed his daughter to replace himself in the US Senate. Lisa was in State politics before that.Frank Murkowski then did a really lousy job as governor, and palin rode in on that wave. What would she do in the Senate, since pork projects are now out, by her own words, and she doesn't know anything about anything well enough to contribute to any discussion. I guess she could be there to vote against any and all energy bills that include even a wiff of any alternative energy support, and to work on opening up ANWR. And that's the start of a long list of reasons to make sure she doesn't anywhere near Washington. I just contributed to Begich's campaign, he's a good guy and an excellent Mayor in Anchorage right now.

[jeniferdaniels]

please send his opponent money NOW...Obama campaign...send him oney too (DNC too)

[ellen31766]

I believe Alaska has some sort of law that the governor CANNOT appoint senators in situations such as these. Something to do with the last governor appointing his daughter to the senate or something of the like.

[Joanne Bamberger - Huffpost Blogger]

There were some changes in the law when Murkowski appointed his daughter to the Senate, calling for a quick new election, but if an interim appt. is made, it's still up to the Gov.

[ellen31766]

Thank you for clarifying. I was really hoping the information I had was correct. I think I will be making a donation to the democratic candidate running against Stevens.

[JulieHasquet]

Actually, that's not true.
The initiative passed by the voters after Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter to the U.S. Senate provides no opportunity for even an interim appointment.
The voters of Alaska made that call with an affirmative vote on the citizens initiative.
It would be a 90 day special election, winner take all.
The seat would be vacant during that time.

Julie Hasquet
Anchorage, Alaska

[Lemeritus]

This from the Anchorage Daily News:

"The Republican Party of Alaska is urging voters to support Stevens anyway as he returns to Alaska today to make a final push before Tuesday's election. The message: If Stevens wins and then resigns or is expelled from the Senate, there would be a special election giving Republicans another opportunity to keep the seat out of Democratic hands."

Mark Begich, the Democratic challenger, is leading by .6 points (that's POINT six, so keep those firecrackers dry). Interesting to note that he was leading BEFORE the Stevens verdict.

As one who grew up in Alaska and whose family and many friends still live there, I have to mention that chiding "the good people of Alaska" to impeach Palin or throw Stevens over is like chiding "good people" anywhere from afar -- you run the risk of being thought a meddling fool. Alaska is awesome and... odd. If you subtracted all of the federally controlled land from the state, Alaska would a shadow of itself. Unlike almost any other state, it has a symbiotic relationship with Washington, love and hate (hence the AIP). Stevens will continue to be well-regarded by many because he "brought home the bacon" ($3.4 billion) to a state that lives on a diet of bacon.

Personally... GO BEGICH!

[pgoody]

I just saw some guy on MSNBC talking about Stenves and the McCain/Palin response. He "accidently" said "Senator, I mean Gov. Palin" then gave a sheepish little grin and shrug.

[mcthfg]

I think I threw up a little at the idea of "Senator Palin."

Unless it's Michael Palin...

[SteveMDFP]

How 'bout:
Palin / Palin '12
Because two jokes are better than one !!

[jobecky20]

Better a senator than a Vice President.