Stevens bids adieu to Senate

Sen. Ted Stevens, Alaska’s dominant politician whose career has come to an ignominious end, bid farewell Thursday to a body in which he has served longer than any Republican in history.

In an emotional farewell address, Stevens highlighted his legislative accomplishments through four decades in the Senate, during which he helped build Alaska “from an impoverished territory [to] a full-fledged state,” largely through his influence in Republican leadership and on powerful committees where he showered his constituents with billions of federal dollars.

{mosads}”Now, I have a really difficult time today articulating my feelings and I hope if I puddle up, as an old friend used to say, exile be excused,” Stevens, 85, said in a chamber where some 30 senators were seated.

“My motto has been ‘The hell with politics — just do what’s right for Alaska,’ ” Stevens said, with his wife Catherine and daughter Beth in the audience. “And I’ve tried every day to live up to those words.”

His speech came a day after Stevens conceded his Senate race to Democrat Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, and one month after he was convicted on seven felony charges for failing to publicly disclose gifts from an oil-services contractor.

Stevens made little mention of his conviction in his 10-minute speech, only saying: “I still see the day when I can remove the cloud that currently surrounds me.”

Following his remarks — which had several senators, including Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), tearing up — the chamber erupted into a standing ovation. He hugged Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving senator in history, who turned 91 Thursday, and embraced Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), his closest friend in the Senate.

“Some in this town would say we’ve both lived too long,” said Byrd, a fellow giant in the chamber, reading remarks slowly from his wheelchair. “But a long life is a blessing for many reasons.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) praised Stevens’s service and called his legal troubles “deeply unfortunate.”

“I wish nothing but the best for him,” Reid said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has avoided talking about Stevens since he was indicted but called on him to resign after his conviction in October, lavished praised on the senior senator.

“No senator in the history of the United States has ever done more for his state than Ted Stevens,” McConnell said. Byrd interjected, saying, “That’s right. That’s right. That’s right, Ted.”

“Home is where the heart is, Mr. President,” Stevens said. “If that is so, I have two homes: One is right here in this chamber, and the other is my beloved state of Alaska. I must leave one to return to the other.”