Sen. Ted Stevens’s (R) ability to hang onto his Senate seat, at least for now, is one reason Alaska continues to capture the spotlight.
A state that previously attracted little national political attention, the land of the midnight sun cast a strange shadow over the 2008 election.
{mosads}Alaska, home to Caribou Barbie, the First Dude, Eskimos and the Bridge to Nowhere has been under the national media’s harsh microscope for much of the presidential contest, particularly since its governor, Sarah Palin, became an instant star of the right upon joining the GOP presidential ticket.
Whether it was energy, oil, earmarks or lipstick on a pig, the far-flung 49th state dominated many of Decision 2008’s general-election headlines.
Now, voters across the country may wonder what in the world Alaskans are thinking in possibly sending the convicted Stevens and scandal-tarred Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) back to Washington.
The spotlight has left some residents wondering where they can go to get their reputation back.
“I don’t know that this type of publicity has been good,” said University of Alaska Professor Carl Shepro. “It kind of makes Alaska look like a backwater, which it isn’t.”
“I’m worried that Alaska is now a complete laughingstock,” added Anchorage-based pollster Ivan Moore. “Alaska may have the distinct honor of being the first state to send a convicted criminal back to the Senate.”
Alaska is unlikely to disappear with the conclusion of the election, either. While Palin on Wednesday told CNN that she couldn’t even imagine contemplating a 2012 presidential bid, the denial is unlikely to stop speculation about the conservative media darling.
Stevens, if he emerges victorious from a tight contest with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D), will be both a blessing and a curse for Republicans.
While the Alaskan Republican is preventing Democrats from creeping closer to a 60-vote supermajority, the prospect of a senator convicted of a felony just last month now returning to the Senate is already creating headaches for Republicans.
Stevens was still leading Begich late Wednesday afternoon despite his conviction on seven counts of making false statements on his Senate financial disclosure forms about hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations to his home. He is appealing.
Political observers in Washington and Alaska expect the Senate to rebuke the state’s voters if Stevens prevails once absentee ballots are counted, a process that could take weeks.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said there’s no doubt the Senate would expel Stevens. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who survived his own tough race Tuesday night, also said there is “zero chance” that colleagues would allow a senator with a felony conviction to stay in the Senate.
The question remains whether GOP senators would allow him to pursue his appeal before moving to expel him in an effort to purge the party of corruption and rebuild with a cleaner slate.
If Stevens is expelled, there are also scenarios under which Palin could replace Stevens in the Senate. Palin may be able to run as his replacement in a special election pitting her against Begich.
Under such a scenario, Moore said, the Senate seat would be Palin’s for the taking.
“She would be categorically the favorite of anyone,” he said.
{mospagebreak}But first, the Senate will have to decide what to do with a returning Stevens.
The Senate can expel a member by a two-thirds vote, but such a vote is unprecedented while a criminal case is on appeal. In the history of the Senate, four senators have been convicted of crimes.
Two resigned, one died and one saw his term expire before an expulsion vote could be held.
“If there’s an effort made to expel Stevens … I believe that he is entitled, like any other citizen, to have his post-trial motion to appeal,” Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) told reporters Wednesday.
{mosads}But others argue that Senate Republicans would be wise to move quickly in kicking Stevens to the curb should he survive in the final count. That way, they can immediately show that the party is turning the page and will not tolerate corruption of any kind.
One Republican strategist put it this way: “Everybody knows that Stevens has to go, with the possible exception of Stevens himself.”
If the Senate seat were to open up, Alaska voters would get to choose a new senator in a special election within 90 days. Whether Palin can appoint a temporary replacement in the meantime, however, is unclear.
In 2004, Alaska voters approved an initiative that stripped the governor of the authority to temporarily appoint a replacement when there is a Senate vacancy. That initiative, however, conflicts with a state law allowing the governor to make a temporary replacement followed by a special election within 90 days.
If Palin does want to join the Senate, another Alaska law could block her from replacing Stevens. Alaska does not hold primaries before a special election, which gives parties the power to choose their respective candidates. Palin, like her “maverick” running mate, McCain is not a favorite of the official party apparatus.
Palin and Randy Ruedrich, Alaska’s state GOP party chairman, have a contentious history.
When Palin served as the ethics supervisor of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, she went after Ruedrich, then the body’s commissioner. After Palin resigned in January 2004, she filed a formal complaint against Ruedrich, accusing him of maintaining a cozy relationship with a company he was supposed to be regulating.
Shepro said Ruedrich would be more inclined to support a former state legislator, John Binkley, whom Palin defeated in the 2006 GOP gubernatorial primary.
“As far as the party is concerned, he probably would be a wiser choice,” Shepro said.