TED STEVENS CONVICTED

As the New York Times is reporting, U.S. Senator Ted "the internet is a series of tubes" Stevens (R-AK) was convicted today on all seven charges he faced of lying about receiving free home renovations and other lavish gifts from an oil industry contractor. In other words, straight, naked corruption.

Stevens, a powerful figure in Alaskan politics since before statehood and the Republican party's longest serving member of the United States Senate, was convicted after the jury deliberated since Wednesday. The charges carry a maximum possible sentence of 5 years for each count, but the law talking guys at the Times say he is likely, under the federal sentencing guidelines, to receive far less, if any jail time.

Stevens is locked in a tight race for the Senate seat he has held since 1968, with the Democrats hoping they can use his being convicted on seven felony counts to pick up additional seats towards a filibuster-proof super-majority. The latest polls are showing Stevens and democratic challenger Mark Begich in a statistical deadheat, with the latest numbers showing Begich with a 47-46 lead over Stevens. In a related story, I had a Begich once, which I treated thusly.

The real point of this story is that Stevens, who is now a convicted felon, might still win his Senate race. The NY Times pointed out that there is no law barring a convicted felon from being elected to Congress, which I viewed as basically the biggest "no-shitter" of this entire election.

Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel Stevens on a two-thirds vote.