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Palin, Ruedrich call for Begich resignation

Kilmer17

By Kilmer17
in The Tailgate

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Kilmer17

Kilmer17

Posted
Posted

Elections have consequences. He shouldnt have to resign, Begich did nothing wrong. He and his campaign didnt make this up.

The proper solution is to run against him in 5 years to right the wrong.

SENATE: With Stevens case dismissed, some want Begich to depart.

By ERIKA BOLSTAD and SEAN ****ERHAM

ebolstad@adn.com

Published: April 2nd, 2009 01:06 PM

Last Modified: April 3rd, 2009 01:31 AM

Gov. Sarah Palin and the head of the Alaska Republican Party said Thursday that Sen. Mark Begich should give his Senate seat up to a special election now that prosecutors have abandoned their case against Ted Stevens. "Alaskans deserve to have a fair election not tainted by some announcement that one of the candidates was convicted fairly of seven felonies, when in fact it wasn't a fair conviction," Palin said in a Thursday interview with the Daily News.

The governor said she does not want to "split hairs" on whether Begich should resign or not but agrees with the Republican Party's call for a special election.

The Republican Stevens represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate for 40 years before Begich, a Democrat, narrowly beat him last fall. The election came just a week after a Washington, D.C., jury convicted Stevens of lying about gifts that he'd received.

Begich fired back Thursday, saying that although he believed it was clear there was misconduct during the senator's trial, he stepped into the race "long before Senator Stevens' legal troubles began, because Alaskans were looking for a change and a senator as independent as Alaska.

"Today, with our country in a severe recession, it's more important than ever that we have a senator focused on fixing our economy so Alaskans have the jobs they need to support their families," he said. "That is my job in the Senate, and I'm honored to serve Alaskans for the next six years."

The chairman of the state Republican Party, Randy Ruedrich, said that the only reason Begich won his race was because "a few thousand Alaskans thought that Senator Stevens was guilty of seven felonies."

He added that he thought Begich should step down "so Alaskans may have the chance to vote for a senator without the improper influence of the corrupt Department of Justice."

Palin, a Republican, had called for Stevens to step aside after he had been convicted but said Thursday that "I believed in justice through our legal system."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Wednesday that the Justice Department will move to dismiss the indictment against Stevens, who was convicted Oct. 27 on seven counts of failing to disclose gifts, including home renovations, on his U.S. Senate financial disclosure forms. Despite Palin and Ruedrich saying there should be a special election, the Republicans in Alaska's Congressional delegation said it's time to move on.

"In light of the good news yesterday, I am sure many of us wish we could turn the clock back to last November," said Begich's Senate colleague, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "Unfortunately, that is not an option."

Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young told Fox News Channel after Wednesday's announcement by Holder that although he thought Stevens "would have won hands-down. I would say by 70 percent had the Justice Department investigation not figured into his re-election campaign.

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"The seated senator there, Mark Begich, will be in the Senate, he will do a good job," Young said in the Fox interview. "It's just sad that Alaskans were frankly hoodwinked into malfeasance of office work by the Justice Department itself."

Alaska Democratic Party Chair Patti Higgins said the call for a special election is an insult to the intelligence of the Alaskans who voted.

"The fact that the Obama Administration has decided to not pursue a case that the Bush Administration lawyers handled in a faulty manner does not take away the fact that Ted Stevens broke laws," she said in a written statement.

U.S. Attorney General Holder moved to dismiss the indictment after Justice Department attorneys handling the post-trial motions in the case discovered that the trial team failed to turn over to Stevens' lawyers notes from an interview conducted with the star prosecution witness in the case. It was the most recent ethical lapse by some members of the prosecution team, which was repeatedly chided by the judge in the case during the trial, and then cited with contempt after the trial when prosecutors failed to follow a judge's instructions to turn over documents to Stevens' lawyers.

DOJ found discrepancies between the interview and the courtroom testimony of the star witness, Bill Allen, the former oil-services company chief executive officer who plied Stevens with gifts. Those gifts, which went unreported on Stevens' senate financial disclosure forms, included renovations that doubled the size of the senator's residence in Alaska. Allen, who pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers in Alaska, is awaiting sentencing in his own case.

Begich's victory was a coup for Democrats in Alaska. But it also was a victory for Democrats in the U.S. Senate, who with Begich's win landed 58 of the 60 votes they need to have a filibuster proof majority.

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Larry

Larry

Posted
Posted

Haven't finished reading the article, but this caught my eye:

The governor said she does not want to "split hairs" on whether Begich should resign or not but agrees with the Republican Party's call for a special election.

"I'm not saying he should leave. I'm just saying we should have a special election to fill his job."

Just enjoyed this one, too:

The chairman of the state Republican Party, Randy Ruedrich, said that the only reason Begich won his race was because "a few thousand Alaskans thought that Senator Stevens was guilty of seven felonies."

No, sir. I'd suspect that they pretty much all thought he was guilty. Some of them just didn't care.

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armstrong001

armstrong001

Posted
Posted

It's my understanding that Stevens did get a bunch of stuff for free, but it wasn't as much as the prosecution stated? If he was corrupt, just not as much as charged, good riddance. I wouldn't tolerate it from my representative. Hopefully a Republican can come along in 6 years to replace Begich. Until then, I hope he does well for his state.

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bcl05

bcl05

Posted
Posted

I think the issue is not whether or not he did what he is accused of. Everyone thinks he did. The problem is that the prosecutors were a bunch of incompetent, stupid boobs who screwed the case up so bad it couldn't legitimately be called a fair trial. The judge tried hard to bend over backwards for them and gave them every chance to obey the law and turn over evidence to the defense, but for some ignorant reason they didn't. I remember somewhere reading a critique by a lawyer saying that this was one of the most incompetent prosecution teams in memory.

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armstrong001

armstrong001

Posted
Posted

That's fine. If the prosecution screwed things up, then Stevens should (and will) walk. But just because Stevens won't be serving jail time doesn't mean he isn't corrupt and should be serving another term. IMO he got (at least part) of what he deserved.

These kinds of corruption cases illustrate why we should have a very limited Federal Government, or at the very least a tamper-proof tax system. If you eliminate the reasons people covet access to these congressmen (ability to change the tax code and make laws), you eliminate the corruption. Who's going to bribe a congressman who can't pass a law hindering your competition, or getting you a tax break?

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Predicto

Predicto

Posted
Posted
I don't know about Gonzales, but I don't think Holder had a choice. This conviction was going to get thrown out. Either look incompetent now, or incompetent and partisan later. I don't believe decency had anything to do with it.

How does this make Holder look incompetent?

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deejaydana

deejaydana

Posted
Posted
Uh huh. Let me know when you figure out whether Obama is a socialist radical disaster or the exact same as your boy Bush.

You've only strengthened my assertion with this post (I don't know if you realize that though). He's my 'boy' Bush? Please find a post of mine in the last 2K+ posts where I have backed Bush. I'd love to see it. There may be one or two (related to some policy) but what you don't seem to tolerate or understand is that if someone questions Obama (or the Dems) he's not necessarily a card-carrying member of the GOP. The world's not quite as polarized on all topics as I think maybe you believe it to be. Just saying...

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December90

December90

Posted
Posted

Sorry, but the election is done. Stevens needed to go as he had been in power for far too long. Unfortunately for Republicans his running did not give voters upset at corruption a viable option to vote for.

If you want the new guy out of there then.

a) identify the scandal that will cost him his job. (Not likely - but he is a politician, so.....)

B) run a solid Republican against him at re-election time and defeat him fairly.

Congressional term limits - the time has come.

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Burgold

Burgold

Posted
Posted

Chance of this happening? Slim and none. Absolutely no legal reason for Begich to step down. Now if Stephens had been removed from office due to this scandal then the overturn might have some baring. As it stands, I would laugh at this suggestion.

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Jumbo

Jumbo

Posted
Posted
Chance of this happening? Slim and none. Absolutely no legal reason for Begich to step down. Now if Stephens had been removed from office due to this scandal then the overturn might have some baring. As it stands, I would laugh at this suggestion.

This stuff makes me nostalgic.

Stevens was a known and well-honed slimer 25 years ago and Begich Sr. was his dem counter-slime back then, but Ted was worse and much better at it, too. I lived up there for 25 years and still have freinds who have been there for 50 years now. Ted was a very competent and effective crook who did keep many wheels greased, and to many folks' benefit.

His pork was tasty and plentiful and his skill was respected, ethics aside. Begich Jr., by my sources, is said to be notably more "proper" and clean than dad, who wasn't all that bad considering the turf. Alaskan politics was all about lots of money, little overhead (small population), far away from national scrutiny (until Ted somewhat, and then Palin a lot) and lots of angles/interests to be played, civilian, commercial, military, corporate, and political. It was a cakewalk/gravy train for most politicians and you could work any angle to success from old-school classic graft-and-trade to shiny new reformer. Wild place.

And no hi-jack intended, but I wouldn't start a thread for this so I'll just mention it here--Palin should maybe be glad she & McCain didn't make it. Between the boy-bride bailing, mom-in-law's circus, Todd's turmoil, and now this (saw it at my buddy's house tonight when he was on the SF 49'er site)...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/04/03/2009-04-03_gov_sarah_palins_sisterinlaw_diana_palin.html

...she'd be mukluk deep in media magpies. Can you imagine how blown up all of that all would have been/ would be by the media were she veep? This deal only features her hubby's half-sister, but it would still be all over everything were she in the WH.

My bud (TK knows him--49'er Phil--is another equal-opportunity smartass in regards to politics or anything else, and he cackled "look, the Clampetts are at it again. If she'd been elected there'd be a Ford Pickup up on cinder-blocks on the white house lawn.

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Burgold

Burgold

Posted
Posted

Billy Carter was a small business owner and entrepeneur. He was in fact the original model for Joe, the Plumber. Rumor had it that Palin was going to recruit him as a domestic policy advisor.

What President would you most want to have a beer with? Well, don't buy bonds. Buy Beer. Billy Beer, it's the kind of draft you want from your President.

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