Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid

[onehandle]

Source: AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has lost his bid for a seventh term. The longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate trailed Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3,724 votes after Tuesday's count. That's an insurmountable lead with only about 2,500 overseas ballots left to be counted.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081119/ap_on_el_ge/stevens

[AlCzervik]

1. Woot!

[Flaxbee]

2. Just saw this! MSNBC.com has it on their banner...

WOO HOO!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. What great news!

I could NOT be happier!

:woohoo: :woohoo:

[tblue]

4. Oh, I'm gonna turn to Fox News. This I gotta see.

[dana_b]

6. not near a t.v. Let me know how they react?

please? I love to hear of them squirming.

[Scurrilous]

5. Great news!

:thumbsup:

[Dinger]

7. Way To Go Begich! Hopefully, Al's Next! (nt)

[Mind_your_head]

8. Mark Begich (D) - Alaska WINS!!! Yeah!!!!!

This would be a better (more positive title) imho, but I know in LBN one must use the 'source' title......a long way of saying, what we all know to be true, msm SUCKS hard!


MARK BEGICH WINS!!!!! :bounce: :toast: :bounce: :toast:

on edit: I have 'fat fingers' - fixed a typo

[lanlady]

9. way to go, Alaska!

Fabulous news. Though now you have to keep the Palinator in Juneau.

[cyndensco]

10. 1 down, 2 to go.....

[KamaAina]

11. Maybe he can run for the prison council

and Sarah for the Wasilla PTA! :nopity:

[truthisfreedom]

12. Can you imagine how hard Sarah Palin is weeping right now?

Her red-rimmed bloodshot eyes are illuminating my darkest schadenfreude.

[Mind_your_head]

19. You betcha!

Sarah is right now at this very moment constructing the most ubiquitous run-on sentence to concur all of the incongruities that go along with being a representative with some sort of governmental responsibility within the state of alaska, which is part of the you-knighted states of america right now at this very moment, and you know....it's taken a long time to get where we are right now and we can all stand together on that! :-) (<----------- just in case you didn't 'know', that was :sarcasm:)

[corkhead]

35. looks like her lord put a padlock and a bar on that door by golly.

[callous taoboy]

13. Uncle Ted: Down the tubes. n/t

[Castleman]

14. OK, if Franken wins

how many do we have?

[trudyco]

145. I believe 59 - which is why they kept joementum on the team. nt

[Fearless]

147. Then we also have the Georgia runoff... 60??

[santamargarita]

15. Now, let's wait till Bush finally leaves and throw his sorry ass in Jail!

No chance of pardon from the smirking monkey!

[Owl]

32. Exactly!

[onehandle]

16. Rec this thread!! *-*-*-* nt

[Danascot]

17. Another big nail in the GOP coffin

GREAT news!

[JimDandy]

18. Congratulations Sen. Mark Begich!! n/t

[olddad56]

20. Prison is not just a big building, it a series of cells.

[Politicalboi]

21. Yippie

Now Alaska impeach Palin.

[quiet.american]

22. Excellent! Now Palin cannot appoint herself as a senator. nt

[Blue_In_AK]

29. She couldn't have done that anyway.

I predict Plan B (which I had thought was Plan A before the McCain choice) -- Lisa Murkowski's Senate seat in 2010.

[quiet.american]

154. As I understood it, there was a somewhat circuitous route by which she could have obtained the seat.

But glad it's a moot point in any case.

[liberal N proud]

23. Bye bye Ted, bye bye Sarah

[L0oniX]

24. Aaawwww

[mvd]

25. Hooray!!

:bounce: :bounce:

[scytherius]

26. Congratulations Begich!! nt

nt

[rasputin1952]

27. Nice B'day present for the creep...

The GOP gets top go down just a little further, nice going AK!

:woohoo:

[alittlelark]

28. HAPPY DANCE!!!!!!!!! ...follows...

:party: :toast: :grouphug: :fistbump: :fistbump: :headbang: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[LiberalFighter]

30. Recount unlikely.

From article:

Tuesday's tally of just over 24,000 absentee and other ballots gave Begich 146,286, or 47.56 percent, to 143,912, or 46.76 percent, for Stevens.

From Alaska Election last updated 11/18/2008 04:18:17 PM

150,728 xx 47.76% xx DEM xx Begich, Mark
013,113 xx 04.16% xx AI_ xx Bird, Bob
001,375 xx 00.44% xx NA_ xx Gianoutsos, Ted
002,482 xx 00.79% xx LIB xx Haase, Fredrick D.
147,004 xx 46.58% xx REP xx Stevens, Ted
000,871 xx 00.28% xx Write-in Votes

Total counted 315,573

There are about 2,500 overseas ballots to count.

Difference currently - 1.18%
Auto Recount Percent - 0.05%

Approximate Total after overseas ballots. 318,073

(If Stevens receives the remaining 2,500 votes there would be an automatic recount)
47.387 - Begich
46.956 - Stevens
00.0431- Difference

Stevens would need to gain about another 2317 votes or more of the 2500 for the automatic recount to take effect. Or about 92.68% of the remaining ballots.

[LiberalFighter]

34. Correction: Recount is automatic only if there is a tie.

Otherwise, if the difference is .5% of the votes than a candidate can request at no cost for a recount.

[Canuckistanian]

31. Longest serving? Even more than Strom?

I think that's a fine end to a corrupt career.

Congratulations, Alaska!

[Doctor_J]

33. 58!

Franken's a good bet. I feel less sanguine about GA. But it's been a good year regardless.

[NEDem]

36. Stevens loses Alaska Senate seat to Democrat

Source: MSNBC/ AP

WASHINGTON - Convicted Sen. Ted Stevens lost his re-election bid to Democrat Mark Begich on Tuesday after the last large batch of votes was counted.

The longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate trailed Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3,724 votes after Tuesday's count of about 24,000 absentee and contested ballots.

That's an insurmountable lead with only about 2,500 overseas ballots left to be counted.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27789536/

[I Have A Dream]

37. Oh, what wonderful, wonderful news!

:party::party::party:

[jhrobbins]

71. Now if Al can just pull it out and the other guy (I'm ashamed I don't

know the other contested race) too, we will be sitting pretty. Shame we cannot do (apparently) without Liebermann.

[Number23]

82. Are you talking about the runoff in Georgia??

Martin vs. Chambliss v2.0??

[Stellabella]

84. Coleman, Norm (R-Slimeball)

Cannot stand him - he stole Senator Wellstone's seat. It's looking pretty good - seems most of the undervotes were from heavily Democratic areas.

[AllyCat]

105. Oh that's good news. I sure hope it goes Al's way.

[ksimons]

109. yay!!!!

three happy party faces is right!

[NanceGreggs]

38. Don't think of it as a tragedy, Ted ...

... we all know what cachet the words "convicted felon" have when they appear in a GOP resume.

[AllyCat]

106. LOL!!! So true, Nance.

[amdezurik]

39. now he won't be "too busy" for a perp walk

:)

[Tripper11]

40. And now time for a proper perp walk yes?

Walk him to the jailhouse!

[Olney Blue]

41. Maybe he can be Sarah's nanny.

[Bryan]

42. Hurrah!

A job well done by the good people of Alaska. This hasn't been a good year for you in terms of political embarrassments, but you've held up admirably and struck a blow for common sense.

[tigereye]

43. hooray!

:bounce:

[BeatleBoot]

44. We Beat a Convicted Felon!

Just barely.

Yeah!!!!!

Gimme 60, baby, 60!

[L. Coyote]

91. Mission Accomplished.

[ProfessorGAC]

117. Doesn't Sound That Impressive

But, this is Alaska and it's pretty a very red state for quite some time. How do you think they ended up electing a twit like Palin?

Convicted felon as opponent or not, winning a Senate seat in that state is a pretty big deal.
The Professor

[DeSwiss]

45. It were the TUBES what done it!!!

- K&R!!!

[sasquatch]

49. And his career has gone down them same tubes

:rofl:

[felinetta]

46. Will Bush pardon him?

[Nevernose]

47. I'm a little surprised the pardon wasn't issued before the conviction (n/t)

(n/t)

[George II]

79. At this point (85 years old today), it's moot - but bush CANNOT appoint him senator!!! WOOHOOO

[NorCalDem]

90. do you have to ask?!?

n/t

[Richard Steele]

94. Nope. Whores are discarded when their usefulness ends.

Ted is no longer useful to anyone- no pardon will be forthcoming.

[Blue_In_AK]

155. Ted said yesterday he hadn't asked for a pardon.

He's appealing his case and has refused to accept that he's actually "convicted." He claims extreme prosecutorial miscondut, and if I know anything about Ted, he will appeal it as far as he can. Were he to ask for a pardon it would be an admission of guilt. He has a lot of pride -- I can't see him going begging to the Prez for this. He's a realist, and I'm sure he figures he can string this out until he dies.

[gristy]

48. 3,724 votes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!! :party:

[gingersnaps1]

50. I guess God gave Sarah her answer!! Keep yourself in Alaska.

[sonias]

56. Thank you God!

The lower 48 and Hawaii thank you too! Sorry Alaska she's all yours! :evilgrin:


Sonia

[sunnybrook]

69. forgot about that angle!

what an election year!

[obiwan]

51. One down. Two to go for surermajority.( Filibuster-proof).

[SeattleGirl]

52. Happy Birthday, Stevens!

That's exactly the present I hoped you would get! :bounce: :bounce:

[minnesota_liberal]

61. Goes well with his soap-on-a-rope gift

Of course, he'll have to disclose that gift to stay in compliance.

[struggle4progress]

53. Link to Alaska Divisions of Elections results page

http://www.elections.alaska.gov/08general/data/results.htm
:dem:

[mcg]

81. Bob Bird of Alaska Independence Party got 4.16% of the vote. nt

[Blue_In_AK]

156. Bob Bird's the spoiler

because ALL of his votes would have gone to Ted. Those guys just wouldn't have voted for Mark Begich, no way in hell.

[Arugula Latte]

54. You betcha!

:woohoo:

[onehandle]

55. Dupe.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3608083

[Crowman1979]

57. Your next Palin!

Once either Ted Stevens spills the beans on you in order to get a lower sentence or your booted out of office due to impeachment, recall or just plain voted out of office--whichever comes first.

[Delphinus]

64. Let us hope

we've seen the last of her hopes for 2012 (or beyond).

[defendandprotect]

58. Do I smell a PARDON coming ...???

[shireen]

59. dog gone it!

:P

[DinahMoeHum]

60. Fuckin' A !! One down, two to go !!

:kick::kick::kick:

[AllyCat]

107. I say 2 down, two to go...don't forget Merkley in OR!

[KeepItReal]

62. Kewl!!!

Congrats, Senator-elect Begich!

[BR_Parkway]

63. Gee Sarah, looks like God just closed another door

[Third Doctor]

65. That's great!

Now we have to focus on Minnesota and Georgia. I have more faith in the Minnesota race though.

[whatdoyouthink]

66. Good news on two

fronts... We (Alaska & US) win one more, and maybe? we here allot less from what her name - a Stevens win would have kept here more in the news, big drama from a drama queen, and her Hubby would have been there (temp) next Senitor...for sure!

[L0oniX]

67. Want to bet that Bush pardons him?

:evilfrown:

[TommyO]

77. Pardoned, or not, he's no longer a senator

and he's older than dirt and won't be long for this world.

[Blue_In_AK]

157. Exactly.

Ted will appeal his case. It will take a long time. In the meantime, his name will remain on our airport, I predict, because no one wants to disrespect an elder who has done so much good for the state, even though he probably always had a "different" view of ethics than the law allows. He was wily, he was effective, and, yes, he brought home the bacon. But Alaska was a new state when he first went to Washington, and he felt like he owed it to the people at home to expand the state's infrastructure and boost the economy. I think his intentions were good at first, but he slid into a lifestyle of entitlement, and lost his way. It's really kind of a sad story, and I feel bad for him. I honestly believe that he doesn't REALLY think he did anything wrong -- even though he knows he broke the law. Ted's an outlaw, and he likes it that way.

But I predict he will die while going through the appeals process, and he won't spend any time in jail. I'm happy he conceded and didn't ask for a recount. It was the right thing to do.

[Historic NY]

68. Sarah just became Sarah Who.

[EFerrari]

70. LOL! THANK YOU, Alaska!

:woohoo:

[Vroomfondel]

115. You're very welcome

Mark Begich is a good guy. He's very civic minded and humble to boot. We dodged a bullet on the Sarah front for sure.

[clear eye]

127. Thanks and welcome to DU

Looking forward to more news from the North.

[Blue_In_AK]

159. Welcome to DU, Vroomfondel.

and from Wasilla, no less. :) What's it like out there these days?

[Blue_In_AK]

158. You're most welcome.

We worked hard. This one was important. We worked hard to get the word out on SP, as well. You guys owe the sane Alaskans -- and there are quite a few of us -- a debt of gratitude. :evilgrin:

[hangman86]

72. From the Senate House to the jail house

Don't let barred door hit you on the way in Teddy. :toast: :bounce: :kick:

[Deep13]

73. Happy Birthday, Ted! You're fired.

Also, you're going to prison, too.
:party:

[ThoughtCriminal]

74. Bad Guy Falls In Poop!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjjVUUO5NAI

Now comes the part where we throw back our heads and laugh!

Ready?...

[DeSwiss]

76. Mehehehehehehe!!!!

:rofl:

[Initech]

89. No, he falls in the series of tubes!!!

[stlsaxman]

122. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Arctic Dave]

75. I told ya so.

I says, "Chill the F* out, we got this". :)

[Third Doctor]

78. Palin can forget about it.

It's not impossible but this may put a block in Palin's way. She is so obviously self serving it's nuts.

[jeff30997]

80. Hey Ted !

[GreenPartyVoter]

83. W00T!

[HEyHEY]

85. Obama wins, Cheny indicted, Stevens out.... things are SOO going our way!

[midnight]

119. What was Cheny indicted for?

[BadGimp]

86. Here you go Ted

[Initech]

87. WOOHOO!!!! SERIES OF TUBES!!!

[L. Coyote]

88. Anchorage Daily News has a great line today. Has Ted gone to bed already?

"Stevens, 85, was trying to be the first person ever elected to the Senate following a felony verdict."

http://www.adn.com/senateelection/story/593747.html

Begich defeats Stevens in Senate race

By SEAN COCKERHAM November 18th, 2008

Begich issued a statement just before 5 p.m. claiming victory, saying "I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the United States Senate."

He said around 5:30 p.m. that he hadn't heard from Stevens, and noted it was after 9 p.m. in Washington.

[antonialee839]

92. What a great twofer

First, the Senate is rid of one nasty little piece of work, and second, God pretty much shut the door on another nasty little piece of work waiting in the shadows to take his place.

[4_Legs_Good]

93. 58!!!!!!!!!!

Cya Ted!!

David

[Third Doctor]

96. I just bet.

That ole, Ted will want a recount, even if he is a convicted felon and would likely be expelled from the senate anyway. He is just that delusional, actually he should have retired years ago. I think there should be term limits on senators.

[stevedeshazer]

95. This thread needs 60 recs to be filibuster-proof!

This gets us to 58.

[Blue_In_AK]

97. And Mark says...

YEESSSS!!!




(Actually, I took this the day he announced his candidacy, but I can imagine a similar look on his face today. Congratulations, Mayor Senator-elect Mark. :patriot:

[ClayZ]

98. Wooo Hoooo ALASKA, you beautiful state, you! K and R

[Dukkha]

99. aaaah! hear that wonderful sound?

The fundies crying their eyes out again! music to my ears!

[DUlover2909]

100. I saw it coming but, WHABOOM! Down he goes!!!!

Just another lump of turd for the repukes to swallow. Too bad Sarah Palin!

}( }( }( }(

[Sin]

101. Have to post it :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtOoQFa5ug8

Mr Chairman I think you are now Finished :) plz go find your self a truck to dump stuff on what ever tube you want. :)

[antimatter98]

102. Great great news. Getting this old #@#% out of the Senate! n/t

[orleans]

103. ha-ha, ha-ha, ha. ha. n/t

[superconnected]

104. Bye Ted! See ya!

[CountDmoney]

108. He he!

Karma buddy, It's a bitch!

[Window]

110. Thank you Lord!

:fistbump:

[LeftishBrit]

111. Great news, especially as it's probably harmful to Palin's career

[truthisfreedom]

112. Let me reword that for you, MSGOP... "Democratic Candidate Beats Convicted Felon Ted Stevens"

Next time get it right.

[Sherman A1]

113. Just guessin' here, but

I believe that solves the Republican caucus's problem about having to figure out what to do with Ted.

[Kind of Blue]

114. Thanks Alaska for killing 2 birds with one stone, while giving us another Dem!

Goodbye, Ted & Sarah.

[bitchkitty]

116. I just love it when that happens.

Yay Alaska! Proud for you tonight.

[machI]

118. It looks like the fine citizens of Alaska do not want a Senator sitting in prison

Have fun in the big house Ted!

Hope you have a good supply of Vaseline.

[Chiyo-chichi]

120. "Jail, Baby, Jail!"

[stlsaxman]

121. "...and I say to myself- what a wonderful world!"

so now Palin can't appoint herself Senator?

whoopee!

:bounce:

[Rebubula]

123. Good

It would have been criminal if he were reelected

[onlyadream]

124. Jesus, what took so long!? nt

[Blue_In_AK]

160. Careful counting.

[Reeta77]

125. HUZZAH!!

:toast: This news just made my morning.

[Mad_Dem_X]

126. Yes! Good job, Alaska! n/t

[Alcibiades]

128. Begich beats Stevens in bid for Senate seat

Source: KTUU/AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Mark Begich, the Democratic Anchorage mayor, has defeated Sen. Ted Stevens in a closely contested, see-saw race for the United States Senate, according to Associated Press projections.

The Division of Elections has almost concluded an initial count of absentee, early in-person and questioned ballots Tuesday. That, coupled with the numbers culled from Election Day, gave Begich a 3,724-vote lead over Stevens, the 40-year Republican incumbent, with about 2,500 ballots left to count.

Begich's victory followed the trend of the post-Election Day counting that saw a 3,200-vote lead for Stevens turn into a 1,022-vote advantage for Begich at the end of last week after the DOE started counting absentee and early ballots.

Though a likely recount looms, Begich's victory for now ends the furor over whether Stevens should resign -- or be expelled -- in the wake of his seven felony convictions for lying on Senate disclosure forms.

Read more: http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=9374831

---

58 seats in the Senate. I have high hopes for Minnesota, but severe reservations about Georgia--the fact that this is their chance to deny the Democratic Party a super-majority in the Senate will really motivate the sorts of folks who hate Democrats.

Go on, Georgia Dems--you can do it!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

129. Thank GOD! What does this mean in terms of seat numbers now? nt

[Alcibiades]

130. 58, 2 more to go nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

132. I'm all nerves... what other contests are going on? nt

[drm604]

133. There are still two other Senatorial contests unsettled.

Franken versus Coleman in Minnesota is still being counted and will likely trigger an automatic recount, and Georgia is going to require a runoff election between Martin and Chambliss.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

134. I don't have much hope for that. I think Minnesotans have become dumbed down since I was last there

Sad that anyone would vote for complete right wing idiots isn't it?

[drm604]

136. I need to modify my last statement.

It's being reported that the Minnesota count has been finished and there will now be an automatic hand recount due to the closeness of the race. Coleman leads Franken by 215 votes out of 2.9 million, so it could go either way.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3607565

The state Canvassing Board today directed that a recount begin tomorrow in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and DFLer Al Franken, even as the board considers a last-minute request from the Franken campaign to include rejected absentee and mailed ballots in the initial count.

The board confirmed that, with all the state's 87 counties reporting, Coleman leads Franken by 215 votes out of more than 2.9 million votes cast.

"The report triggers the counting by hand of the four races which will begin tomorrow morning," said Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, chair of the five-member canvassing board.

In addition to the Senate race, the results in two state House races and one state Senate race also will be recounted.

[onehandle]

131. Dupe.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3608083

[Hotler]

135. GOOD! That is all.

[distantearlywarning]

137. Excellent news this morning!

My faith has been slightly renewed in the voters of Alaska.

[TheCowsCameHome]

138. This is really sad news...

..if you're a repuke.

For the rest of us, it's PAAAAAARRRRRRTTTTTTY TIME!!!!!!!!!!

:party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party:

PS - Sarah's going nowhere, either.

WooHoo.

[mnhtnbb]

139. I love good news! You betcha!

:applause: :bounce: :applause: :bounce:

[pleah]

141. Another one bites the dust!

:woohoo:

[AzNick]

142. Hot Damn! GREAT NEWS

Great way to start the day!

[whistle]

151. Congratulations to Democrat Mark Begich and I applaud his perseverance

:applause:

[d_b]

152. +1 for Alaskans

[BLUEBOY]

140. Get out Teddy, No,No,... YES YES!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qbRW5p-faI
This one is too funny!

[ellie]

143. Bwahahahahaha!

hahahahahaha! Sayonara asshole!

[VaYallaDawg]

144. Wonder when they'll rename the airport?

I don't think St. Ronald Reagan Anchorage International will fly -- at least not now!

[halobeam]

146. YAY... K & R

:bounce:

[ThatsMyBarack]

148. A bit of blue heaven in a red state!

Good for Alaska! :woohoo: :patriot:

[Zorra]

149. 2 more to go. n/t

[JeanGrey]

150. WOO HOO!!!!! WOO HOO!

[jtrockville]

153. He's got some powerful committee assignments...

wonder how it will all shake out...