Anyone hoping for a sign that the anti-establishment fever has peaked got mixed messages from Colorado’s Senate primaries Tuesday night. On the Democratic side, establishment favorite Michael Bennet won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, beating out former Colorado House speaker Andrew Romanoff with 54% of the vote with 77% of precincts reporting. This is [...]
Last year, I flew to the fishing village of Dillingham, Alaska for a story on Sarah Palin. This week, Senator Ted Stevens died in a plane wreck at near the same remote town. Some thoughts on flying in Alaska and, particularly, to the fishing village of Dillingham.
I only knew Ted Stevens by reputation, and it wasn’t a very good one. My condolences to his family, obviously. But it’s also fair to point out that the Senate has now lost two monumental porkers–Stevens and Robert Byrd–over the summer. On the House side, Appropriations Chair David Obey is jumping ship at the end [...]
Ted Stevens never worried much about making friends in Washington. “I’m a mean, miserable S.O.B.,” he once declared. He wasn’t speaking with contrition; he was bragging. Stevens was a tough character—brusque, short-tempered, and even vindictive. To underscore the point, he sometimes wore an Incredible Hulk necktie when he fought battles on the Senate floor. Those [...]
From the C-SPAN archives, here is a video clip of Senator Ted Stevens recommending his friend, Sean O’Keefe, to be confirmed NASA Administrator. Courtesy of C-SPAN.
Given Wyclef Jean’s candidacy for president of Haiti, Daniel Drezner has some important thoughts about other rock musicians who might lead. I, of course, would consider Bob Dylan for any office. Your suggestions? We might consider opening this athletes, in which case–and this pains me as a Mets diehard–I nominate Derek Jeter.
Update 12:48pm: A friend and former aide to Stevens tells an Alaska news channel that Stevens was killed in the crash. (However he now says that has not been confirmed.) Nine people were aboard a plane that crashed in southwest Alaska today, including former Republican Senator Ted Stevens, a one-time Senate titan who was defeated [...]
