Good news has just been reported that Democratic Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, Alaska has won the Senate race over long term Senator Ted Stevens, who was recently convicted of seven felonies in a federal trial, and would have been facing explusion by his Senate colleagues had he been reelected.Â
Stevens has served forty years in the Senate, longer than any Republican senator in US history, but his career ends in disgrace, not only because of his felony convictions, but also because of the controversial "Bridge to Nowhere" which became part of the 2008 presidential campaign and was used as the poster boy for the attack on "earmarks" passed on a regular basis by members of Congress.
Stevens’ departure will be welcome for another reason–he was a nasty, grouchy old man, and apparently may have been a nasty, grouchy middle aged man years ago :) LOL His arrogance was legendary and his absence may improve overall Senate relations, although there are other Senate Republicans who also need to promote the idea of cooperation and open mindedness in order to create a good bipartisan mood for the next Congress. Unfortunately, don’t bet on that!