TPMDC Ted Stevens
John Ensign
Scandal-Plagued Sen. Ensign Delivers Emotional Farewell As Bin Laden Distracts
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
With the world's eyes focused on the late Osama Bin Laden and Congress largely quiet, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) ended his tumultuous political career with a farewell speech from the Senate floor on Monday afternoon.
Ensign, who announced his resignation last month almost two years after revealing an extramarital affair with a staffer, issued an apology to his family and fellow lawmakers -- and a warning to avoid his path to ruin.
In his remarks, Ensign lamented how he had grown "blind to how arrogant and self-centered that I had become" en route to his scandal, even as he saw the same self-centeredness exhibited in his Senate colleagues.
"My caution to all of my colleagues is to surround yourself with people who will be honest with you about how you really are and what you are becoming, and then make them promise to not hold back, no matter how much you may try to prevent them, from telling you the truth," Ensign said. "I wish that I had done this sooner, but this is one of the hardest lessons that I've had to learn."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: John Ensign, Larry Craig, Ted Stevens
AK-SEN
McAdams Ad: I'll Have To Wear A Tie -- And Might Pick Ted Stevens's Hulk Tie (VIDEO)
From a Scott McAdams campaign ad, "Tie Rack."
Scott McAdams, the Democratic nominee in the Alaska Senate race, has a fun new ad that features something people wouldn't have expected to see: A Democratic candidate promising to follow in the path of the late Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, who the Dems famously defeated in 2008 in the wake of an ethics scandal.
McAdams has been lagging in third place in the polls, behind the more high-profile Republican nominee Joe Miller and incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is running a write-in campaign after her upset narrow primary loss to the Tea Party-backed Miller. So in this quirky and memorable ad, McAdams pitches himself as a down-home guy who is having trouble getting used to wearing a neck tie.
"I'm Scott McAdams, and my wife Romy told me I better start wearing a tie -- so I can look 'Senatorial,'" McAdams says in a voiceover, as he looks at all different kinds of ties. "Now, if it takes a tie to finally get the same share of oil royalties as Louisiana, then I'll wear one. And if it takes a tie to stop Joe and Lisa from outsourcing our jobs to China, or our tax dollars to the Lower 48, then that's a good reason, too.
Finally, McAdams seems to settle on a western-style bolo tie -- but then also puts his hand on an Incredible Hulk tie, which used to be a signature motif of Stevens. "I approve this message, because for me, it's about Alaska, and getting our fair share again. We used to have a Senator like that."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, AK-SEN, Joe Miller, Lisa Murkowski, Scott McAdams, Senate '10, Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Details Emerge On Plane Crash That Killed Stevens: Victims Remain In Serious Condition
The plane that was carrying Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) when it crashed near Dillingham, Alaska.
New details are beginning to emerge about the plane crash that killed Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and four others -- Dana Tindall, her daughter, Corey, 16, lobbyist Bill Phillips and the pilot, Terry Smith. Sean O'Keefe, EADS CEO, his son Kevin, lobbyist Jim Morhard and Phillips' son Willy, 13, remain hospitalized in Anchorage. Although the crash site remains relatively inaccessible due to weather conditions, NTSB investigators have pieced together a preliminary report based on accounts from rescuers and witnesses.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Ted Stevens
Alaska Plane Crash
Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe Alive After Alaska Plane Crash
Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe
Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe survived the Alaska plane crash that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens, according to defense contractor EADS North America. O'Keefe is the CEO of the company, which specializes in aviation.
"It was with a great sense of relief and gratitude that we learned that Sean, and his son,
Kevin, survived the aircraft crash in Alaska. We extend our deepest sympathy to the
families of those less fortunate in this terrible accident," EADS Chairman Ralph Crosby told TPMDC in a statement. "We owe a debt of gratitude for the heroic efforts of the members of the rescue crew and others who rushed to the scene. We look forward to Sean's full recovery and his rapid return to EADS North America."
Topics: Alaska, Alaska Plane Crash, Sean O'Keefe, Ted Stevens
Alaska Plane Crash
Experts: Downed Plane Carrying Stevens Was Standard Carrier In Alaska
The DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter that went down in Alaska last night, killing former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and carrying other officials, was a prime example of a sturdy, reliable aircraft wilderness pilots have flown for decades, aviation experts and bush pilots told me today.
A pilot on the ground in Dillingham, Alaska who is familiar with the exact aircraft that crashed told me that the DHC-3 Stevens was flying on was a "beautiful and well-maintained airplane" that was an example of the best of the best available to Alaskan bush pilots.
"It's a really well-built airframe," charter pilot Tom Schlagel told me. In his own Dillingham-based charter business, Schlagel uses a smaller version of the same DeHavilland plane that crashed, though, as he told me, his is "less fancy" than the one that went down last night.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alaska, Alaska Plane Crash, Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Former Sen. Ted Stevens Dies In Plane Crash
Former Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) passed away as a result of a plane crash last night outside of Dillingham, Alaska. He was 86 years old. He leaves behind a wife, Catherine; five children from his first marriage to Ann -- Ben, a former state Senator, Susan, Beth, Walter, Ted Jr.; and Lily, his daughter with Catherine.
Stevens was the longest-serving Republican member of the United States Senate in its history, having first won election to it in 1968.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
A History Of Political Plane Crashes
With reports of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) being involved in a plane crash in Alaska, it should be noted that there have been many high-profile plane crashes in American politics. Let's take a look.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alaska, Birch Bayh, Hale Boggs, Jerry Litton, John Heinz, John Tower, Mel Carnahan, Nick Begich, Paul Wellstone, Richard Obenshain, Ted Kennedy, Ted Stevens
Alaska Plane Crash
Former Stevens Aide: Report Of Stevens' Death 'Unconfirmed'
Fmr. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R)
The former aide to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) who reportedly told KTUU-TV in Alaska that Stevens had died in a plane crash last night is retracting that report.
Dave Dittman, the former aide, provided this statement to TPMDC through a spokesperson after we asked him to confirm the story he told to KTUU:
Dave received a call last night and was told that Senator Stevens had perished in a plane crash. That has not been confirmed. That is just what he was told. In the meantime he has talked with close friends of the family and it has not been confirmed to them either. And as recent as 8:50 AK time this morning it still had not been confirmed.PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Alaska, Alaska Plane Crash, Dave Dittman, Ted Stevens
Alaska Plane Crash
Report: Stevens Family Friend Says Senator Dead In Plane Crash
Fmr. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R)
Former Sen. Ted Stevens was killed in a plane crash in Alaska last night, Anchorage, Alaska NBC station KTUU reports.
Dave Dittman, a former aide and longtime family friend of former Sen. Ted Stevens says Stevens was killed in a plane crash near Dillingham Monday night.
There is no further confirmation or explanation in that report.
More on the plane crash here.
Late Update: Through a spokesperson, Dittman later told TPMDC that his original report of Stevens' death was unconfirmed.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alaska, Alaska Plane Crash, Dave Dittman, Ted Stevens
Alaska
Flashback: 1972 Alaska Plane Crash Killed Dem Congressman And House Majority Leader
The late House Majority Leader Hale Boggs (D-LA) and the late Rep. Nick Begich (D-AK)
The plane crash last night that reportedly involved former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), and his previous 1978 plane crash that resulted in the death of his wife, were not the first plane crashes in Alaska to involve high-profile political figures. In fact, a crash in 1972 resulted in the deaths of not only an Alaska politician, but a major national Democratic leader.
On October 16, 1972, House Majority Leader Hale Boggs (D-LA) was campaigning with first-term Democratic Rep. Nick Begich when their plane disappeared in the mountains en route to a fundraiser in Juneau. The disappearance resulted in a 39-day search, covering an area of 300,000 square miles. In October 1977, the twin peaks of the mountain barrier where the two were presumed to have died were renamed Mt. Boggs and Mt. Begich. (From the Associated Press, via Nexis.)
Begich, who had not yet been legally declared dead, was re-elected in November 1972 against Republican nominee Don Young, who in turn later went on to win the special election to replace Begich. Young has held the seat ever since. Begich's son, Democrat Mark Begich, would later serve as Mayor of Anchorage and is now Alaska's junior Senator, having narrowly defeated Ted Stevens in 2008. Boggs was succeeded by his widow, Democrat Lindy Boggs, the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana, who held the seat until her retirement at the 1990 election.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alaska, Hale Boggs, Nick Begich, Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Lobbyist Also In Alaska Plane Crash
Lobbyist Jim Morhard
James Morhard, a D.C. lobbyist and the former chief of staff for the Senate Appropriations Committee, was also on the plane that crashed last night in Alaska.
Morhard's presence on the plane -- first reported by Politico -- was confirmed to TPM by Katherine Gronberg, the vice president of his lobbying firm. Gronberg said she was still waiting for information about Morhard's condition.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens Was Previously In 1978 Plane Crash That Killed Wife
Fmr. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R)
With the reports today that former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) may have been on a plane that has crashed in Alaska, it should be remembered that Stevens was once on another plane that crashed, with very tragic consequences.
In December 1978, Ted Stevens and his wife Ann Stevens were on a small chartered plane that crashed while attempting to land. Ted Stevens survived -- but his wife Ann, and four other people, were killed. Ted Stevens suffered head, neck and arm injuries, but was conscious when two of his daughters visited him in the hospital.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alaska, Ted Stevens
Alaska Plane Crash
Former NASA Adminstrator Aboard Downed Plane In Alaska
Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe
Former Bush administration NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe was aboard the plane that crashed in remote Alaska last night, according to EADS North America, the defense contractor for which he's served as CEO since October 2009. Former Sen. Ted Stevens was also reportedly on board.
EADS spokesperson Guy Hicks said, "No other details are available at this time."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alaska Plane Crash, Sean O'Keefe, Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Reports: Sen. Ted Stevens On Board Plane That Crashed In Alaska
Former Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)
[This post continues to update as new information becomes available. Please scroll down or refresh for the latest information.]
The Anchorage Daily News reports that the family of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) is concerned that he may have been on-board a GCI-owned plane that reportedly crashed near Dillingham, Alaska. Stevens was on his way to the GCI-owned Agulowak Lodge near Lake Aleknagik.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Ted Stevens
Health Care
In Letter To Kennedy And Baucus, Obama Outlines Principles For Health Reform
Following on his meeting earlier this week with Democrats from the Senate Finance and HELP committees (the two committees with jurisdiction over health reform legislation), President Obama has sent a letter to the committees' chairmen--Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)--restating his priorities, and committing to some new spending cuts to generate revenue to pay for comprehensive legislation.
You can see the entire letter here, but some of the key points are:
I am committed to working with the Congress to fully offset the cost of health care reform by reducing Medicare and Medicaid spending by another $200 to $300 billion over the next 10 years, and by enacting appropriate proposals to generate additional revenues. These savings will come not only by adopting new technologies and addressing the vastly different costs of care, but from going after the key drivers of skyrocketing health care costs, including unmanaged chronic diseases, duplicated tests, and unnecessary hospital readmissions.To identify and achieve additional savings, I am also open to your ideas about giving
special consideration to the recommendations of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), a commission created by a Republican Congress. Under this approach, MedPAC's recommendations on cost reductions would be adopted unless opposed by a joint resolution of the Congress. This is similar to a process that has been used effectively by a commission charged with closing military bases, and could be a valuable tool to help achieve health care reform in a fiscally responsible way.
Congress has demanded that health reform efforts be deficit neutral--meaning Obama must pay for the initial costs with a combination of efficiency savings and increased taxes or spending cuts. For more on how the MedPAC plan would work, see this post. Much of this ground, apparently, was covered at the meeting--and soon we'll know whether it's the sort of stuff Congress will go for.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Health Care, Max Baucus, Senate Finance Committee, Ted Stevens
Don Young
Don Young's Prescription For Ted Stevens: Run For Governor!
The state of Alaska is providing with one of those great entertaining moments from a mostly one-party state: When members of the same party, in this case the Republicans, start openly ripping each other apart.
Congressman Don Young has broken from the calls by Sarah Palin and the Alaska Republican Party, who say that Democratic Sen. Mark Begich should resign because he was only elected through the botched prosecution against Sen. Ted Stevens. After Stevens was convicted of several felony counts, Begich went on to narrowly win the election -- but now the Justice Department has dropped all the charges in light of prosecutorial misconduct. Young doesn't like the result, but it is what it is.
Young is going a bit further, however, and making a suggestion for another way that Ted Stevens could make a political comeback: Running for governor in 2010. This would presumably involve Stevens running against Sarah Palin, a giant of her state's politics. Now why would Young suggest such a thing?
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Don Young, Sarah Palin, Ted Stevens
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