Mark Begich Statement on Stevens Conviction

Mark's Statement on Sen. Stevens Conviction

10.27.08

Mark released the following statement on the conviction of Senator Ted Stevens:

“This past year has been a difficult time for Alaskans, but our people are strong and resilient and I believe that we will be able to move forward together to address the critical challenges that face Alaska.”

 

NOTE: Mayor Begich did not use this opportunity for a frontal political assault on Stevens, showing how Alaskan politics differ from the rest of the country.

 

Lisa Murkowski Statement on Steven's Conviction

“Given today’s verdict, it’s a sad day indeed for Sen. Stevens and his family as well as for Alaska,” Murkowski said. “Ted Stevens is an honorable, hard-working Alaskan who has served our state well for as long as we have been a state. It was clear that the prosecution blundered in several instances. Given these gaffes, which raised the ire of U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan on several occasions, Sen. Stevens has announced that he will appeal the verdict. I look forward to having justice served.”

“Ted has asked for Alaskans and his Senate colleagues to stand with him as he pursues his legal rights. He stood with Alaskans for 40 years, and I plan to continue to stand with him.”

Let's Not Have This Happen

Yes, I'll step back from the seriousness of this blog and this election and--as we near the one week out mark--provide a little humor, courtesy of Moveon.org.

Stevens Statement on Conviction

"I am obviously disappointed in the verdict but not surprised given the repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct in this case," Stevens writes. "The prosecutors had to report themselves to the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility during the trial for ethical violations. Exculpatory evidence was hidden from my lawyers. A witness was kept from us and then sent back to Alaska. The Government lawyers allowed evidence to be introduced that they knew was false. I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have."

"I am innocent. This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial. I ask that Alaskans and my Senate colleagues stand with me as I pursue my rights. I remain a candidate for the United States Senate." 

 

Election 2008 BREAKING NEWS

From Congress Daily:

Stevens Convicted

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was convicted this afternoon on all seven charges that he lied on personal financial disclosure reports when he failed to list more than $250,000 in gifts and house renovations. The verdict came just eight days before Stevens, 84, faces voters for a new six-year term. Stevens was indicted in July on the counts of making false statements. Each count carries up to five years in prison, although under federal sentencing guidelines such crimes usually merit a sentence of about 18 months. More details will be available soon.

 

This immediately shifts attention to the Alaska Senate Race and makes the election now seem to favor Mark Beigich, the Democratic challenger in that race. Watch reaction from all Alaska parties, including Sarah Palin. Also watch to see if this has any effect to shift the polls in the state of Alaska from McCain towards Obama; the verdict comes a day after the Anchorage Daily News endorsed Barack Obama for President. Alaska Polls close at 1am EST, after the presidential race is expected to be called, but the Senate race alone will be one to stay up for.

 

The Final Week: Monday Update

·         Interesting Details from yesterday’s Washington Post/ABC News Daily Tracking Poll: 90% of respondents indicated that they are comfortable with Obama’s race, indicating that it was not an issue for them. 50% of respondents said that John McCain’s age was a factor and an issue for consideration.

·         Former South Dakota Senator Larry Pressler, a Republican, endorsed Obama yesterday.

·         Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll: Obama 51%/McCain 46%

o    Coming up later tonight (6pm): Swing State polling from North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado & Virginia

o    Arizona: McCain 51/Obama 46—an extremely close margin in McCain’s home state

·         Diageo/Hotline Daily Tracking Poll: Obama 50%/McCain 42%/Undecided 5%

o    15% indicated that they have ALREADY Voted

o    Notice the 5% undecided number—it is the smallest that we have seen. And it is not far-fetched to gather that the percentage certain numbers for Obama and McCain are pretty set in stone

·         Gallup Daily Tracking Poll (Likely Voter-Traditional Model): Obama 50%/McCain 45% (Unchanged from Sunday)

·         Gallup Daily Tracking Poll (Likely Voter-Expanded Model): Obama 53%/McCain 43% (Obama +1 from Sunday)

·         Gallup Daily Tracking Poll (Registered Voter): Obama 52%/McCain 42% (Obama +1 from Sunday)

·         Washington Post-Virginia: Obama 52%/McCain 44%

·         John McCain & Sarah Palin will be interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on CNBC tomorrow morning at 9:30am

·         Reuter/C-SPAN/Zogby National Head-to-Head: Obama 50%/McCain 45%

·         GWU/Battleground Daily Tracking Poll: Obama 49%/McCain 46%

·         Reuters/Zogby Swing State Numbers

o    Ohio: Obama 50%/McCain 45%

o    Florida: Obama 47%/McCain 47%

o    North Carolina: Obama 50%/McCain 46%

o    Virginia: Obama 52%/McCain 45%

o    Missouri: Obama 48%/McCain 46%

o    Nevada: Obama 48%/McCain 44%

o    Indiana: MCCAIN 50%/Obama 44%

§  In other polling, Obama has led in Indiana, a red state that the Obama camp. Would like to pick-up

o    West Virginia: MCCAIN 50%/Obama 40%

·         Marist Swing State Polling

o    Iowa: Obama 52%/McCain 42%

o    New Hampshire: Obama 50%/McCain 45%

·         Real Clear Politics Average: Obama + 7.3%

o    Obama Leads 306/McCain 157/75 Toss Up

o    Arizona moved from Solid McCain to Lean McCain (Monday)

o    New Hampshire, which has moved back and forth all weekend, moved from Solid Obama to Lean Obama (Monday)

o    Toss Up States: INDIANA, NORTH CAROLINA, FLORIDA, MISSOURI, NORTH DAKOTA, MONTANA, NEVADA

o    The fact that Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia are not toss-ups, and all Lean Obama except for Pennsylvania which is solid, says a lot about the state of the race

·         It’s Time to Introduce a Second Set of Electoral Calculations into our daily write up, from CQ Politics, with an extra layer of rating levels, “Democrat Favored” and “Republican Favored” come between Lean Democratic/Republican and Safe Democratic/Republican

o    Obama leads 311/McCain 150/67 Toss Up (Obama Wins)

o    Toss Up States: INDIANA, NORTH CAROLINA, FLORIDA, MISSOURI, MONTANA (67)

o    Lean Obama: New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada (56)

o    Democratic Favored: Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Washington, Oregon (109)

o    Safe Democratic: Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Illinois, California, Hawaii (146)

o    Lean McCain: West Virginia, Arkansas, North Dakota (14)

o    Republican Favored: Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arizona (45)

o    Safe Democratic: South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, Idaho, Utah, Alaska (101)

·         And according to the latest count of EARLY VOTES as reported by the separate state election commissions, 10.75 million votes have already been cast in Election 2008

The Campaign's Closing Arguments

Just breaking tonight from The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder—the plan for the closing arguments of the two campaigns, beginning tomorrow in their stump speeches.

 

OBAMA

“In his speech, Senator Obama will tell voters that after twenty-one months and three debates, Senator McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he'd do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy. Obama will ask Americans to help him change this country, and say that in just one week, they can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up, they can choose to invest in health care for our families and education for our kids and renewable energy for our future, and they can choose hope over fear, unity over division and the promise of change over the power of the status quo."

 

McCAIN

“At a time when America is facing historic crisis we can't put our fate in the hands of an untested, inexperienced candidate. John McCain has served his country all his life, and he is the most prepared to restore our economy, bring back fiscal discipline, manage the two wars, and keep Americans safe.”

 

Developing. Watch the candidate’s on the trail tomorrow (Ohio & Pennsylvania), watch how it is received, how it is covered on cable news and how the closing arguments compete with what could be another volatile day on Wall Street.