Less than 48 hours after his conviction on seven corruption charges, Republicans are stepping up their calls for Alaska Senator Ted Stevens to resign:
A day after he was convicted of seven felonies, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) came under increasing pressure from top Republicans to resign, even as he planned to resume campaigning for his seat today.
The unfolding events led to speculation in political and legal circles about whether Stevens would face prison time and whether President Bush might pardon him or commute his sentence.
Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the party’s presidential nominee, and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate, said Stevens must resign because of his conviction for concealing the receipt of more than $250,000 in gifts and renovations to his house in Girdwood, Alaska.
“It is clear that Senator Stevens has broken his trust with the people and that he should now step down,” McCain said.
Palin left open the possibility that Stevens could stand for reelection Tuesday and then resign. “Alaskans are grateful for his decades of public service, but the time has come for him to step aside. Even if elected on Tuesday, Senator Stevens should step aside to allow a special election to give Alaskans a real choice of who will serve them in Congress,” she said.
Joining McCain and Palin were Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, both of whom are in tough re-election fights this year.
The Alaska Republican Party, meanwhile, seems to be trying to find a way to save Stevens’ seat even if Stevens himself is doomed:
The Alaska GOP began a campaign yesterday to convince voters that a resolution to Stevens’s future could come after the election, but that backing the beleaguered incumbent would be the only way to ensure that the seat stays in Republican hands.
“Many questions are still left unanswered, but one choice is extremely clear: If Mark Begich wins this election, the state of Alaska will be stuck with a liberal senator for six years,” the party said in a statement. Should Stevens win Tuesday and then step down, a special election would be held within 90 days.
Recent polls, all of which were taken nearly ten days ago, show Stevens and Beglich virtually tied so it’s hard to say what impact Stevens’ conviction has had on the race, although it’s hard to believe that it’s helped him in any significant respect.
In either case, it’s hard to see how Stevens will actually be able to serve out his term should he win election and, if nothing else, one imagines that the new Senate would eject him when it convenes in January.
[...] The week before the election, Sarah Palin was one of the Republican leaders calling on convicted felon Ted Stevens (R., Federal Pr… [...]