Ted Stevens in 2008 Alaska Senate Debate

On Principles & Values: Calls secretly recorded by FBI played at corruption trial

Begich and Steven’s haven’t debated face-to-face yet, and two debates are scheduled for later this month. But with Stevens’ trial underway in Washington, D.C., it’s uncertain if they will meet in-person to debate. And while he is away at trial, Stevens’ own words are being used against him in the battle for the Senate.

A new attack ad from Democrats uses some of the FBI’s secret recordings that have been played at Stevens’ trial. “Worst that can happen to us is we run a bunch of legal fees and we might have to serve a little time in jail,“ said Stevens to former VECO CEO Bill Allen in a phone call recorded by the FBI.

At the Stevens’ headquarters, they aren’t too happy about the tone of the ad and are annoyed the Democrats are spending about $1 million here to get Stevens out of office. ”Alaskans are rejecting the ads,“ said a Stevens campaign spokesman. ”If Mark Begich wants to keep this about the issues, he would stand up to these groups and say pull them off the air.“

Source: 2008 Alaska Senate Debate reported on KTUU News Oct 16, 2008

On Principles & Values: Uncle Ted voted “Alaskan of the century”

Begich was just six years old when his opponent, Ted Stevens, was appointed to the Senate and began to shower money on his home state. Some years ago Stevens was voted “Alaskan of the century”. In the run-up to the primary, Stevens’s supporters put up more and bigger signs than Begich’s, even in Anchorage. It is a measure of “Uncle Ted’s” popularity that Begich has so far tiptoed around the federal indictment, issuing bland statements of regret. Stevens’s opponents in the Republican primary were much harder on him, and he beat them handily.

A day after Stevens’s indictment on July 29th, polls put Begich 13 points in the lead. Astonishingly, it also revealed that two-thirds of Alaskans believe Stevens to be at least as ethical as most politicians. This seems to prove that Alaskans do not care much about corruption, as long as their representatives keep the dollars flowing.

Source: 2008 Alaska Senate Debate reported in The Economist Sep 4, 2008

The above quotations are from 2008 Alaska Senate Debate between Mayor Mark Begich & Sen. Ted Stevens. Click here for other excerpts from 2008 Alaska Senate Debate between Mayor Mark Begich & Sen. Ted Stevens. Click here for other excerpts by Ted Stevens. Click here for a profile of Ted Stevens.
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Page last updated: Dec 01, 2018