Ted Stevens: What a difference a year makes

I'd been looking and looking for this article I wrote about Sen. Ted Stevens back in '07 -- and, despite internet archiving trouble at the Anchorage Press, I found it, tucked away in an email.

It was a short item about how he'd filed to run again in 2008, and how it'd be his last term as a senator. It seemed completely innocuous at the time, and I remember back in March of '07 asking Stevens a question about the election -- then about a year and a half away -- while standing in his Anchorage office. My now-coworker Mike Ross looked at me like I was crazy to ask such a mundane question.

Before 2007, Stevens was almost guaranteed to win. In 2008, he's the highest profile suspect to be indicted in Alaska's corruption scandal.

Back when I wrote it, Stevens and his spokesman, Aaron Saunders, said some things that seem telling now. Here's a couple reporting tidbits of interest:

Just in case
When I asked Stevens who among Alaska Republicans might follow in his footsteps and become a senator, he mentioned that he'd heard of some "placeholders," but he didn't really name anyone. He said he'd heard of some Republicans that would be ready to run in '08, just in case.

“You know, accidents happen, and people as old as me, well, nobody wants an accident,” Stevens said. “Something might happen along the line, and they think, ‘Well, I’ll just file in case.’"

Did he know, in March of '07 that he was being investigated?

In August of '07, the FBI served a search warrant at Stevens' Girdwood home. The connection to Veco Corp. became known, making readings of Stevens' political future a bit murkier. And that probably gave some contenders hope that they'd have a chance to beat Stevens in the Republican primary or the general election.

Sen. Mark Begich?
When I asked Stevens' spokesman Aaron Saunders who in the Democratic Party they expected as an opponent in '08, Saunders told me, off the record, that they had heard Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich would run. That prediction was spot-on and doesn't seem surprising at all now (and I think Aaron will forgive me for going on the record with that). But remember, this was back in February of 2007 -- months before the Veco-Stevens connection was widely known -- and I, for one, didn't think Begich would have a chance running against Stevens.

Those tidbits from my reporting might be more interesting than the actual story, which itself, might not be all that interesting. But here it is, nonetheless, rescued from the vault:

From the March 8, 2007 edition of the Anchorage Press Flashlight section:

Stevens looks to ’08

by Casey Grove

The 2008 election is still more than a year and a half away, but Senator Ted Stevens says he’s already concerned about it.

 Stevens says he’s the “No. 1 target” for those trying to unseat incumbent Republicans.

“You’re never going to see a campaign that’s going to be as horrendous in the U.S. Senate,” he said of the ‘08 election. “It’s going to be politics every day.”

 Stevens added, “I’ve never seen this height of political activity this early in the cycle.”



Riding a wave of dissent, perhaps from the Iraq War, Democrats retook the U.S. Senate in 2006. Stevens, 83, is now in his 39th year serving in the Senate. He’s the oldest and most senior Republican.

“If you want to set off a cascade, that’s the person to beat,” Stevens said.

 “The person that doesn’t worry about it, running at my age, becomes vulnerable.”



Stevens said the way to counter the coming onslaught is by being proactive: learning the issues, campaigning and raising money, and watching one’s back.



“We’ve run into a lot more antagonism this year,” Stevens said.



Stevens has had trouble since some comments he made on net neutrality, comparing the internet to a “series of tubes” and referring to sending an email as sending “an internet.” He attracted the derisive attention of the blogging community.



Lately there seems to be a pattern, Stevens said, with bloggers propagating false or misleading information, which is then picked up by other media “like a rolling snowball.”



As for possible challengers, Stevens said he’s heard rumors, some of Democratic challengers, but he wouldn’t name names. He said he’s also heard word of possible “placeholders” from within the Alaska Republican Party who would run if Stevens were unable to for some reason. “You know, accidents happen, and people as old as me, well, nobody wants an accident,” he said. “Something might happen along the line, and they think, ‘Well, I’ll just file in case.’"



While campaigning in Alaska and visiting remote communities is difficult, campaigning is really a lot of fun, Stevens said.

“You get to use somebody else’s money to travel around the state and see your friends. There’s increased opportunity for fishing.”



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And, if you check your local headlines, Stevens is back in Alaska campaigning.

From the Anchorage Daily News: Stevens:"I am innocent of the case that's been made against me"