Stevens also said that Senator Daniel Inouye, the Democrat from Hawaii who Stevens refers to as his "brother," was in Alaska with his wife, to join Stevens while he campaigns across the state (Inouye didn't join Stevens at this rally). Inouye is scheduled to appear with Stevens in Anchorage at the Alaska Federation of Natives' Leadership Roundtable Partnership for Affordable Energy at the Hotel Captain Cook Tuesday morning and at the dedication of the Opinsky Mail Center at 4141 Postmark Drive Tuesday afternoon.
Stevens said he would fly to Fairbanks today to join President Bush and meet U.S. troops at Eielson Air Force Base, and return to Anchorage this evening.
As Republicans return money from Ted Stevens hand over fist, the only politicians will to still appear with Stevens appear to by Hawaii Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye and George W. Bush. Nothing like a sitting U.S. Senator working against creating more Senators from his own party.
In my experience, this is what bi-partisanship appears to most frequently mean in Congress: long-term, powerful, elite insiders protecting one another. While increased partisanship is not a sufficient threat to make our political system less responsive to powerful elites in and of itself, it is a partial threat that moves power away from individual masters of the universe like Ted Stevens and toward more collective party structures. This is actually one of the reasons why the punditry fosters a public hatred against a shadow partisan enemy that is responsible for... something.
There is an individualist streak in the American psyche that recoils against partisanship, but the truth is that the vast majority, like 99.9%, of Americans are not personally powerful enough to make even the smallest dent on the political process without joining up with a larger collective structure like a political party. Unless you are individually wealthy, have a large media platform from which to pontificate, or have accrued decades worth of favors and relationship from being in Congress, good luck getting anything done on your own. In this regard, Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye are in a very different position than most Americans, and thus have no use for partisanship.
It is always important to keep in mind who would benefit from whatever change is suggested in Washington. When it comes to reducing partisanship, elites would benefit far more than average Americans.
Senator Daniel Inouye, Democrat of Hawaii, who is the chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee and a friend of Mr. Stevens, said that "he is innocent until proven guilty." Mr. Inouye said he did not expect that the indictment would interfere with Senator Stevens's ability to work in the Senate.
Other lawmakers, including Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, the chairwoman of the ethics committee, said they needed to know more about the indictment before commenting.
Question: How hard is it to say 'An indictment is a serious matter, though I can't comment specifically because I haven't seen it'? Answer: Not very.
Something serious is rotten in DC.
UPDATE: I'm reading the comments, and people are defending this crap. Have you not been watching war funding, FISA, Lieberman-Warner, Countrywide scandals, the Housing bill, the Wall Street bailout, oil subsidies, the Energy bill, the endorsements of Joe Lieberman in 2006, the Alito confirmation, etc?
The Senate is a damn club. I'm not saying these are bad people, though some of them are, just that they are part of a rotten system that compels them to make immoral choices. They deserve criticism for it, they are the MOST empowered parts of society. The sooner we learn this the sooner we can start to fix it, but if you keep denying that these people are part of a corroded system it won't get better. We're supposed to be smart activists, not blind obedient morons following elitist DC Democrats off a cliff.
Is everyone that comments part of the 9% of the country that approves of Congress? Do you realize how out of touch you are when you defend this kind of behavior? Don't you see that when you cheer the Bush Department of Justice and excuse the enabling Democrats in the Senate you are part of the problem?
Update again: And Inouye held a fundraiser for Stevens earlier this year. Ah, postpartisanship.
Putting their friendship above party, Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) will headline a fundraiser today for one of the Democrats' top targets this cycle, Republican Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska).
Inouye, who chairs the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, on which Stevens is the ranking member, is the "special guest" at the noon event at 101 Constitution Ave. NW. According to the invitation, the lunch is organized by a several high-profile lobbyists, including Stevens' former top aide, Lisa Sutherland. The fundraiser seeks $1,000 in contributions from individuals and $5,000 from political action committees to aid Stevens' bid for an eighth term this fall.
Inouye and Stevens have long been allies and senior appropriators, and have reputations for putting their personal and working relationships ahead of party politics. In the 2004 cycle, Stevens similarly helped Inouye raise thousands of dollars for his re-election, which was not seriously contested.
But this cycle is different since Stevens is under federal investigation as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe in Alaska. Additionally, Senate Democrats have set their sights on picking up as many as nine seats this fall - including Stevens' - in the hope of holding 60 seats, the number needed to overcome filibusters.
Anchorage Democratic Mayor Mark Begich recently announced his campaign to unseat Stevens, the longest-serving GOP Senator. Democrats heavily recruited Begich to enter the race, which is expected to be costly and competitive.
There's a 1970s idea coursing through our politics which says that reaching across the aisle is a virtue. You can see it in Obama's nonsensical call for a post-partisan type of politics, an echo of Jimmy Carter in 1976, Michael Dukakis in 1988, and Bill Clinton in 1992.
Really? What possible value is there in Daniel Inouye raising money from lobbyists for a corrupt Senator like Ted Stevens? Justify this, post-partisans. Remember, the argument is that reaching across the aisle is a virtue in and of itself. So explain to me how this is a virtue. Please. What is good about a situation where insiders with money and connections praise two eighty year old Republicans and Democrats sitting on the Senate Commerce Committee making policy around media and telecom, one of whom is desperately and obviously corrupt?
Explain this to me, post-partisans, because I really want to know why this is virtuous.
Update: Here's a typical answer:
What you point to is not post-partisanship. It is plain simple old fashioned regional politics and friends in politics returning favors to each other. This is not what I advocate by what has been termed "post-partisan."
If I may give stab at a definition, "post-partisanship" is placing your loyalty to the country above your loyalty to party. It is governing for the good of all of your constituents not just the ones who voted for you last time or are likely to vote for you next time. It is also respecting the citizens of the opposing party and attempting to earn their respect without compromising your principles. Last and least importantly it is about working with the opposing party's elected officials on the issues you agree with them on.
If working with the opposing party's elected officials on the issues you agree with them on is post-partisanship, then Inouye and Stevenson are post-partisan because of the work they do together on drilling for oil in Alaska. They believe it's the right thing to do, they respect each other, they work with people from the opposing party... what's not to like?
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