Sure... If Stevens loses his appeal (I think that likely), he'll step down and IIRC, the governor will appoint a replacement.

Can she appoint herself?

Just ask'n?

It kind of depends - what would you be writing if the Democrats elected a convicted felon? What would you write honestly about your near limitless capacity for rationalization?

So much for Ponzi being a law and order conservative. Maybe it depends on the 'kind' of felony. Sex-related felonies are bad, but money-related felonies are ok. It speaks to the corruption of the conservative mind to applaud this grotesque event. He's a felon, but he is 'our' felon, is that it?

Sure it's OK- for an utterly despicable person such as yourself! You really are beyond belief, Julie. I loved your post yesterday, too- the one where you said Bush was basically a good president and that all his failings were because of the Dems and the nastiness in Washington. Just pathetic.

I'd say no. In fact, it lessens my perception of Alaskans being good and rational people. Stevens should have been given the boot. I don't want a severely Democratic Senate, but a politician who is not only corrupted but was actually convicted of being corrupt should not be given power under any circumstances.

I heard a radio report on NPR about the Stevens situation shortly before the election. They picked up a bit from some radio talk show up there from a Stevens supporter. The woman basically said "People in the lower 48 states have no business judging Alaskans because they are not like us. They are outsiders." Uh, last time I checked, being part of the United States and taking advantage of all the rights afforded to the "outsiders" in the lower 48 means you also have to agree to obey federal law. Julie, it is definitely not "OK" to cheer for the election of a felon, unless you're not like the rest of us.

No, not OK. I don't pretend to know what Alaskans were thinking, but Stevens is a blight on the GOP, and conservatives should be lining up to tar and feather him as he's dragged off to the hoosegow. The sooner we're rid of him, the better.

Does no one here appreciate good humor? I don't like Ted Stevens and I certainly don't endorse the election of felons . . . geez! I hope he resigns, as he should and as every self-respecting Republican in the Senate should demand. But I also appreciate the dilemma Alaskans faced yesterday. The Democrats in Alaska should ask themselves what it is about their party that makes a switch over to them less appealing than a criminal to the people they claim to want to represent. Perhaps it is the fact that so many within that party wish to continue with the nasty insults leveled against Alaskans . . . just a thought.

What do any of you know of the Democrats' alternative to Stevens? I know nothing, but presume that if a convicted felon of a Republican won the election, the loser must be a loser of the prime sort.

Does no one here appreciate good humor?

Apparently not. These fools thought you were serious. Just shows you that the rumors of the left being humorless are true...

Rule #27 for conservative bloggers, 6 year old children, and Rush Limbaugh: when caught making racist or sickening comments of moral blindness, claim it was humor, and then accuse opponent of being humor-less. Wait a few days. Then explode in moral outrage over something else.

Ren . . . do you know a lot of 6 year-old racists who make comments of sickening moral blindness? I know you don't like me and I can't say I'm terribly worried about seeking to change your mind about that . . . but as a person who knows a good number of 6 year-olds and knows them very well, I have to say, in their defense, that the majority of them see morality with a much clearer vision (and with better humor) than the majority of those who have left comments on this thread.

Julie, in this case, an emoticon would have helped your cause... I normally don't endorse those, but the stuffy surroundings of NLT make it hard to distinguish serious words from jokes (except in the case of Hayward ... he seems to be a pretty funny guy).