Applauding Stevens?

I’m still thinking about Sen. Ted Stevens’ farewell speech he gave on the floor of the Senate this morning. When he finished speaking, Stevens received a standing ovation from the mostly Republican crowd there and a nice send-off from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

On the one hand, it’s appalling to think about members of the Senate applauding a man ousted for corruption. On the other, he has done plenty of good for Alaska in 40 years and he was a diligent senator, certainly. Perhaps his fellow senators remember him for hashing out deals, casting votes and reaching decisions.

To be sure, there was no applause here in TWI headquarters. I doubt anywhere else on the planet, for that matter. Maybe in some corners of Alaska.

Personally, it felt a bit surreal to watch Stevens say goodbye, considering that for the last two years I’ve written about him all the while shaking my head that he was even in office. Stevens has been plagued with myriad scandals — not just the one that finally did him in. It became normal to write about him being accused of outrageous behavior and then never facing consequences. Stevens’ speech gave me a sense of closure. The day of reckoning did finally come.

I’m working on what is probably my last Stevens piece for a while. It gets into the Stevens scandals that range from questionable to hands-down illegal. Most incidents are about Stevens crossing the line for the “good” of Alaska — making sure Alaska was made a state and getting money for it at all costs. In itself, that doesn’t make his behavior acceptable. He is a U.S. senator, whose job should not be just to think about his own voters, but the country, too. Even worse, in recent years, Stevens started using his power to enrich himself, family and friends.

Perhaps his colleagues saw him in a narrow light today.