Hat Trick In Alaska

Don "Bridge To Nowhere" Young was the "most likely Republican to be under criminal investigation" for a while now, and apparently that has come to pass:

The Wall Street Journal reports that 18-term Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is under criminal investigation for his dealings with Alaska oil services company Veco Corp.

While the investigation into Sen. Ted Stevens' (R-AK) ties to Veco, including the remodeling of his Girdwood home, has been widely reported, this is the first time Young has been implicated in the scandal.

If you add in Lisa Murkowski's shady riverfront land deal, then every single member of the Alaska delegation in Congress, Republicans all, are either under suspicion or under formal investigation.

As for Young, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. He's obviously been raiding the federal treasury for decades now, and using the appropriations process to make himself and his business buddies rich. That's what he sees as his role as an Alaska congressman. Truly. Look at this outburst when a fellow Republican offered an amendment to an education bill that would take funds out of a native Hawaii and Alaska bill:



Aside from "you want MY money" and the digs on New Jersey and Young referring to himself as a mink who will bite people, my favorite part is when he calls Alaska a "new state." Um, 1959 was a WHILE ago. Yet Young pulls that out to justify appropriations robbery under the guise of "representing his state." Because that's all a representative is to him. A profit-taker.

UPDATE: And apparently, Stevens and Young will face formidable challenges from the left AND right. Should be a fun 2008 in the tundra.