Series Of Tubes Fallout

Obviously when you have a convicted felon in the United States Senate, there is a tendency for those colleagues in his party to run screaming in the other direction. RedState did so today by endorsing Ted Stevens' opponent, Mark Begich, in the Senate race in Alaska.

Stevens cannot be taken off the ballot - that deadline has passed. There's no doubt that he'll keep running; at the trial today he was seen to mutter "it's not over" as he walked out of the courtroom. He thinks he's larger than life and the world owes him. This is his race to lose. And I think he will, but there's a chance that enough Alaskans say "why that big-city jury up there in DC did our Uncle Ted wrong, let's show 'em!" At which point he would almost certainly be expelled from the Senate once sentenced, or forced to resign himself, and probably the latter.

Which could lead us, as I said, to Senator Sarah Palin, who did the full dodge today about the issue:

"This is a sad day for Alaska and a sad day for Senator Stevens and his family," she said on the tarmac at Richmond International Airport. "The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company up there in Alaska that was allowed to control too much of our state. And that control was part of the culture of corruption that I was elected to fight, and that fight must always move forward regardless of party affiliation or seniority or even past service.

"As Governor of the State of Alaska, I will carefully now monitor the situation and I'll take any appropriate action as needed. In the meantime, I ask the people of Alaska to join me in respecting the workings of our judicial system and I'm confident that Senator Stevens from this point on will do the right thing for the people of Alaska," she also said.

Palin did not respond when asked if she will vote for Sen. Stevens and promptly boarded the campaign plane.

Obviously, this has swamped the news cycle and again frustrated any attempt for McCain to recalibrate the race.

Another amusement - Stevens, as a convicted felon, cannot vote for himself.

UPDATE: Looks like Stevens is being cut loose:

National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman John Ensign (Nev.) offered a strong condemnation of Stevens and seemed to hint that this conviction would lead to his defeat.

"This is a sad day for the United States Senate," said Ensign. "Ted Stevens served his constituents for over 40 years and I am disappointed to see his career end in disgrace."

Bye Ted.