From Darren Goode at Congress Daily:
Amid the scandal and political unrest that cost Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, his job, fellow Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is emerging as a more formidable presence in the next Congress.
Stevens' loss to Democratic Sen.-elect Mark Begich means Murkowski will become her state's senior senator at the same time she becomes the top Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee -- an important gig as a representative of a state that derives nearly 90 percent of its revenue from the oil and gas industry.
Murkowski spent some time with Stevens Wednesday, the day his concession to Begich sealed the end of a run that made him the longest-serving Republican senator. As difficult as the moment might have been -- Murkowski has known Stevens since she was a girl and came to Washington for the first time as a teen-age intern in his office -- she is now primed to represent a new generation of Alaska Republicans that has moved on from the old guard, including her father, former Sen. Frank Murkowski, who also served as governor.
Read more in Congress Daily.
It's a shame that Sen. Stevens chose to end his career so ignonymously. His defeat ushers in a new age in the Senate. Alaska will no longer be able to claim billions of dollars of federal money without oversight or debate. Sen. Murkowski is about a step or two ahead of censure or indictment for her own unbridled sense of entitlement. I spent a lot of years in Alaska, and there was never a ruling class when I was there. That phenomenon has come as a result of the Republican Party running the place like a private reserve these past 25 to 30 years.
I've enjoyed reading your blog for these past several months. Good luck as you transit to your new career.
Posted by: Houston | November 20, 2008 at 06:20 PM
That is until she's indicted. Stay tuned...
Posted by: mike wilson | November 20, 2008 at 02:46 PM