Former Sen. Ted Stevens Dies in Plane Crash

UPDATE: KTVA-TV Anchorage confirming that Stevens died in the crash.

—–

Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the source of one of our all-time favorite quotes when he famously called the Internet “a series of tubes” in 2006, may have been killed in a plane crash. As CNN reports:

A private aircraft carrying a former head of NASA and, possibly, a former U.S. senator crashed Monday night in a rugged stretch of Alaska. The accident left at least five people dead.

EADS North America said its chief executive officer, Sean O’Keefe, a former head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was a passenger on the aircraft. The family of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens would neither confirm nor deny reports that the ex-lawmaker was aboard.

17 Community Comments, Facebook Comments

  1. Ralphie says:

    Condolences to his family.

  2. markferrandino says:

    I knew Sean when we both worked at OMB.  I am saddened to hear of his death.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family.

  3. Ralphie says:

    By a staffer of his, per MSNBC.

  4. DavidThi808 says:

    I thought it actually showed a decent understanding of the infrastructure of the Internet. But everyone piled on and people bought the framing that it showed him to be totally out to lunch.

  5. State Line says:

    self-described “mean, miserable SOB”.

    Accord the man the respect due the dead. But take a clear-eyed look at his legacy.

    In four decades in the Senate he was known primarily for his ability to bring pork to Alaska, analogous to Inouye and Byrd with their respective states. The infamous ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ was but one example.

    As a result, Alaska remains largely a welfare state, highly dependent on income transfers from states like Colorado. That, and Alaskan statehood itself, are Ted Stevens’ principal legacies.

    Sure, the corruption conviction that cost him his re-election were later thrown out, due to proscutorial misconduct. That doesn’t mean the charges were unfounded.

    To the very end of his Senate career, Stevens fought, unsuccessfully, to have ANWR opened to fullscale energy exploration.

    That said, kudos for his work on making Title IX a reality.

    The reality is, it’s one of Stevens’ few legislative accomplishments of national moment.  

Leave a Reply

Comment from your Facebook account


You may comment with your Colorado Pols account above (click here to register), or via Facebook below.