from Bloomberg:
Stevens Charges Leave Alaska Republicans in Meltdown (Update1)
By Ken Fireman
Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Ted Stevens's presence is visible everywhere in Alaska, from his name on Anchorage's international airport to the plaque at a senior citizens' center thanking him for his support.
These symbols, grand and modest, reflect the influence of Alaska's pre-eminent politician, who for four decades has helped his party dominate the state's politics. Since his July 29 indictment, however, Stevens, 84, has come to symbolize something else: the fading power of the scandal-plagued party.
``He has served Alaska for 40 years, but his time is over,'' said former Governor Walter Hickel, who launched Stevens's Senate career by appointing him to a vacancy in 1968.
Stevens's indictment last month on federal charges of failing to disclose more than $250,000 he received from Veco Corp., an Anchorage-based oil-services contractor, is the latest -- and the biggest -- crest in a wave of ethical controversies that has swamped Alaska's Republican politicians.
The scandals were spawned by the confluence of one-party dominance and soaring oil and gas prices in this energy-rich state, said Gerald McBeath, a political scientist at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.
``This has to do with big money, big corporations trying to influence public policy,'' McBeath said. ``There was a lot of money awash in Alaska. Veco was a very powerful organization in state politics. It had tentacles that reached out and touched everybody.'' ......(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a1TayhszevWM&refer=home