WORD ON THE STREET: CATHERINE STEVENS SUPPORTING JOE BIDEN
With Sen. Lisa Murkowski signaling her “concerns” about whether she can support the president, and with other moderate Republicans like Gen. Colin Powell now opposing Donald Trump’s reelection, some Alaskans are starting to feel like the mainstream Republican world is turning against the head of its party, against the man who redefined the Republican Party in 2016 as a well-oiled, populist machine that fights for the common American.
Like whipping cream on that pie-in-the-face for Alaskans, word on the street is that Catherine Bittner Stevens, Sen. Ted Stevens’ widow, is planning an endorsement of Joe Biden in coming days. The media has been alerted and is standing by to herald her announcement. They’ll note that Aug. 9 is the 10th year of Ted Stevens tragic death in a plane crash in Alaska.
Which brings Must Read Alaska to the burning questions:
- What would Sen. Ted Stevens say today if asked his opinion about Trump? Would he denounce the president or would he try to work with him, flaws and all?
- Would Sen. Stevens approve of Catherine Stevens, a longtime Democrat, implying his support for Biden?
- Or would Stevens say, “My dear friend Joe Biden is just not right for Alaska”?
Sen. Stevens was a fierce fighter, and channeled the Incredible Hulk, wearing his famous Hulk necktie on the floor of the Senate whenever a debate or vote required him to summon his spirit animal. He had a mighty temper.
In the way that Trump is a fighter for what some conservatives think is best for America — strong borders, economy, and constitutional rights — Stevens was a tireless fighter for what was best for Alaska.
But Stevens could famously work with people from both sides of the aisle. The only Democrat he ever endorsed was Hawaii’s Daniel Inouye, but he worked with Joe Biden in the Senate, and the two men bonded; they both lost their first wives to accidents — Joe’s first wife Neilia died in a car accident in December of 1972, while Ann Stevens died in a plane crash in December of 1978.
Stevens later married Catherine and they had a daughter, Lily, who attended school with the daughter of Joe and Neilia Biden. Catherine and Lily, who lives in San Francisco, are close with Joe and Jill Biden, and when Ted Stevens died in a plane crash in 2010, Joe flew to Alaska to give the eulogy at Ted’s funeral.
But Sen. Stevens was also the kind of political operator who would not have withdrawn his support for Trump in the way that Sen. Lisa Murkowski evidently has. He would have kept an open line of communication with the Republican president, because Alaska has always done better with Republican presidents.
Also, Stevens adhered to the Ronald Reagan 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” During the Nixon impeachment proceedings, Sen. Stevens just stopped talking about Nixon after he discovered that the president had lied to him. But he kept his opinions about the president to himself.
Stevens was railroaded by the same Department of Justice that tried to railroad President Trump for the past three years. In this, he might have a great deal of empathy for Trump and his experience with the Deep State.
Political observers recall that Robert Mueller was the man who ensured that Stevens lost his election in 2008; Mueller was the author of the Mueller Report, which falsely tied Trump’s campaign to Russian interference in the 2016 elections and led to impeachment, and a failed conviction in 2020.
[Read: Robert Mueller oversaw the witch-hunt against Sen. Ted Stevens]
For Alaska, Trump is arguably the best president Alaska has had. He opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible energy development. He ensured that mining companies are treated fairly by the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal regulators. He advocated tirelessly for the life-saving road to King Cove, (which has now been denied by a federal judge).
Trump likes the governor of Alaska and will take his call. He likes Sen. Dan Sullivan and Congressman Don Young, and they can pick up the phone and call him. He’s on the outs with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, after she signaled she’ll be voting against him for president and, by inference, throwing her support to Biden.
Ted Stevens, if a senator today, would be able to call Trump. He was never an ideologue, but he wouldn’t destroy a relationship with someone who could help Alaska. He famously said, “To hell with politics. Do what’s right for Alaska.”
Biden has, on the other hand, always voted against Alaska’s interests. In 2005, he had a pivotal vote to prohibit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain from being opened for oil and gas exploration, as it had been set aside for. He said opening ANWR was a “short-sighted” solution to a larger issue of oil dependency.”
The amendment he voted for, offered by Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington State, defeated ANWR 51-49 that year.
“While we all agree on the need to lessen our dependence on foreign sources of energy, drilling in ANWR a decade from now will do nothing to address the immediate needs we have today. This is a very short-sighted, small-yield solution that will have devastating long-term effects,” said then-Sen. Biden. “Preserving what’s special about Alaska’s wilderness was one of former Senator Bill Roth’s highest priorities, and it’s one of mine, too.”
Soon, he was vice president to Barack Obama. Alaska’s ANWR stayed locked until Trump opened it up.
Whether Catherine Stevens goes through with her public endorsement of Biden is an unknown; she could just decide to stay out of the fray, or she could bring Lily, her daughter, into it with her.
With the Democratic nominating convention just 71 days away, everything is in play in this changing landscape of Alaskan politics.
My guess is the rumor on the street is just that and Catherine will stay out of it as Joe Biden is not a winner for either Alaska or America and she knows it. knowing Joe Biden as a senator is one thing but lending her voice to put him in position to do great destruction to the Nation is quite another..
Clever, clever and more clever on this article. Just as Bill Clinton had a distinct and strong relationship with Epstein, Ted Stevens had a distinct and strong relationship with Bill Allen. One and the same in thought, word and deed. Ted Stevens was never railroaded. He was convicted. Bill Clinton was never railroaded, he was brought to impeachment and saved by his like companion in deeds, Ted Stevens. Bill Clinton was barred from ever practicing law in any state, federal or civil court because of his perjury under oath. Neither one of these two was railroaded. Their criminal acts and like involvement with each other and “friends” have set them in a separate place in history. The thing you are overlooking with purpose, is the fact that Murkowski has enlisted help, as always, to shade and cover up these acts and possibly others that the public may not know of. So, who cares if a Stevens goes to the other side of what? These people are history and so is Murkowski.
DK: if you are not legally trained I can understand your comments because they are uninformed. If you were informed you would know that Stevens case was thrown out by Judge Emmett Sullivan because the federal Prosecutors withheld evidence in favor of Stevens that would surely have resulted in finding him not guilty. That is called Gross prosecutorial misconduct. It is not only “railroading” it was so unethical that several lost their licenses to practice law and one of the lead prosecutors committed. As for the rest of your comment I am inclined to agree. But you are way off on your claims against Stevens.
Except, of course, Stevens is on tape admitting his crime.
Yes, he was honorable enough to admit that there were a few free nails pounded on the back porch of his ski shack at Alyeska. btw, when is Hillary Clinton going to fess up and be honest with Americans about all of her criminal acts during the past 35 years? Hello Tobin……ya there, buddy?
Um, what criminal acts??
Just because you want them to be there doesn’t mean they are there.
BillTobin is right. Stevens confessed his complicity in a criminal activity on tape and that is why the jury convicted him. Basically, he got off on a technicality that was acted upon by a jurist (that means judge) who is a strong advocate of defendants’ rights.
What cave have you been hiding in, Greg? Benghazi, Whitewater, Pay to Play, Clinton Foundation, …..to name just a few. But you are a partisan hack, so I don’t expect any admissions by you. As to Stevens:…..Yes, he and Trump would be allies for the simple reason that both of them were scourged by ruthless, unethical government prosecutors, and had their constitutional rights infringed by Left-wing activist federal judges. Honest people understand how despicable these acts really are. All by Democrats.
Ted would have been able to work with Trump. He certainly wouldn’t have alienated himself.
Predicting the past, or fortelling the future?
Catherine and Lily Stevens, Berkowitz, Galvin,…what’s with these left coasters telling Alaskans what to do and how to live?
God bless Ted Stevens. Great picture choice Suzanne. I remember the ties. I am not a hater but I have great distaste for the word Murkowski.
Maybe she’s happy with the way “Mumbles” Mueller treated her late husband. Trump’s a lock, anyway. Wait til Milwaukee burns.
My guess is that Catherine will do exactly what MRA suggests. She will
throw her support to Biden. Pretty sure that Powell is not a moderate republican as stated in the article. Remember that he did not support Trump in 2016. No, he is really a liberal when it comes to social
Issues and a RINO overall.
The media is desperately trying to spin everything against Trump with biased polls and quotes from so called conservatives who are opposing him. I would bet the farm that when the heat of the campaign is on that Trump will come out ahead. “Big league “! Thankfully his economic strengths and Biden’s continual gaffes will very likely propel him to another 4 years.
Almost as important will be results in the senate. If the Dems take it, watch out. If they take the presidency also it is Game Over! America will never be able to recover. Ever!
Suzanne, this is a great story. I think that for many it isn’t how good Trump is for Alaska, but the fact that one has to sell their soul to him and his ridiculous behavior. That is the rub – comments about veterans, convincing Americans that McCain and Bush weren’t military heroes, losing the confidence of his staff (continually), the demonization of different ethnic groups, on, and on, and on. Trump would have been a good President if he had been disciplined as a child. So, what we get is a 70+-year-old emperor who acts like he is 4. That’s how I see it – a lifelong Republican now considered a “RINO.” Until he is gone (or at least cans his Twitter account), I’ll gladly take that title. We can do better than this.
Fweet! Fweet! All you pups scurry home now from knocking over those trash cans, the whistle has blown! I mean good gawd, you really are fishing on the bottom. My take is that Stevens, being a veteran with superb links to the military, would rather side with Powell. You cats are getting a little nervous, or is it desperate?
I read that Buto’s handmaidens are setting him up to give a speech re race. I look forward to teleprompter zombie’s about face on Facebook less than a half hour later, then doubling down at 6:00 am the next day after his third Coke and a McMuffin.
” …the man who redefined the Republican Party in 2016 as a well-oiled, populist machine that fights for the common American.”
That right there is the single most hilarious thing I’ve seen written about Trump.
Bill, you smokin yur pot again? Dude, ya gotta quit tokin so much. I’m worried that yur next months early PFD is gonna be all squandered away on the weed…….and when ya run dry…..we have to listen to more of yur mindless bitchin. You are a hopeless, hapless, old pothead.
Sigh…I wonder who the real pot smoker is here. It must be nasty stuff.
Greg, are you Bill Tobin’s official apologist? I think Paul is just given Bill the benefit of the doubt.
None of this is really news. Lisa Murkowski, George W. Bush, Colin Powell, Mitt Romney, Catherine Stevens, etc, etc….
None of these types supported Trump in 2016 either. And Trump won handidly.
Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million and won three states that gave him a bare electoral victory by around half a million.
But, of course, he had amazing crowds at his inauguration.
3 million votes out of California and New York, but the popular vote doesn’t mean squat. Thank God for the electoral college. It saved this country from becoming a 3rd world poop hole at the hands of the Democrats.
Greg R., really…..come on guy. Yours is an old argument that doesn’t pass muster. Blue votes are in the cities where lots of renters, unemployed, Lefties, and Democrats live and complain about their lives. Red votes occupy the overwhelming counties in the US where Republicans work, own land, pay taxes, and live uncomplicated lives. Are there more disenfranchised, aggrieved bellyachers in the cities.? Yes.
What a crock – trying to explain away Catherine Stevens’ probable support of Joe Biden because of her close ties to his family.
Face it Conservatives – this endorsement will sting, and will sting badly, because there is, to this day, no politician with a greater sense of decency, or who has earned the respect of more Alaskans, than Senator Ted Stevens.
Trump has made your bed, and now you all must sleep in it.
zzzzz…..zzzzzzz. wake us when the dog finishes his bone. zzzzzzz.
Nope. Sadly, we Alaskans have made our own bed.
Please don’t speak for me, Greg. I’m happy. I voted for Trump and Dunleavy. And I will do it again. Cheers.
I think the Stevens that brought many good things to Alaska, and many federal dollars, is a different Stevens than the one we would have seen, had the public crucifixion been less successful. Stevens experienced exactly the same false narrative and persecution Trump has endured for 4 years. I believe he would have been not only an ardent supporter of Trump, I also believe he would have went after the bureaucracy that attempted to end his political life.
As for Powell, more likely than not there is quid pro quo. He’ll be an adviser. Maybe too old for ambassador.
Trump only won by using extreme measures to overcome the MSM. The MSM and Resistance are seething more everyday that he is still there. They make it more uncomfortable for many to not oppose Trump. Like Lisa. For Susan, life will be so nice having a close friend in the WH. Nice invitations etc. She probably doesn’t have a tough choice. As for the late Senator, “To hell with politics. Do what’s right for Alaska.” That would not be Biden.
Trump isn’t draining the swamp. He’s replacing is with a cesspool.
Since when did Colin Powell ever vote for a Republican for President? He proudly proclaimed he voted for Obama twice. He probably didn’t vote for G.W. Bush either. Bush and Murkowski both have expressed difficulty in supporting President Trump, too.
The problem may be that Trump threatens their world view & special interests that they have held sacrosanct for decades. Trump has no allegiance to any of that. This is what is commonly called ‘the swamp’. So, when these establishment ‘luminaries’ rail against Trump, I know he’s heading in the right direction.
Maybe the outrage comes from finding out someone in the Trump administration found out about Stevens’ magnificent cash cow, the Denali Commission which is simply a pipeline to the U.S. Treasury, free money to be used as unions, contractors, Native communities, the University of Alaska, and the Alaska Municipal League wish.
.
No? Meet the commissioners at denali.gov/about/meet-the-commissioners/
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