The Democracy in America blog is annoyed that Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska has functioned poorly during 50 years [!] in Congress.
After joining the Senate in 1968, Ted Stevens lived only on his Congressional salary. He wasn’t wealthy. In fact, he was in debt in the 1980s because of his investments.
But after he began spending our government’s money as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, how much money did Senator Steven’s earn for himself?
As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, how much money did Senator Stevens earn for his cronies, family and friends?
According to Citizens Against Government Waste, an advocacy group, Mr Stevens brought home to Alaska a total of 1,433 projects worth $3,345,812,961 between 1995 and 2008.
From The Economist, “Even more disturbing is the fact that a significant amount of that money seemed to benefit himself, his family and his friends more than anyone else.”
Although Stevens may have misused his top position for many years, there are likely many, many hidden shenanigans that have been negotiated out of his recent indictment.