It's Ted Time!

These scandal investigations may end up amounting to something, but the polls showing Ted with low approval ratings? Just so much chin music, I think.

Of course, it has long been an open secret that Senator Ted's fingers are in many tills. The LA Times did some fine reporting a while back on Ted's remarkably lucrative investing relationship with Anchorage property don Jon Rubini of JL Properties and his remarkably lucrative mutual backscratching with lawyer/lobbyist Bill Bittner of Birch, Horton, Bittner & Cherot. Richard Mauer of the Anchorage Daily News also did some good digging into Ted's paternal generosity toward his son Ben (our own George W. Bush), related to Ben's "work" for various fishing concerns (recall that Ted arranged for a lucrative pollack quota to be assigned to a Native Corp. subsidiary that had Li'l Hulk on its board, who then arranged for the quota to be assigned to a company for which he held an ownership option).

This is just the stuff that broke in the last couple of years of a long and highly remunerative Senate career, and does not even involve Veco or Holland America (he arranged a multi-million dollar intermodal transport facility for them a few years back using federal dollars - it's so nice that the local high schoolers rent it out for proms).

People know about this.

People don't care.

See, Ted shares the wealth. Losing him from the Senate will be like losing the oil or tourism industries - he brings hundreds of millions into the Alaska economy each year. Sen. Lisa (R. Who'syerdaddy) held her own in the face of Gov. Dorkowski's (R. "Duh") massive unpopularity and gross nepotism, all because Senator Ted took over.

In short, Ted Stevens will be dragged out of office in a box or in handcuffs (though maybe he will resign if his health takes a turn for the worse). He will never - repeat NEVER - be voted out.

Don Young, though ... now there's an intriguing thought ....