If Inouye Leaves, Stevens Will Follow
If Hawaii’s Daniel Inouye retires, Alaska’s Ted Stevens will follow suit, Liriel Higa reports for CQ.
It’s no secret that Sens. Ted Stevens and Daniel K. Inouye have perhaps the closest, most enduring friendship on the Hill. They both saw combat in World War II, agree on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and have served in Congress together for 38 years, sharing many of the same committee assignments. Stevens, R-Alaska, handed the gavel of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee over to Inouye, D-Hawaii, at the start of the 110th Congress. They refer to each other affectionately as “brother” and “co-chairman.”
In fact, Stevens said recently, “I just don’t think I’d contemplate running again if Dan wasn’t here. One of [us is] going to leave, and the other will hang up his shield.”
Don’t get your hopes up, though: “Lucky for him, Inouye announced last year that he plans to seek re-election to a ninth term in 2010. And just like his friend, Stevens has put out the word that he’ll run for a seventh term in 2008.”
Ted Stevens is the Bipartisan Patron Demi-God of All Alaskans, worshiped by everyone up there regardless of party, because he brings home the pork.
Barring an honest-to-scratch apocalypse, Stevens will still be getting elected to the Senate 40 years after he assumes room temperature.
(Which, in the wintertime in Alaska, is frequently close enough to 98.6°F. that it may be hard to tell anyway…)
I think they both should retire to a romantic cabana in Oahu and take advantage of the new domestic partnership law in Sen. Inouye’s home state.
While surfing the internet tubes?