Justice too late for Stevens

No matter what side of the political fence people sit on, the news that former Sen. Ted Stevens’ convictions will likely be thrown out of court should give them pause.

Many regular folks might wonder how many other people are convicted of crimes based on underhanded dealings between the police and prosecutors. Even a battery of experienced, expensive lawyers couldn’t win the case for Stevens because they had their hands tied behind their backs by federal prosecutors who wouldn’t play on a level field in their enthusiasm to sack a sitting United State senator of some 40 years.

If there is any justice left in this mess, those prosecutors will be hiring lawyers of their own because withholding evidence that could have changed the course of that national trial and the spotlight shown on it is inexcusable and should be treated as a crime.

To think the FBI participated is only more disillusioning. Talk about a tarnished star.

And the worst part of it all is, there’s no way to make it right for Stevens.

Had Stevens not been fighting for his freedom in federal court amid the campaign for Senate, he might have put up more of a scrap against now Sen. Mark Begich. In fact, based on the narrow margin of victory, some say Stevens would still be a senator.

Here’s how Begich reacted to the news:

“The decision by President Obama’s Justice Department to end the prosecution of Sen. Ted Stevens is reasonable. I always said I didn’t think Sen. Stevens should serve time in jail, and hopefully this decision ensures that is the case. It’s time for Senator Stevens, his family and Alaskans to move on and put this behind us.”

I bet the senator wishes everyone would put this behind us.

The veiled graciousness of his response reeks.

Now he legislates with an asterisk by his name.

Perhaps, at age 85, Stevens should not have run for another six-year term. But who did the Republicans have instead? They haven’t developed much depth in their pitching rotation. So if they hope to compete in the future for Congressional seats, they need to look at some younger, fresher people.

As President Obama’s grand social-economic experiment takes center stage, the fate of the Democrats may well hang on the success of that effort. If it fails — in the minds of Alaskans — and Sen. Begich is seen as being a part of that, a new, younger Republican guard should stand ready to recapture that seat in the upper house.