8 seconds ago 2009-11-10T09:58:52-08:00
An election-eve stunt or a gallant move to protect the integrity of the Senate? Whichever it is, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell's call for Alaska Senator Ted Stevens' resignation is dramatic.
"I think he should resign immediately," McConnell told the Lexington Herald-Leader yesterday, adding that if Stevens doesn't step down in the wake of his felony convictions, "there is a 100 percent certainty that he would be expelled from the Senate."
Democrats have been mercilessly hectoring Republicans who accepted campaign contributions from Stevens, demanding they give back the money. Some have even called on their opponents to demand a resignation. McConnell himself faces a close election next week, and Democrats have tried to cast Stevens as the Kentucky senator's "mentor."
But politics aside, it's remarkable to see the Senate Minority Leader call on a member of his own party to step down so explicitly. McConnell joins John McCain, who called for Stevens to step down almost immediately. Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a more carefully-worded statement after Stevens' conviction all but urging the Alaskan to resign without actually using those exact words.
