NC-SEN - Hagan campaign asks Dole to return Stevens money

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The shockwaves from the conviction of Ted Stevens won't stop in Alaska. The Kay Hagan for US Senate Campaign issued this press release:

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (AK) was found guilty today on all counts. According to the indictment, Stevens "knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to conceal a material fact" covering up the gifts he received from an Alaskan oil company.

"Elizabeth Dole returned only a portion of the $21,000 Ted Stevens gave to her campaign when he was indicted. He's now a convicted felon and any excuse she had previously has gone out the window. Dole must now return the remaining $11,000, or else send the message to North Carolinians that she and her colleagues in the U.S. Senate, like Ted Stevens, are open for business," Hagan Campaign Communications Director Colleen Flanagan said. "In addition, she must immediately and forcefully oppose any pardon that George Bush may offer Stevens on his way out of office in January. The American people have had enough, and with every vote cast, they are sending a clear message that more of the same is no longer the way it's going to be. A pardon of Ted Stevens, and Dole's silence on the matter, would fly in the face of all the hardworking Americans who know that our elected representatives are there to serve us, not themselves."

Among other things, Stevens accepted the construction of a new first floor, garage and wraparound deck on a vacation home he called the "chalet." Dole received $1,000 from Stevens' campaign committee and she received $20,000 from his political action committee (PAC), Northern Lights PAC. As the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Dole also accepted more than $230,000 from Stevens' PAC on behalf of the NRSC.

And a bonus picture...

Elizabeth Dole is reacquainting herself with North Carolina this week, hopping on the “ElizaBus” – more aptly named the “ElizaBush” – to tour cities and towns she hasn’t paid much attention to since she took the ElizaBus around the state this time six years ago.

Just how out of touch is Elizabeth Dole? Right below the bright blue wrap emblazoned with “North Carolina’s Elizabeth Dole” sits a Tennessee license plate.

“Rocky MOUNT is in North Carolina,” said Hagan’s Communications Director Colleen Flanagan. “Rocky TOP is something completely different. North Carolinians know that, but it’s clear Dole is just out of touch. Whether she’s from Kansas, Washington, DC or Tennessee, it’s clear she’s not from North Carolina.”

Senator Dole currently resides at the Watergate in Washington, DC, and she was registered to vote in Kansas for over 25 years, even launching her campaign for president as a Kansan. Dole has voted with President Bush 92% of the time, and a non-partisan group has ranked her America’s 93rd most effective senator. The Winston-Salem Journal recently reported that Dole spent just 13 days in North Carolina in 2006, and only 20 days in the state in 2005. In all, Elizabeth Dole has spent about 13% of her time in North Carolina since being elected six years ago. In addition, Elizabeth Dole was registered to vote in Kansas from 1975 to 2001, when she switched her voting registration to North Carolina just two days after Senator Jesse Helms announced his retirement.

You can find out more about Kay Hagan at her campaign site.

UPDATE FROM DOCJESS: See, once again, IF ONLY someone knew geography.