Reid put smackdown on Inouye over Stevens

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There always been a special relationship between the congressional delegations from Alaska and Hawaii, and it showed yesterday:

Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye provided a campaign boost Saturday to embattled Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, predicting that his colleague from Alaska will win re-election and overturn his conviction on appeal.

"I am absolutely confident that Ted Stevens will be sworn into the Senate while he appeals this unjust verdict," said Inouye, D-Hawaii, a longtime friend of Stevens. "I am certain that this decision in Washington, D.C., will be overturned on appeal." - AP

Well, Majority Leader Harry Reid appropriately pulled the rug from under Inouye:

In a bluntly worded release from his office, Reid warned that Stevens would not only face an ethics investigation but also expulsion proceedings regardless of his efforts to appeal the convictions.
...
“While I respect the opinion of Senator Daniel Inouye, the reality is that a convicted felon is not going to be able to serve in the United States Senate. And as precedent shows us, Senator Stevens will face an ethics committee investigation and expulsion, regardless of his appeals process,” Reid said.

“This is not a partisan issue and it is unfortunate that Senator Stevens has used his long time friendship with Senator Inouye for partisan political gain,” he added. - Roll Call

Hopefully Stevens will lose his reelection bid in a couple of days.