Stevens Loses Reelection Bid

The Hulk has been tubed. Sen Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, has lost his bid for reelection. The defeat marks the end of an era in which he held a commanding place in Alaska politics while wielding power on some of the most influential committees in Congress. Stevens' pursuit of a seventh term was damaged by his conviction in federal court — just days before the election — for lying on Senate disclosure forms to conceal more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil field services company. Back in July, Sen Stevens relinquished the Senate Commerce Committee's vice chairman's post. He is the former chair of that committee and became an Internet celebrity a couple of summers ago after an audio of his "The Internet is a series of tubes" speech circulated. Around the Capitol, Stevens is known as a man with a temper, a reputation he fuels by donning his Incredible Hulk tie for political battle. "When I see the Hulk tie on Ted Stevens, I know he's pumped up," said former-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who described Stevens as "tenacious, pugnacious and ferocious." With the bulging green man-monster displayed down his shirtfront, Stevens yelled at colleagues who block oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He shouted at those who would cut Alaska projects from federal spending bills.