Senator Ted Stevens (R-Al) represents everything that is wrong with the inherently un-Democratic body that is the United States Senate.  Representing a state populated almost entirely by caribou, he wields as much power as senators from states where the entire population can't fit inside an Applebee's.  More power, even, because he's not afraid to be a horrible man.

He wields considerably less power today, thanks to this indictment.

Sen. Ted Stevens, the nation's longest-serving Republican senator and a major figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, was indicted Tuesday on seven felony counts of concealing more than a quarter of a million dollars in house renovations and gifts from a powerful oil contractor that lobbied him for government aid.

Prosecutors said that work included a new first floor, garage, wraparound deck, plumbing and electrical wiring. He also is accused of accepting from VECO a Viking gas grill, furniture and tools, and of failing to report swapping an old Ford for a new Land Rover to be driven by one of his children.

Other than being a shill for oil companies looking to drill in ANWR, his most notable contribution to the national political landscape is the Bridge to Nowhere. As nakedly a pork barrel spending project as there has ever been, the proposed bridge would have been longer than the Golden Gate Bridge and taller than the Brooklyn Bridge.  Except instead of connecting San Fransisco to Marin County or Manhattan to Brooklyn, it would have connected Ketchikan (pop 8900) to Gravina Island (pop 50.  Yes, 50).

Okay, big deal, right? Well, if the $223 million of taxes that were earmarked for the bridge in 2005 are mildly aggravating but not upsetting, perhaps this will put it in perspective:

"Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens threw the senatorial version of a hissy fit on the floor the other day. The issue was a proposal by his Republican colleague, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, to block $453 million earmarked for two Alaska bridges in the recent highway bill and instead use some of the money to rebuild the Interstate 10 bridge across Lake Ponchartrain wiped out by [Hurricane Katrina].

"I will put the Senate on notice -- and I don't kid people -- if the Senate decides to discriminate against our state and take money only from our state, I will resign from this body," Mr. Stevens vowed. ... the amendment failed 82 to 15."

That's right, he busted out with "I'll take my ball and go home" on the floor the US Senate because they wanted to send money earmarked for Alaska to rebuild New Orleans.  But surely Alaska needed that scratch, right?

"[Alaska] ranks number one in per capita federal spending, $12,279 in 2003, compared with Nevada, number 50 at $5,235 for every resident. Alaskans received $1.89 in federal help for every tax dollar they sent to Washington, making the state second only to New Mexico as a net beneficiary of federal largess."