Editing Ted Stevens (section)

== Early legislative achievements ==
[[File:Ted Stevens (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Stevens in 2004]]
Stevens's fiery attitude greatly assisted him in pushing the highly controversial nomination of Alaska Governor [[Wally Hickel]] to the office of [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Interior Secretary]] through the workings of the Senate, as well as passing numerous major bills, such as the [[Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act]] in 1971, [[Title IX]] in 1972, the [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act]] in 1973, something which endeared the Senator to President [[Richard Nixon]], and, an act which Stevens had picked as his key legislative achievement in 2006,<ref name="legisachi" >{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2013648561/|title=Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)|author=Library Of Congress|website=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=2022-08-13|archive-date=August 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813040916/https://www.loc.gov/item/2013648561/|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act]], along with Washington Senator [[Warren Magnuson]]. Stevens's ability to do so helped propel him in popularity, allowing him to easily win re-election in [[1970 United States Senate special election in Alaska|1970]] in an upset. Stevens would continue to win re-election easily until his defeat in [[2008 United States Senate election in Alaska|2008]] by [[Mayor of Anchorage|Anchorage Mayor]], [[Mark Begich]], the son of former U.S. Representative from [[Alaska's at-large congressional district|Alaska]] [[Nick Begich Sr.]].<ref name="leader" />

=== Pork barrel spending ===
Throughout his career, Stevens would bring in billions of dollars of pork barrel funding for Alaska, something which Stevens was unapologetic for, once stating "I'm guilty of asking for pork, and I'm proud of the Senate for giving it to me."<ref name="king" >{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129122667|title=Stevens Leaves Behind 'King Of Alaska' Legacy|author=NPR|website=[[NPR]]|access-date=2022-08-13|archive-date=August 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813040917/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129122667|url-status=live}}</ref> Stevens was nicknamed the "King of Pork" by [[CBS News]]<ref name="cbspork">{{Cite web |date=2007-10-12 |title=The Senate's King Of Pork – And Fish |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-senates-king-of-pork-and-fish/ |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US |archive-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510175935/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-senates-king-of-pork-and-fish/ |url-status=live }}</ref> & [[NBC News]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-12-20 |title=Even in minority, Republicans dish out the pork |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22342743 |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510175935/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22342743 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007, [[Texas]] received approximately $98 per person in federal appropriations, with a similar share accorded [[New York (state)|New York]], while [[Alaska]] came in a far first place, receiving $4,300 per person. In his final year in the Senate, Stevens secured $469 million for Alaskan projects. Citizens Against Government Waste stated that Stevens had secured over a billion dollars in federal funding for Alaska from 1991 to 2000.<ref name="forbespork">{{Cite web |last=Wingfield |first=Brian |title=Ted Stevens, Earmarker Extraordinaire |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianwingfield/2010/08/10/ted-stevens-earmarker-extraordinaire/ |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510183622/https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianwingfield/2010/08/10/ted-stevens-earmarker-extraordinaire/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Adams |first=Richard |date=2010-08-10 |title=Ted Stevens: Alaska's stalwart uncle |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/aug/10/ted-stevens-alaska-plane-crash |access-date=2023-05-19 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510183622/https://www.theguardian.com/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/aug/10/ted-stevens-alaska-plane-crash |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Elections===
After practicing private law for a year, Stevens ran for the [[U.S. Senate]] in 1962 and won the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nomination, defeating only trivial opposition. Stevens was considered a long-shot candidate against the popular former Governor and incumbent [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] U.S. Senator [[Ernest Gruening]], and he lost in the general election by a 16-point margin, a margin which was much closer than expected, considering Bartlett's 27-point win in the prior election, the stronghold of the Democratic Party in Alaska, and the long service of Gruening.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna38645177|newspaper=NBC News|title=The life and legacy of former Sen. Ted Stevens|date=August 10, 2010|access-date=February 16, 2015|archive-date=October 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020211121/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/38645177/ns/politics-capitol_hill/t/life-legacy-former-sen-ted-stevens/#.VOI5d_nF-uo|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="leader" /> In 1968, Stevens once again ran for the U.S. Senate, but lost in the Republican primary to Anchorage Mayor [[Elmer E. Rasmuson]]. Rasmuson lost the general election to Democrat [[Mike Gravel]]. In December 1968, after the death of Alaska's other senator, Democrat [[Bob Bartlett]], [[Governor of Alaska|Governor]] [[Walter Joseph Hickel|Wally Hickel]] appointed Stevens to the seat.<ref name="officialbio">{{cite web|access-date=May 31, 2007 |url=http://stevens.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorStevens.Biography |title=About Senator Stevens" (official biography) |publisher=United States Senator Ted Stevens (official website) |archive-date=May 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070530190831/http://stevens.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorStevens.Biography |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since Gravel took office ten days after Stevens did, Stevens was Alaska's [[senior senator]] for all but ten days of his forty-year tenure in the Senate. However, on the account of Stevens's long career in public service, and age, Gravel took no issue with the situation.

In a [[1970 United States Senate special election in Alaska|special election in 1970]], Stevens won the right to finish the remainder of Bartlett's term. He won the seat in his own right in [[1972 United States Senate election in Alaska|1972]], and was reelected in [[1978 United States Senate election in Alaska|1978]], [[1984 United States Senate election in Alaska|1984]], [[1990 United States Senate election in Alaska|1990]], [[1996 United States Senate election in Alaska|1996]] and [[2002 United States Senate election in Alaska|2002 elections]]. His final term expired in January 2009. Since his first election to a full term in 1972, Stevens never received less than 66% of the vote before his 2008 defeat for re-election.<ref>{{cite news|first=Aaron|last=Blake|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/946-begichs-entry-tees-up-first-tough-reelection-race-in-stevenss-career/|title=Begich's entry tees up first tough reelection race in Stevens's career|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116150552/http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/1137-begichs-entry-tees-up-first-tough-reelection-race-in-stevenss-career |archive-date=November 16, 2012|work=The Hill|date=February 27, 2008|url-status=live|access-date=July 18, 2016}}</ref>

When asked if he would hypothetically accept the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomination if offered, Stevens replied "No. I've got too many things that I still want to do as a senator. Plus, I don't like the idea of a job where you sit around and wait for someone to die."<ref name="vice">{{cite news|first=Hill|last=Staff|url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senators-say-whether-theyd-agree-to-be-vice-president-2008-05-12.html|title=Senators say whether they'd agree to be vice president|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517001022/http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senators-say-whether-theyd-agree-to-be-vice-president-2008-05-12.html |archive-date=May 17, 2008|work=The Hill|date=May 12, 2008|access-date=May 28, 2023}}</ref>

Stevens lost his [[2008 United States Senate election in Alaska|Senate re-election bid in 2008]].<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Nichols|title=Ted Stevens – and Senate GOP – In Trouble|url=http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/31/2889|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708214843/http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/31/2889/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2008|work=[[The Nation]]|date=July 30, 2007|access-date=March 17, 2014}}</ref> He won the Republican primary in August<ref>Kim Murphy, [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-alaska27-2008aug27,0,4017397.story "Alaska: Sen. Stevens wins; Rep. Young in tight race"]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830044300/http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-alaska27-2008aug27%2C0%2C4017397.story |date=August 30, 2008 }},|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 27, 2008|</ref> and was defeated by Anchorage Mayor [[Mark Begich]] in the general election.<ref>{{cite news|title=Senator predicts Democrats will win Alaska Senate race|url=http://juneauempire.com/stories/072408/sta_309065755.shtml|agency=Associated Press|publisher=[[Juneau Empire]]|date=2008-07-24|access-date=July 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006163136/http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/072408/sta_309065755.shtml|archive-date=October 6, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He was the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history to lose re-election, beating out [[Warren Magnuson]], who had served over 36 years before his defeat to [[Slade Gorton]] in [[1980 United States Senate election in Washington|1980]].

Stevens, who would have been 90 years old on election day, had filed to run for a rematch against Begich in the [[2014 United States Senate election in Alaska|2014 election]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adn.com/2009/04/08/753646/stevens-files-candidacy-for-2014.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820073808/http://www.adn.com/2009/04/08/753646/stevens-files-candidacy-for-2014.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 20, 2010 |title=Stevens files candidacy for 2014 election &#124; Ted Stevens |publisher=ADN |date=April 8, 2009 |access-date=November 5, 2012 }}</ref> but he was [[2010 Alaska Turbo Otter crash|killed in a plane crash]] on August 9, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.ktuu.com/2010-08-10/jim-morhard_24129288 |title=Ted Stevens killed in plane crash |publisher=ktuu.com |date=August 10, 2010 |access-date=November 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724100000/http://articles.ktuu.com/2010-08-10/jim-morhard_24129288 |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Dan S. Sullivan|Dan Sullivan]] would defeat Begich in the election by a margin of 3.1%.

===Committees and leadership positions===
[[File:Ted Stevens as Assistant Minority Leader, 1977.jpeg|upright|thumb|left|alt=Stevens in 1977 as Assistant Minority Leader. He is seated on some steps, looking up, with black hair and glasses, wearing a Senator's usual suit and tie. He is holding a sheet of paper.|Stevens in 1977 as Assistant Minority Leader.]]
Stevens served as the Assistant Republican Leader ([[Whip (politics)|Whip]]) from 1977 to 1985. Stevens served as Acting Minority Leader during [[Howard Baker]]'s 1980 run for president during the [[1980 Republican Party presidential primaries|1980 Republican primaries]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/110745483/|title=The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky|website=Newspapers.com|date=November 2, 1979|access-date=10 May 2023|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312060714/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/110745483/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1994, after the Republicans took control of the Senate, Stevens was appointed chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration|Senate Rules Committee]]. Stevens became the Senate's president pro tempore when Republicans regained control of the chamber as a result of the 2002 mid-term elections, during which the previous most senior Republican senator and former president pro tempore [[Strom Thurmond]] retired.

After [[Howard Baker]] retired in 1984, Stevens sought the position of Republican (and then-Majority) leader, running against [[Bob Dole]], [[Richard Lugar|Dick Lugar]], [[James A. McClure|Jim McClure]] and [[Pete Domenici]]. As Republican whip, Stevens was theoretically the favorite to succeed Baker, but lost to Dole in a fourth ballot, by a vote of 28–25.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/republican/dole/political.career/|agency=CNN|title=Political Races|access-date=May 25, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609175523/http://cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/republican/dole/political.career/|archive-date=June 9, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Byrd-stevens-supp-mark-web.jpg|thumb|right|Stevens with U.S. Senator [[Robert Byrd]] in 2003]]
Stevens chaired the [[United States Senate Committee on Appropriations|Senate Appropriations Committee]] from 1997 to 2005, except for the 18 months when Democrats controlled the chamber. The chairmanship gave Stevens considerable influence among fellow Senators, who relied on him for home-state project funds. Even before becoming chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Stevens secured large sums of federal money for the State of Alaska.<ref name="hurt">{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/29/stevens.history/|title=Stevens' Senate career hurt by 'bridge to nowhere'|first=Ed|last=Hornick|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=2022-09-01|archive-date=August 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831234209/https://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/29/stevens.history/|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to Republican Party rules that limited committee chairmanships to six years, Stevens gave up the Appropriations gavel at the start of the [[109th United States Congress|109th Congress]], in January 2005. He was succeeded by [[Thad Cochran]] of Mississippi.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Appropriations Committee |first=U.S. Senate |date=January 3, 2005|title=U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations |url=http://appropriations.senate.gov/ |access-date=September 5, 2022 |website=U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for the 109th Congress |archive-date=2016-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210082930/http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/ }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-19 |title=Departing Appropriations Chairmen Set to Reap Omnibus Bounty |url=https://www.rollcall.com/2018/03/19/departing-appropriations-chairmen-set-to-reap-omnibus-bounty/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Roll Call |language=en |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621082240/https://rollcall.com/2018/03/19/departing-appropriations-chairmen-set-to-reap-omnibus-bounty/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Conglomerate Blog: Business, Law, Economics & Society |url=https://www.theconglomerate.org/2006/07/index.html |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=www.theconglomerate.org |archive-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525153008/https://www.theconglomerate.org/2006/07/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Stevens chaired the [[United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation]] during the 109th Congress, becoming the committee's ranking member after the Democrats regained control of the Senate for the 110th Congress. He resigned his ranking-member position on the committee due to his indictment.<ref name="cqpolitics">{{cite web|url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000002929015 |title=Stevens Surrenders Committee Posts |publisher=Cqpolitics.com |author=Kathleen Hunter |access-date=October 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030021522/http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000002929015 |archive-date=October 30, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

At various times, Stevens also served as chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|Senate Governmental Affairs Committee]], the [[United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics|Senate Ethics Committee]], the Arms Control Observer Group, and the Joint Committee on the [[Library of Congress]].

Due to Stevens's long tenure and that of the state's sole congressman, [[Don Young]], Alaska was considered to have clout in national politics well beyond its small population (the state was long the smallest in population and is currently 48th, ahead of only [[Wyoming]] and [[Vermont]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=US States - Ranked by Population 2023 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/states |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=worldpopulationreview.com |archive-date=March 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324055635/https://worldpopulationreview.com/states |url-status=live }}</ref>

Stevens was strongly considered for [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] in the [[Presidency of George H.W. Bush|H.W. Bush Administration (1989–1993)]], a position which ultimately went to [[Dick Cheney]].<ref name="riseandfall"/>

===Political positions===
Stevens was long considered a [[Rockefeller Republican]] and described as a liberal or moderate Republican,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-08-10 |title=The life and legacy of former Sen. Ted Stevens |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna38645177 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=May 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506062553/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna38645177 |url-status=live }}</ref> managing [[Nelson Rockefeller]]'s 1964 campaign in Alaska.<ref name="rockyak">{{Cite news|last=Times|first=NY|date=April 5, 1964|title=Rockefeller Camp Claims Victory At District Convention in Alaska|language=en-US|newspaper=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/05/archives/rockefeller-camp-claims-victory-at-district-convention-in-a-laska.html|access-date=2023-05-24|archive-date=November 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119192146/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/05/archives/rockefeller-camp-claims-victory-at-district-convention-in-a-laska.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By one measure of all members of Congress from 1937 to 2002, Stevens, with a score of 0.183, usually voted to the left of the average Republican (who scored an average of 0.271 in the Senate and 0.300 in the House), and to the left of notable liberal & moderate Republicans such as Illinois Representative & 1980 presidential candidate [[John B. Anderson]], with a score of 0.185,<ref>''A Campaign of Ideas: The 1980 Anderson/Lucey Platform (Contributions in American Studies)'' by Clifford W Brown Jr. (Author), Robert J. Walker (Author) {{ISBN|978-0313245350}}</ref> Virginia Senator [[John Warner]], with a score of 0.251,<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Warner, longtime Virginia senator and ex-husband of Elizabeth Taylor, dies at 94 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/05/26/john-warner-longtime-virginia-republican-senator-dies-94/7444723002/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621082511/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/05/26/john-warner-longtime-virginia-republican-senator-dies-94/7444723002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> & even Democrats such as Ohio Senator [[Frank Lausche]], with a score of 0.200.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Poole |first=Keith T. |date=October 13, 2004 |title=Is John Kerry a Liberal? |url=http://voteview.com/Is_John_Kerry_A_Liberal.htm |access-date=24 May 2023 |website=voteview.com |archive-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526063634/https://legacy.voteview.com/Is_John_Kerry_A_Liberal.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1977, the [[American Conservative Union]] gave Ted Stevens a ranking of less than 50%, indicating that Stevens had voted more liberally than he had conservatively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kilgore |first=Ed |date=2017-10-09 |title=When Moderate Republican Senators Walked the Earth |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/10/when-moderate-republican-senators-walked-the-earth.html |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Intelligencer |language=en-us |archive-date=January 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127024548/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/10/when-moderate-republican-senators-walked-the-earth.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1974, Stevens was given a 25% year-round rating, his lowest rating that year, putting him to the left of noted liberal Republicans [[Mark Hatfield]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oregonoutpost.com/?p=5343|title=The era of the Oregon Liberal Republican. Part Two. Senator Mark Hatfield &#124; Oregon Outpost}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Bob Packwood]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Jordan Michael |date=2014-02-25 |title=Bob Packwood's Redemption Story |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/02/bob-packwood-lobbying-politics-103966 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=POLITICO Magazine |language=en |archive-date=June 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620035319/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/02/bob-packwood-lobbying-politics-103966/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Charles H. Percy|Charles Percy]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charles Percy |url=https://www.theloneliberalrepublican.org/charles-percy |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=The Lone Liberal Republican |language=en-US |archive-date=June 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620035316/https://www.theloneliberalrepublican.org/charles-percy |url-status=live }}</ref> liberal Democratic leader [[Frank Church]],<ref name="CSM">{{Cite journal |first = Lucia |last = Mouat |date  = October 16, 1980 |title = It's 'Frank' vs. 'Steve' as Idaho's Church seeks re-election to Senate |journal     = Christian Science Monitor |page       = 6 |url         = http://www.igottheconch.com/index.php?title=Church_Committee#Frank_Church |url-status     = usurped |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080131145339/http://www.igottheconch.com/index.php?title=Church_Committee#Frank_Church |archive-date = January 31, 2008}}</ref> and even his Democratic colleague from Alaska, [[Mike Gravel]].<ref>[http://ratings.conservative.org/people?level=state&limit=1000&orderBy=rating&state=US&year=1974 Ratings 1974] {{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1974, Stevens's lifetime rating was 43%. By the end of his career, Stevens had a 64.78% lifetime rating,<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 3, 2009 |title=Ted Stevens ACU rating |url=http://ratings.conservative.org/people/S000888 |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=ratings.conservative.org }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> over 15% short of the required rating to be considered sufficiently conservative by the organization.<ref>{{Cite press release|url=http://stewart.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/stewart-named-top-conservative-by-american-conservative-union|title=Stewart Named Top Conservative By American Conservative Union|date=April 3, 2014|publisher=Congressman Chris Stewart|access-date=June 20, 2023}}</ref>

====Internet and net neutrality====
{{Main|Series of tubes}}
[[File:Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, during the Conference on Supplemental Appropriations bill.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Stevens in an Appropriations hearing; May 1997]]
On June 28, 2006, the Senate Commerce Committee was in the final day of three days of hearings,<ref name="communicationsreformbillhearings">[https://web.archive.org/web/20121215221945/http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=7207bab5-f871-4741-a136-186372198f2c&ContentType_id=14f995b9-dfa5-407a-9d35-56cc7152a7ed&Group_id=b06c39af-e033-4cba-9221-de668ca1978a&MonthDisplay=6&YearDisplay=2006 "Full Committee Markup – Communications Reform Bill."] U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, June 28, 2006. (The audio from the day's hearing is available at a [[streaming media]] file in [[RealMedia]] format. Stevens's speech begins at 1:13:11 and ends at 1:24:19.)</ref> during which the Committee members considered more than two hundred amendments to an omnibus telecommunications bill. Stevens authored the bill, S. 2686,<ref name="sbill-twosixeightsix">{{cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s.02686: |title=S.2686. A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 and for other purposes. |website=Thomas.loc.gov |access-date=July 20, 2010 |archive-date=December 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218124922/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s.02686: |url-status=dead }}</ref> the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006.

Senators [[Olympia Snowe]] (R-ME) and [[Byron Dorgan]] (D-ND) cosponsored and spoke on behalf of an amendment that would have inserted strong [[network neutrality]] mandates into the bill. In between speeches by Snowe and Dorgan, Stevens gave a vehement 11-minute speech using colorful language to explain his opposition to the amendment. Stevens referred to the Internet as "not a big truck", but a "series of tubes" that could be clogged with information. Stevens also confused the terms ''Internet'' and ''e-mail''. Soon after, Stevens's interpretation of how the Internet works became a topic of amusement and ridicule by some in the [[blogosphere]].<ref name="wired-yourownpersonalinternet">Singel, Ryan and Kevin Poulsen. (June 30, 2006). [http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/index.blog?entry_id=1512499 "Your Own Personal Internet."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902145024/http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/index.blog?entry_id=1512499 |date=September 2, 2006 }} 27B Stroke 6, Wired.com. Retrieved on August 24, 2006.</ref> The phrases "the Internet is not a big truck" and "series of tubes" became [[internet memes]] and were prominently featured on U.S. television shows including [[Comedy Central]]'s ''[[The Daily Show]]''.

[[CNET]] journalist [[Declan McCullagh]] called "series of tubes" an "entirely reasonable" [[Internet metaphors|metaphor for the Internet]], noting that some computer [[operating system]]s use the term '[[Pipeline (Unix)|pipes]]' to describe [[interprocess communication]]. McCullagh also suggested that ridicule of Stevens was almost entirely political, espousing his belief that if Stevens has spoken in a similar manner, yet in support of [[Net Neutrality]], "the online chortling would have been muted or nonexistent."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10076855-38.html|title='Series of tubes' senator convicted of corruption|date=October 27, 2008|publisher=[[CNET Networks]]|last=McCullagh|first=Declan|author-link=Declan McCullagh|access-date=November 8, 2008|archive-date=July 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730045801/http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10076855-38.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Logging====
[[File:Nancy Reagan at Reagan Missile site crop.jpg|thumb|upright|Stevens escorts former first lady [[Nancy Reagan]] at the [[Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site]] dedication ceremony, April 10, 2006]]

Stevens was a long-standing proponent of logging and championed a plan that would allow {{convert|2400000|acre|km2}} of roadless [[old growth forest]] to be [[clear-cut]]. Stevens said this would revive Alaska's timber industry and bring jobs to unemployed loggers; however, the proposal would mean that thousands of miles of roads would be constructed at the expense of the [[United States Forest Service]], judged to cost taxpayers $200,000 per job created.<ref name="jstor1">{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24782122 |author=Daniel G. Drais |title=The Tongass Timber Reform Act: Restoring Rationality and Responsibility to the Management of America's Largest National Forest |journal=Virginia Environmental Law Journal |year=1989 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=317–372 |jstor=24782122 |access-date=2022-09-01 |archive-date=August 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831235954/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24782122 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Abortion====
According to ''[[On the Issues]]''<ref>[http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Ted_Stevens_Abortion.htm "Ted Stevens on Abortion".] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104221002/http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Ted_Stevens_Abortion.htm |date=January 4, 2016 }} On the Issues: Every Political Leader on Every Issue. Retrieved on May 31, 2007.</ref> and NARAL,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naral.org/choice-action-center/in-congress/congressional-record-on-choice/state.html?state=AK |title=Congressional Record on Choice by State" (Alaska.) |publisher=NARAL |access-date=May 31, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231603/http://www.naral.org/choice-action-center/in-congress/congressional-record-on-choice/state.html?state=AK |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Stevens had a mildly [[anti-abortion]] voting record, despite some notable pro-abortion votes.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00048 "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 108th Congress – 1st Session: On the Amendment (Harkin Amdt. No. 260).] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910235745/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00048 |date=September 10, 2016 }} Vote date March 12, 2003. United States Senate, Legislation & Records. Retrieved on May 31, 2007.</ref>

However, as a former member of the moderate [[Republican Main Street Partnership]], Stevens supported [[human embryonic stem cell]] research.<ref name=RMSP>{{cite web|url=http://www.republicanmainstreet.org/members.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124163849/http://www.republicanmainstreet.org/members.htm|archive-date=November 24, 2005|title=Congressional Members: 109th Congress|publisher=Republican Main Street Partnership}}</ref>

====Global warming====
Stevens was long an avowed [[climate change denial|skeptic]] of [[anthropogenic climate change]], instead believing the threat was from natural causes. In 2004, Stevens said "No place is experiencing a more startling change from rising global temperatures than Alaska. Among the consequences are sagging roads, crumbling villages, dead trees, catastrophic fires and possible disruption of marine life. These problems will cause Alaska hundreds of millions of dollars. Alaska is harder hit by global climate change than any place in the world."<ref name="theory">{{Cite news |last=Stolz |first=Kit |date=2007-09-07 |title=Alaskan senator invents new theory of global warming |url=https://grist.org/article/ted-stevens-climatologist/ |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=Grist |language=en-us |archive-date=May 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515131248/https://grist.org/article/ted-stevens-climatologist/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At a [[Senate Commerce Committee]] hearing in 2005, Stevens warned Congress to approach climate change with caution, stating "Dr. Syun-Ichi Akasofu sent me his most recent assessment earlier this month. I hope you all know that we helped finance three, maybe four icebreaker research vessels now for the third year in the Arctic Ocean to try and really keep track of what is happening there. He noted the amount of {{CO2}} and CH4 now in the air is well above what the earth has experienced during the last 450,000 years and climate change is in progress in full steam in the Arctic. But he emphasized that there is 'no definitive proof' that receding glaciers and shrinking sea ice 'are caused entirely and specifically by the greenhouse effect.'", adding "I have urged my colleagues in the Senate not to substitute casual judgments for sound science. That would only lead to confusion, which Dr. Akasofu has warned me may be more dangerous than global warming itself."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-11-15 |title=Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens Addresses U.S. Climate Change Science Program Workshop |url=https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2005/11/commerce-committee-chairman-ted-stevens-addresses-u.s-climate-change-science-program-workshop |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation |language=en |archive-date=May 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515131248/https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2005/11/commerce-committee-chairman-ted-stevens-addresses-u.s-climate-change-science-program-workshop |url-status=live }}</ref>

In early 2007, he acknowledged that humans were changing the climate, and began supporting legislation to [[climate change mitigation|combat climate change]]. "Global climate change is a very serious problem for us, becoming more so every day", he said at a Senate hearing in February 2007, adding that he was "concerned about the human impacts on our climate". He then spoke to the St. Petersburg Times, stating "We've got global climate change, and it's coming about partly naturally and part of it may be, I believe, caused by the accumulation of the activities of man."<ref name="adair">{{cite news|author=Adair, Bill|date=February 24, 2007|title=Senator's new views on climate surprise foes|work=St. Petersburg Times|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/24/Worldandnation/Senator_s_new_views__.shtml|access-date=February 25, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816174946/http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/24/Worldandnation/Senator_s_new_views__.shtml|archive-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> But in September 2007, he claimed, "We're at the end of a long term of warming.", adding "700 to 900 years of increased temperature", and then "If we're close to the end of that, that means that we'll starting getting cooler gradually, not very rapidly, but cooler once again and stability might come to this region for a period of another 900 years."<ref name="greenpeace"/><ref name ="theory"/>

====Civil rights====
Stevens voted in favor of the [[Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day|bill]] establishing [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] as a [[Federal holidays in the United States|federal holiday]] and the [[Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987]] (as well as to override [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]]'s veto).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|title=TO PASS H.R. 3706. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19. -- Senate Vote #293 -- Oct 19, 1983|website=GovTrack.us|access-date=10 May 2023|archive-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520132928/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s432|title=TO PASS S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL … -- Senate Vote #432 -- Jan 28, 1988|website=GovTrack.us|access-date=10 May 2023|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728203812/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s432|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s487|title=TO ADOPT, OVER THE PRESIDENT'S VETO OF S 557, CIVIL … -- Senate Vote #487 -- Mar 22, 1988|website=GovTrack.us|access-date=10 May 2023|archive-date=August 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810145251/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s487|url-status=live}}</ref> Stevens was one of the sponsors the [[Title IX]] amendment to the [[Education Amendments of 1972]],<ref name="guardianwomen"/> and was influential in its passage, with the [[Washington Post]] nicknaming him "The Father of Title IX".<ref name="fatherix"/> The [[American Civil Liberties Union]] rated Stevens 20% in 2002, indicating an anti civil rights voting record, and the [[NAACP]] rated Stevens 14% in 2006, indicating an anti-affirmative action stance. Stevens would, however, vote against an amendment to ban affirmative action in federally funded businesses in 1995.<ref name="civilissues">{{Cite web |title=Ted Stevens on Civil Rights |url=https://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Ted_Stevens_Civil_Rights.htm |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=www.ontheissues.org |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410141020/https://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Ted_Stevens_Civil_Rights.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===== LGBT+ rights =====
Stevens voted in favor of an amendment to classify abuse based on sexual orientation a hate crime in 2000, though he voted against a similar amendment in 2002.<ref name="civilissues"/> Stevens voted in favor of the [[Defense of Marriage Act]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senate Votes on 1996-280 |url=https://www.ontheissues.org/SenateVote/Party_1996-280.htm |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=www.ontheissues.org |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126192743/https://www.ontheissues.org/SenateVote/Party_1996-280.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Human Rights Campaign]] rated Stevens 0% in 2006, indicating an anti-gay rights stance.<ref name="civilissues"/>

====U.S. Supreme Court====
Stevens voted in favor of the nominations of [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|Robert Bork]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Congressional record. Senate |url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/348_1987.pdf |website=senate.gov |access-date=10 May 2023 |date=October 23, 1987 |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416002814/https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/348_1987.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination|Clarence Thomas]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1021/vote_102_1_00220.htm|title=U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 102nd Congress – 1st Session|website=www.senate.gov|access-date=10 May 2023|archive-date=May 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507172256/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1021/vote_102_1_00220.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].

====Criticism of political positions and actions====
During his tenure as Senator, Stevens was subject to frequent criticism that included:
* [[Citizens Against Government Waste]] accused Stevens of [[pork barrel]] politics and kept a list of his pet projects.<ref>[http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=PorkerProfile_Stevens "Senator Ted Stevens's Pork Tally".] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826181522/http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=PorkerProfile_Stevens |date=August 26, 2009 }} Citizens Against Government Waste. Retrieved on May 31, 2007.</ref>
* In 2005, Stevens strongly supported federal transportation funds to build the [[Gravina Island Bridge]], which quickly became derided due to its price tag (approximately $398{{spaces}}million) and as an unnecessary [[Bridge to Nowhere]]. Stevens threatened to quit the Senate if the funds were diverted.<ref name="Ruskin">{{cite news|last=Ruskin |first=Liz |title=Stevens says he'll quit if bridge funds diverted |url=http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7112853p-7020074c.html |work=[[Anchorage Daily News]] |date=October 21, 2005 |access-date=November 6, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014174402/http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7112853p-7020074c.html |archive-date=October 14, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Additionally, he received criticism for introducing a bill in January 2007 that would heavily restrict access to [[social networking]] sites from public schools and libraries. Sites falling under the language of this bill could have included [[MySpace]], Facebook, [[Digg]], [[English Wikipedia]], and [[Reddit]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Preston|last=Gralla|date=February 14, 2007|url=http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/4598|title=U.S. senator: It's time to ban Wikipedia in schools, libraries|website=Computerworld.com|access-date=October 28, 2008|archive-date=October 28, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028090934/http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/4598|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/02/fear_and_loathi.html|title=Fear And Loathing on The Anti-Anti-Predator Campaign|website=Blog.wired.com|date=February 15, 2007|access-date=October 28, 2008|first=Ryan|last=Singel|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110232939/http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/02/fear_and_loathi.html|archive-date=January 10, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/02/15/dopa-jr-is-not-a-wikipedia-ban |title=DOPA Jr. Is Not A Wikipedia Ban |website=Webpronews.com |access-date=October 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709072603/http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/02/15/dopa-jr-is-not-a-wikipedia-ban |archive-date=July 9, 2008 |author=Jason Lee Miller |date=February 15, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* In 2007, Stevens added $3.5 million into a Senate omnibus bill to help finance an airport which serves a remote Alaskan island.<ref name="airport2007">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/08/01/cq_3199.html|title=Stevens's Earmark Funds Airport Project That Benefits One Company|publisher=[[CQ Politics]]|first=Kathryn A.|last=Wolfe|date=August 1, 2007|access-date=August 21, 2007|archive-date=April 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424093513/http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/08/01/cq_3199.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The proposed airstrip would allow around a hundred permanent residents of [[Akutan, Alaska|Akutan]] access, but the biggest beneficiary would have been the Seattle-based [[Trident Seafoods]], a corporation which reportedly operated "one of the world's largest seafood processing plants", on a volcanic [[Aleutians]] island.<ref name="airport2007"/> In December 2006, a federal [[grand jury]] involved in the [[Alaska political corruption probe]] ordered Trident (as well as other seafood companies) to render private documents about ties to the senator's youngest son, former Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board Chairman and, at the time, the incumbent President of the Alaska State Senate [[Ben Stevens]].<ref name="airport2007"/> Trident's chief executive, [[Charles Bundrant]], was a longtime supporter of the elder Stevens, and Bundrant with his family donated $17,300 in a time period spanning since 1995 to Stevens's political campaigns and another $10,800 to his leadership PAC, while also donating $55,000 to the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee|National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee]].<ref name="airport2007"/>