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We continue our look into the life of Senator Ted Stevens. In part two of our series, we focus on political issues the senator feels strongly about: from ANWR, to earmarks and resentment when it comes to the overall political process. Decide for yourself. But we were surprised by many of his responses to these issues we've heard about for decades.
"I think I get more intense about issues now than I used to get," said Senator Ted Stevens (R), Alaska.
We've seen him fired up on the Senate floor. And recently, we've seen him let out his aggression inside his private Girdwood gym. To say there are a lot of issues on Stevens' plate would be putting it mildly.
What issue really gets you fired up and angry and mad?
"ANWR gets me fired up," said Stevens.
"It's an area that was set aside for oil and gas exploration. It's still set aside for that. Now the big fight in this Congress is ...members of the House want to repeal that portion. They say that area is no longer set aside for oil and gas exploration. It probably has the largest deposit of oil and gas in the North American continent. And we're not able to go and prove it. That makes me furious," said Senator Stevens.
If Stevens is re-elected for a seventh term, ANWR will continue to be a priority. He's also deeply disturbed by what he considers a "false alarm," when it comes to further protection of our polar bears.
"If we enlist the polar bear as being endangered,
He had the same argument back in 1990. At that time, President Clinton pushed to put a moratorium on all fishing from Cordova to Adak, in order to protect the Steller sea lion. Different animal-- same debate. And whether it's the sea lion, the polar bears, or the environmental tug of war over the Tongass National Forest, Stevens argues that extreme environmentalists are slowly killing our state.
"We've had so many attacks from these extreme environmentalist, and I think the state has to wake up. We have tremendous potential here to do things that will be in the national interest, our own interest. If we do them on a scientific basis, these people who are raising these issues now, they're not raising science. They're raising fear," said Stevens.
One of the biggest fears for Alaskans right now is a future without earmarks.
Do you feel like your constituents are very concerned about some of the things they're hearing? Do you think there's a general fear about how this state will thrive without earmarks?
"We don't need them anymore. I'm not afraid of the earmark issue," said Stevens.
"The whole budget is earmarked. The president sends us a budget, and it says I want this money for this, that, that, that all earmarked. But presidential earmarks are OK. When it comes to Alaska, I think I know a little bit more about Alaska than the president does. And if they're going to put money here, I'd like to have some say about how it's going to be spent. And I will. There's no question about it. We will still have that say," said Stevens.
As the longest
"I want to find some way to reopen Alaska's future. We can't get the pipeline going. We can't get drilling in the Artic. We can't harvest our timber. There are just roadblocks up," said Stevens.
--roadblocks that are popping up on Alaskan pavement lined with recent corruption, scandal and probes. On the sidelines is a growing generation of young, skeptical voters.
Here is a concern a lot of you are voicing:
I've lost my faith in politics. I've lost my faith in the political process. How would you respond to that?
"I'd say come spend a day with me and get it back," said Senator Stevens.
Click Below For Part I:
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