I didn't say they were and I don't believe Mr Schatz was implying that either. Senator Stevens is just another politician in a long list that was villified while alive and lionized in death.The fact remains he was known as the "emperor of earmarks" of which one of the more notable was the "bridge to nowhere".

While he was "framed" and found guilty of making "false statements" that speaks more to the "culture of corruption" so prevalent in Washington than to the late Senator. Just because his conviction was voided and indictment dismissed does not mean that he was not part that "cesspool" of Washington insiders.