ASSOCIATED PRESS: Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that tainted the 40-year Senate career of Alaska’s political patriarch. The verdict, coming barely a week before Election Day, added further uncertainty to a closely watched Senate race. Democrats hope to seize the once reliably Republican seat as part of their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Stevens, 84, was convicted of all the charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. Jurors began deliberating last week. MORE
DAILY KOS: Alaska disqualifies felons from voting. Therefore, it appears that Senator Stevens can vote neither for himself, nor for local celeb Sarah Palin’s vice-presidential bid. MORE
HUFFINGTON POST: Stevens’ political action committee, Northern Lights PAC, contributed $5000 to the McCain campaign in April 2008. In July, at least five prominent GOP senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, John Sununu (R-NH), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Susan Collins (R-ME) announced that they would give contributions from the PAC to charity. Yet the McCain campaign appears to have held onto the money. A spokesman for the McCain campaign did not return calls for comment this afternoon. MORE
LYING LIARS: GOP Slimes Al Franken
HUFFPO: The National Republican Senatorial Committee put out a kitchen-sink type ad Monday, accusing Al Franken of writing pornography, laughing at the disabled, humiliating minorities and demeaning women. The meat of the ad is lifted, primarily, from Franken’s time as a humorist. And it comes at a time when the Democratic challenger appears close to pulling of an electoral upset. MORE
WHY WE LOVE AL FRANKEN
RELATED: A 2005 study by Public Citizen found that 43% of Senators and Representatives who left office since 1998 went on to become lobbyists. [via CROOKS AND LIARS]