Stevens: Harumph!

After giving the press “no comments” since the FBI raided his home in August, Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK) finally spoke yesterday. And what did he have to say? Stevens told a Fairbanks Daily News Miner reporter that he’s on “frosty” terms with Gov. Sarah Palin (R), and she should think carefully about how she spends Alaska’s federal bridge to nowhere money.

Short about $329 million to build the bridge that would have connected an island of 50 people to a more densely populated, neighboring island, Palin told transportation officials to direct the $200 million to an alternative project like an upgraded ferry system.

Stevens worries the federal government might want the money back, even though the language that targeted the money to the project was stripped from the bill after it became a scandal. Alaska got the money just the same, however, and Stevens has never admitted defeat.

Stevens said regardless of whether Congress can force the state to return the bridge money, it’s now a political issue that could harm Alaska in future funding fights.

The governor’s decision “may well jeopardize further funding by the Congress of any bridges in Alaska, which I think is a dangerous precedent,” he said. “I think they should be very careful how they use that money.”

Way to stick to your guns, Senator.