Mike Gravel: After Debate, Little-Known Democrat Draws a Crowd
ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Until the first Democratic presidential debate here on Thursday night, former senator Mike Gravel campaigned in almost total obscurity since becoming the first Democrat to declare more than a year ago, in April 2006.
But all that changed with a few provocative remarks from the stage of South Carolina State University with his seven better-known rivals looking on.
He said the early leading Democratic candidates “frightened” him because they had taken nothing off the table, including nuclear weapons, for possible military action against Iran.
“Tell me, Barack, who do you want to nuke?” he asked Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.
“I’m not planning on nuking anybody right now, Mike,” Obama replied.
“Good, then we’re safe for a while,” Gravel said.
He accused candidate Joseph Biden Jr., the Delaware senator, of having “a certain arrogance” in dictating to Iraqis how to run their country.
Biden hit back, saying Gravel was living in “happy land.”
Yesterday, Gravel said his debate appearance gave a public that does not know him or his record “a taste of the kind of leadership I can provide.” He spoke by telephone from San Diego, where he flew immediately after the debate to address the California Democratic Convention yesterday.
“What will make a difference in this campaign is not money, it’s not celebrity, it is a person who is prepared to tell the American people the truth,” he said. “The people are fed up and as president I will do a 180 and move this country in the opposite direction.”
A native of Springfield, Mass., Gravel served two terms in the Senate, representing Alaska from 1969 to 1981 . He made his mark as a fierce Vietnam war critic who staged a one-man filibuster that led to the end of the military draft. He drafted legislation to end funding for the war and released the Pentagon Papers, which detailed government deception over Vietnam, at the end of June 1971.
The Nixon administration decided not to prosecute Gravel for having Beacon Press in Boston publish the papers, though the US Supreme Court ruled that Gravel could release them only inside the Capitol, based on the Constitution’s speech and debate clause.
Gravel today is a fierce critic of the Iraq war and government secrecy.
“This war was lost the day that George Bush invaded Iraq on a fraudulent basis,” he said in the debate. Believing that Congress has the power to both declare and end wars, he called for a law to end the war.
“He’s the one to say not only that the emperor has no clothes, but that the emperor wannabes have no clothes,” said national pollster John Zogby, adding, “There is an angry voter. I don’t know how that will take shape, it’s way too early. But you got a sense why Mike Gravel is in the race on Thursday and that he is in the race.”
The reaction to Gravel’s performance has overwhelmed his campaign. His aides said they got more requests for interviews yesterday than in the first 12 months of the campaign.
Gravel’s website could not handle the flood of hits after the debate, they said. Bloggers complained that they were ready to donate money but were unable to get into the website .
“He started out with less money than the cost of a John Edwards haircut,” said Elliott Jacobson, Gravel’s national finance director.
Gravel told reporters after the debate: “We stayed in a $55 motel. I’ll hitchhike to the next debate if I have to.”
Earlier this month, Gravel returned home to Arlington, Va., from a campaign appearance in New York on a $25 ticket on Van Moose bus lines. He had spoken at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network candidates’ forum, sharing the stage with Senator Hillary Clinton and Obama — both of whom have already raised more than $20 million each.
Gravel said he decided to run for president because of his anger over Iraq. Friends urged him to use the campaign to also push two policy goals: direct democracy and a revamped federal tax code.
Gravel advocates a constitutional amendment and a federal statute establishing legislative procedures for citizens to make laws through ballot initiatives .
He also supports the Fair Tax, which would eliminate the Internal Revenue Service and corporate and individual income taxes, replacing them with a 23 percent national sales tax on all new goods and services. Each month, taxpayers would receive a check to offset the tax on basic items such as food and medicine.
“People are talking about him,” Zogby said. “And they are going to hear from him over the next few months as long as he’s got money for a bus ticket.”
© Copyright 2007 Boston Globe
I was impressed with Gravel. He’s no Kucinich but he does bring an energy that we need.
This is too shocking. Someone who speaks to the point and directly. Where’s my wallet?
Gravel is the real deal and a GREAT STATESMAN. I have never heard of him before but after the “debate” and the MSM ridicule and dismissal of him, I needed to see who wold dare to mention the ultimate taboo: The Military Industrial Complex.
Then I watched this video of Gravel at the DNC and that is all I needed to see to know who is the presidential material.
http://www.gravel2008.us/videolist?q=node/473
Obama, Clinton and Edwards all combined do not rech this man’s ankles as far as statemnship and patriotism go.
Gravel said that the military-industrial complex controls the government “lock, stock and barrel” and controls the entire culture. He said he is afraid of those Dems who threaten a preventative nuclear attack on Iran with the Bush euphemism “all options are on the table.” (He didn’t get a chance to name them, other than Obama, but Edwards and Clinton use the same illegal, threatening threat.) Wow! Another true progressive alongside of Kucinich. That’s a good thing.
I wish Gravel and Kucinich would use a more clear framework to distinguish themselves as progressives from those Dems (the other six) who support the third corporate regime and its lawless, immoral foreign policy of empire. Charles Derber’s framework in his book “Hidden Power” provides such a framework.
Anyone can look a Derber’s online lecture about that book and get the basic idea.
Someone who knows Kucinich and/or Gravel–get them to watch this lecture from Derber–the other radical, progressive from Boston. They could use Derber’s clear and effective framework for US regime change from the third Corporate Regime to a new progressive regime.
Here is the link to Derber’s lecture:
http://frontrow.bc.edu/program/derber2/
Paul Krugman used this sort of framework in a recent column when he said, “But it’s much too soon to declare the march toward a New Gilded Age over. If history is any guide, one of these days we’ll see the emergence of a New Progressive Era, maybe even a New New Deal.”
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042707F.shtml
How Gravel does will depend upon two factors. The first, the Press, will likely ignore him as they do Dennis Kucinich. The second factor, however, is whether or not America is ready for truth. Remember, after Carter told the truth, Americans elected Ronald Reagan, who told them that it’s “morning in America.” Are we yet prepared to hear the truth? There are an awful lot of false assumptions upon which our current understanding of the nation in which we live has been based.
He (Mike Gravel) accused candidate Joseph Biden Jr., the Delaware senator, of having “a certain arrogance” in dictating to Iraqis how to run their country.
Biden hit back, saying Gravel was living in “happy land.”
I wish Mike Gravel had called him on that remark. I guess Joe Biden thinks that dictating to other countries is what the United States should be doing as “world cops” while we borrow money from China, Japan and others to enable the U.S. to perpetuate this arrogance.
Americans do not like taking a good look in the mirror and describing what they see. Nope. They prefer ‘reality’ TV shows over real issues, blindly putting their faith in people who say they’re Christians. It’s insane.
I live in the heart of the Military-Industrial complex. They’re 85% Christian, 100% church attendance, awfully nice people who are growing uncomfortable with the ‘liberal’ media and bloggers holding a mirror up to their violence saturated lifestyle.
Dennis should select Mike Gravel as vice president, and or vice versa!
Happy-Land Biden sure did show his true colors, as did the other flowery language, rhetoricians.
Excluding the former two, they should all be sent packing with a Happy-Meal, right down Biden’s Happy-Land yellow brick road.
Maat, Best Wishes and Hope
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk1vEuhBuEU
WANNA TURN THIS COUNTRY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?
KUCINICH/GRAVEL IN 2008!!!!
Gravel and Kucinich were the only two in the debate who deserved to be there — they were actually turning up the heat on the front-runners and had something to say that wasn’t in basic agreement.
A shame most of America wasn’t listening. (Perhaps if Gravel had put his hair in a Mohawk…)
I’m not sure I agree with all of Gravel’s ideas, but I like him. He really takes the other Dems to task. I like his Fair Tax plan.
If American voters get out of the rut of only voting for a candidate who MSM pundits say has a chance of winning and start voting for the canditate who has the guts to tell the truth to power,then grass-roots empowerment will flourish . If not then , as Dwight D Eisenhauer warned , Americans will be governed by the Military-Industrial complex which by definition is fascism.
Individual lazy-thinking and fearful Americans have that choice.
I agree with Earthian that Gravel and Kucinich need to do a better job of articulating their positions, especially their view of promoting peace through the world.
Furthermore they will have to decide whether they want to argue that it is the authoritarians in the world (bin Laden, Shia Theocrats, Bush, Cheney, et. al.) that are promoting violence. They will also have to articulate that being a pacifist is not the same as being stupid/weak in the face of violence.
Oh! In the interest of full disclosure, I contributed to Gravel’s campaign after hearing him speak. The man is willing to be personally honest and has courage to speak his mind.
I remember Gravel as a courageous and incorruptible Senator during the Watergate era. I was impressed with him at the Carson City, NV forum in February.
He has that same untainted direct candor as Kucinich although his speaking style is different.
He lacks Kucinich’s great far ahead of the curve vision but is very good and I think his candidacy will actually help Kucinich’s, giving an extra voice in debates when the moderators try to freeze them both out.
And I agree with others who say that he would be a good running mate for Dennis.
Will our half sleepy populace realize that candidates are not unelectable just because the mainstream media blacklists them–in time for the next election or not is the big question?
I question anybody who is promoting a national sales tax. His website doesn’t explain how the tax plan works. He states that the national income tax is regressive, but doesnt lay out the numbers. Maybe he is talking about payrolls taxes as being regressive its hard to tell. If so why abolish the IRS? just require wealthy to increase thier SS payment.
One fault with a sales tax, if Ive saved money as a middle-class worked and those saving have been taxed along the way as I earned the money at my job, and now all of a sudden I get hit with a 25% sales tax , Ive just lost 23% of my saving.
I don’t buy the arguement that removing corporate taxes will lower the cost of goods at the market by 20% as Mr. Gravels website states.
He might be progressive aand a champion of human rights, but his tax plan is very weak, I hope he can bury it quickly.
Mike Gravel is excellent. He is the only candidate among Democrats who is not a puupet of that fascist state (a.k.a. Israel).
The worst are the despicable whore Hilary Clinton ant that uncle Tom and lap dog of Israel Obama.
I firmly beliee that the ticket of Gravel-Paul (the honorable Ron Paul)is the best and ony hope for the future of our country.
These two are the only ones who believe America First, Americal Last, & America Always
Gravel is an amazing speaker. Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gMlHv2lDqA
Vote against the DLC - vote for Gravel OR Kucinich!
What a firecracker! I profoundly wish that the state of democracy in America were such that this man could be elected president, but money rules this country and he is speaking from a knowledge base the majority of Americans are lacking. His background is impeccable: the release of the Pentagon Papers, the filibuster of the draft, the cutting off funding for the Vietnam War, etc. His positions on the death penalty, nuclear proliferation, single payer health care, public financing of elections, etc. are refreshing in a candidate for president.
None of that will matter the corporate media, who are slaves to the military-industrial complex and the status quo. The media has already made up its mind that there are only three candidates worth watching: Clinton, Obama, and Edwards (who is barely granted a mention either). His “potted plant” comment during the debate hit the nail right on the head. The moderators did their level best to ignore him and Kucinich and they will continue to do so until they are forced by their lack of funding to pull out of the race.
Only if the grassroots embraces him will he even have a chance of continuing his campaign through to the first primaries and that can only happen if he becomes known to them, which has little chance of happening if the media is ignoring him.
And who was on the front page of the Washington Post after this event? Hillary and Barak. The two media sweethearts. Who are the media anyway? Why are the so terrified of the debate over issues? It is reduced to a monetary horse race, a contest of arrogance, a vote on popularity for who stays on the island.
I want the issues probed, not our country screwed again.
AWESOME!
Finally…FINALLY!..I relish the opportunity to support a Candidate who openly calls for “Direct Democracy” Thank you Mr. Gavel..
However, in this day and age..his ideas, unfortunately are in fact REVOLUTIONARY..they are obvious to so many of us..but to the Corporate Fascist Theocracy…VERY dangerous..
Mr. Gravel, if you ever see these words, some advice:
EVEN THOUGH IT’S SLOW AND DREARY..CONTINUE TO TAKE THE BUS..AND MAYBE EVEN WEAR A HELMET! REMEMBER THE SENATOR FROM MINNASOTA? NO PLANES! NO PLANES!..AND STAY OUT OF TEXAS..AND PROBABLY FLORIDA..
I mean Der Junior has only been to San Francisco ONCE!..the Swine…so it’s very …”okay” to simply AVOID certain states..
America is in a NEW COLD WAR..but this time it is a COLD “CIVIL” WAR…yet it remains…America..and though we are NOT united ( the REALITY of UNITY can be seen on the streets and Highway’s of America)…we could be..Closer together than we are now..
The Stubborn Stupids..who suffer the disease of Self Deluding Hypocracy.. are extremely dangerous, they have brought us to within ONE step of Fascism in this country..the only thing that remains is the “round-up” of College Prof.s and Clergy and activists..and that is that!
So Mr. Gravel? YOU HAVE THE CREDENTIALS AND THE…HUTSPA! (sic?) to get the job done…THANK YOU SIR..and GOOD LUCK..
Jcrumb: right wing already has a list of the “100 most dangerous professors.” We know about no-fly lists, we have PLENTY of prison bed infrastructure waiting for the Intelligentsia of our land. As for clery, too many ARE behind Bush thanks to a very edited version of the Bible, primarily the Old Testament hell and damnation, ain’t Armageddon fun crowd, just waitin to ‘bring it on’ in Iran. All this would make for rich sci-fi were it not HAPPENING in our midst!
the article is odd in its remarkable silence on Kucinich, the untouchable. Kucinich is the most interesting of this lot and the MSM has blacklisted him. Gavel reminds me a bit of Dean…
We progressives all need to be in a nobody but Kucinich (NBK) movement for right now. Mike Gravel isn’t worth it. He won’t even say a word for impeachment and removal, which Kucinich is sponsoring, and which is the only way to hold W’s gang accountable. He favors direct democracy which failed so miserably in the ancient Greek city of Athens when the time was most favorable for its success and led to the worse tyranny of the time for Athens.
Gravel is trying to sound like Kucinich, but he’s mainly doing talking, but hasn’t been adoing the walking as Kucinich has. Let’s not waste our time or anything else on this fellow.
Furthermore, let’s not forget how the Nazis in 1934 by allowing a direct vote on their control of the German government and calling on people to give all political power for as long they wanted it resulted in consolidation of the worst tyranny in history and all the terrible things which followed. People aren’t that well informed here either. Direct democracy is an idea whose time has come and long since gone with the city states of ancient times, and has little relevancy for nation states of today except to make things worse, as it almost surely will. Had this country had direct democracy at the time of the
Cuban missile crisis, we wouldn’t be alive to talk about any of this today, as the American people were most overwhelmingly in favor of, and those they had put in the US Congress at the time were so close to unanimity in supporting a full scale military confrontation with Moscow, but fortunately John F Kennedy refused to go along with super popular and very stupid opinion, and got a diplomatic settlement which is the reason we’re here to talk about this today. Representative democracy is the real deal!
Gravel is also going to be 77 before next year even starts. Give me a break! I’m retired myself and getting up in the years and in no way oppose those of a bit more age seeking public office overall, but this is without the office that is way too important for someone to be starting at that age. The US presidency especially now with the absolute wreck we’re in today will put so much pressure on someone of that age, and this is just at the start of his presidency, that it’s completely unreal.
We progressives all need to be in a nobody but Kucinich (NBK) movement for right now. Mike Gravel isn’t worth it. He won’t even say a word for impeachment and removal, which Kucinich is sponsoring, and which is the only way to hold W’s gang accountable. He favors direct democracy which failed so miserably in the ancient Greek city of Athens when the time was most favorable for its success and led to the worse tyranny of the time for Athens.
Gravel is trying to sound like Kucinich, but he’s mainly doing talking, but hasn’t been adoing the walking as Kucinich has. Let’s not waste our time or anything else on this fellow.
Direct democracy is an idea whose time has come and long since gone with the city states of ancient times, and has little relevancy for nation states of today except to make things worse, as it almost surely will. Had this country had direct democracy at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, we wouldn’t be alive to talk about any of this today, as the
American people were most overwhelmingly in favor of, and those they had put in the US Congress at the time were so close to unanimity in supporting a full scale military confrontation with Moscow, but fortunately John F Kennedy refused to go along with super popular and very stupid opinion, and got a diplomatic settlement which is the reason we’re here to talk about this today. Representative democracy is the real deal!
Gravel is also going to be 77 before next year even starts. Give me a break! I’m retired myself and getting up in the years and in no way oppose those of a bit more age seeking public office overall, but this is without the office that is way too important for someone to be starting at that age. The US presidency especially now with the absolute wreck we’re in today will put so much pressure on someone of that age, and this is just at the start of his presidency, that it’s completely unreal.
ChristlstnComingBack, When did liberal become a dirty word?According to my dictionary,the definition of liberal is;Having,expressing or following views on policies that favor freedom of individuals to act or express themselves in a manner of their own choosing; tolerant of the ideas and behaviors of others;tending to give freely. When did liberal become a dirty word I hear on political ads,and when did dissent become synonymous with disloyal.Pat Robertson in 1993 said,Just like Nazi Germany did to the Jews,so liberal America is doing to the Evangelical Christians.In 1922 Adolph Hitler invoked his minions to patriotism by using God and Christianity . Hitler said, in part,My feelings as a Christian point me to the Lord and Savor as a freedom fighter. It points me to the man who once,in loneliness,surrouded by a few followers recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight agianst them.Substitute liberal for Jews in that quote and Robertson could said it.Of course ,he also suggested that God had punished, Ariel Sharon, by giving him a stroke.People in our country seem to be more divided than at any other time in our short history,barring perhaps the civial war,when somtimes brother fought against brother.Dissent between factions can be healthy,but in our present climent dissent is now cosidered unpatriotic.By not agreeing with the war in Iraq,that translates to not caring for our gallant military putting thier lives on the line,according to our administration.Not True.I quote this definition of democracy that i read and concur.The noble calling of a democracy is the willingness of people of different views to follow their beliefs inpeace and to let everyone else follow theirs. My view,along with many others ,is that democracy and torture are incompatible.
“He lacks Kucinich’s great far ahead of the curve vision”
Au contraire, mon frere. He has the solution, the same solution that the largest, most progressive, international and fastest growing third party the Green Party, the party of peace that contains in it’s Ten Key Values, Grassroots Democracy. The only kind of democracy that can’t be corrupted, direct democracy.
“He might be progressive and a champion of human rights, but his tax plan is very weak, I hope he can bury it quickly.”
What kind of tax plan would you like to put in place? At least with direct democracy you are one of the deciders, not a few bought politicians.
“Mike Gravel isn’t worth it. He won’t even say a word for impeachment and removal, which Kucinich is sponsoring, and which is the only way to hold W’s gang accountable.”
With Mike Gravel in office we can have a binding referendum to impeach these bastards. A binding referendum is not like a wimpy resolution. It’s a mandate from the public with the force of law.
“He favors direct democracy which failed so miserably in the ancient Greek city of Athens when the time was most favorable for its success and led to the worse tyranny of the time for Athens.”
Direct democracy in Athens was sabotaged by the aristocracy. And representative democracy carries its poison pill of bribery and corruption. That is why its said that ALL representative democracies eventually turn into dictatorships.
The best example of direct democracy today is Switzerland. The Swiss have had no wars in over 150 years though surrounded by warring nations, no boom and bust economy, the best healthcare and education system, a healthy environment, no war on drugs and no drug problem, few crime and immigration problems and the highest per capita income in the world despite having few natural resources. For more information on direct democracy, go to: http://www.gravel2008.us/ and click on National Initiative for Democracy
“Gravel is trying to sound like Kucinich, but he’s mainly doing talking, but hasn’t been adoing the walking as Kucinich has. Let’s not waste our time or anything else on this fellow.”
Gravel has been a progressive long before Kucinich came into the scene. Kucinich is great, but Gravel has more experience and quite frankly, comes off better on TV. I would love to see a Gravel/Kucinich ticket. Gravel has the ability to galvanize progressives and has the direct democratic solution, the proven one that corruption can’t touch short of bribing the entire voting public.
As we have witnessed, representative democracy is a dictatorship waiting to happen. It has become socially, economically and technologically obsolete. We have the microchip and antibiotics, but are still depending on a handful of stone age troglodyte leaders to run every facet of our lives. Like two heads are better than one, 302 million heads are better than 435 mostly bought congressperson’s. It’s time we put our heads together and govern ourselves direct democratically. Its the only way we can have a lasting democracy.
Kucinich/Gravel 08!
Gravel/Kucinich 08!