Mike Gravel, a former United States Senator from Alaska, on April 17, 2006 became a declared candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2008 election,[1] announcing his run in a speech to the National Press Club.
His campaign is based primarily on his ardent support for direct democracy (the National Initiative), but also emphasizes his support for a national sales tax and abolition of the IRS, immediate withdrawal from the war in Iraq, a single-payer national health care system, and term limits during his campaign.
Although the campaign was little-noticed by the national media at its outset he campaigned almost full time in New Hampshire, the first primary state, proceeding after his announcement. He has garnered broader awareness and interest through his occasional television appearances, netroots campaigning, and participation in Party forums (such as the Democratic Presidential Candidates Forum and DNC Winter Conference).
As an advocate and candidate the former Senator has become known, chiefly among Democrats and independent voters, for his statements of strong commitment to issues ranging from nuclear disarmament, citizen-initiated lawmaking, gay marriage recognition, and the lifting of discrimination against gays in the military - to the reorganization of the tax and social security systems in the United States and the immediate cessation of US military involvement in Iraq.
In a February 25, 2007 Washington Post/ABC News nationwide poll of voters who lean Democratic, 0% supported Gravel for the Democratic presidential nomination.[2] Indeed, through February 2007, such opinion polls of contenders for the Democratic nomination have all shown Gravel with a 1% or less support level.
The former Senator has won the endorsement of campaign finance reform activist (and New Hampshire resident and former Alaska resident) Granny D.[3]
Inhis May 2007 essay subtitled 'The People's Crusade of Mike Gravel' consumer activist, author, and former US Presidential candidate Ralph Nader has likened Senator Gravel to 'a fresh wind coming down from Alaska' and the orator Cicero. He effectively endorses the National Initiative with which Gravel is closely associated and expresses that 'no candidate for President from the two major parties has ever demonstrated such a detailed position regarding the sovereign power of People to amend the Constitution and make laws'.[4][5]
As a candidate, the former Senator was interviewed for the Blue State Observer weblog on 27 June 2006.[6] On that occasion he expressed his support for constitutional change in aid of citizen-initiated legislation, he declaimed the existence of limitations upon the conduct of stem cell research, and stated he was against the widespread deportation of illegal immigrants.
He has delivered an address before the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in November 2006 which has been recorded and published on video.[7]
He has addressed the Jefferson County Presidents Day Dinner Sunday on February 11 2007 in Watertown, Wisconsin.[8]
His address before the DNC National Winter Conference in February 2007 was enthusiastically received and has been broadcast on C-Span.[9] In speaking he authored harsh judgments against President Bush and the Senate Democratic leadership, necessarily involving his Presidential rivals Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards:
"The decision to invade Iraq, without provocation, was fraudulently sold to the American people by a President consumed with messianic purpose. The Democrats controlled the Senate on October 11 2002 and provided political cover for the President to invade Iraq [so that] political calculations trumped morality. Given the extreme importance of any decision to go to war, anyone who voted for the war on October 11 based upon what President Bush presented to them is not qualified to hold the office of President of the United States.
...
We must bring our troops home NOW, not six months from now.
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The Democrats in control of Congress need to act resolutely, and i'm not talking about some mealy-mouthed non-binding resolutions. They need to precipitate a constitutional confrontation [with the President]."
The Gravel campaign has its own Youtube channel featuring some videos of the candidate's past speeches and campaign appearances.
The candidate maintains his own weblog covering from October 2006 to the present.
The campaign website includes participation forums. A video section of the campaign website links to videos of some media appearances, his address to the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, a September 2006 appearance at the 'Camp Democracy' activist forum in Washington DC, as well as the introductory video from his successful 1968 Senate campaign.
AYouTube video of his performance and responses in the South Carolina debate of 26 April 2007 has achieved in excess of 237000 views, and honors such as #17 most views (for week), #7 top rated (for week), #23 top favorites (for week), #25 most discussed (for week), #4 most linked (for week), #1 most viewed - news and politics (for week), and #1 top rated - news and politics (for week).[10]
At the close of the first quarter 2007 reporting period, the campaign committee had $498 in cash against debts and obligations amounting to $88,515.[11]
The campaign and/or candidate have attracted notable coverage inThe New York Times, The Reno Gazette-Journal, on CBS News, on ABC News, in The Progressive, and inThe American Spectator,
Among other sources of news and commentary, the campaign notes coverage and appraisal of its candidate by The Free Liberal, 'CrooksandLiars.com', the New York Daily Star, AntiWar Radio, the Ed Schultz Show, Internationalist Magazine, the Roanoke Times, American Chronicle, DailyKos.com, The Dartmouth Online, Blue Hampshire, and the Portsmouth Herald.[12] In May 2007, he was profiled by Salon.com.
In mid-June 2007 the campaign released an ad in which Gravel stares into the camera for a full minute motionless and silent, after which he walks away, pausing to hurl a large stone into a lake. The ad was largely interpreted as odd and distinctive at best, postmodern at worst. A campaign representative said he did not wish to give context to the ad and that it was meant to be "interpretive." [1]
He has appeared on C-Span (date unspecified) during his campaign speaking about the prospects of war between the United States and Iran.[13]
He was interviewed on Toniq TV in February 2007 where he forthrightly expressed views supporting the lifting of restrictions against the service of identified gays and lesbians in the US military.[14] Calling comparison to President Harry S. Truman's racial desegregation of the US military in 1948 he criticized former President Bill Clinton as 'dead wrong' and 'mousy' for his innovation of the don't ask don't tell policy covering homosexual conduct by military members:
"If you have any knowledge of history, ancient history, in Sparta they encouraged homosexuality because they fight for the people they love and if its your partner and you love him then you're prepared to die for him. It's the same ethic in the military today. It's not [about] the country, it's [about] my partner who's sharing my foxhole with me."
Also in early February 2007 he was interviewed on MSNBC in conjunction with his appearance at the Democratic National Convention Annual Winter Meeting.[15] He reiterated his ideas and campaign themes including speedy withdrawal of the US military from Iraq, and expressed his relish to be participating in four debates in the ensuing 30 days.
At the time of the DNC Winter Conference he has also appeared as a guest of a video weblog directed from New Jersey answering questions about netroots and the blogosphere.[16]
He was interviewed about his campaign on the American C-Span network's Washington Journal program on 26 February 2007.[17]
In late April/early May he appeared on CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, on the NBC Today Show, and with Youtube political journalist James Kotecki(see James Kotecki).
Heappeared as a guest interviewee of Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report of 3 May 2007.
An 23 August 2006 media release draws attention to the candidate's public opposition to the prospect of war in Iraq expressed as long ago as the early months of 2002.[18]
A short statement of 13 February 2007 outlined the former Senator's views on the possibility of impeachment proceedings against President Bush, regarding it as 'not sufficient' and favoring a congressional inquiry which may ultimately lead to the laying of criminal charges against the President. (see Stance on Impeachment)
A release of 26 February 2007 spelled out his support for the recognition of same-sex marriages and other aspects of the gay civil rights agenda. It said:
"Senator Gravel:
* Unequivocally supports same-sex marriage and opposes the Defense of Marriage Act.
* Supports expanding hate-crime legislation and opposes laws that allow discrimination against sexual orientation, as well as discrimination on the basis of one's gender identity or expression.
* In the absence of full marriage rights, supports domestic partner benefits for all Americans.
* Will repeal the military's 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' legislation on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, as it restricts the rights of gay Americans.
* Opposes any state or national constitutional amendment that restricts the rights of the LGBT community."[19]
A 1 March 2007 release called upon Congress to use its 'constitutional authority' to outlaw the practice of torture against captured enemy combatants.[20] The release referred to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution, which reads, 'The Congress shall have power to..declare war..and make rules concerning captures on land and water.' It also criticized the CIA's practice of not providing the information of certain of its prisoners in overseas jails to the International Red Cross.
He participated in the AFSCME Democratic Presidential Forum on 21 February 2007 in Carson City, Nevada, at the Carson City Community Center. He appears toward the end of this video of the broadcast of the event.
In the Carson City Forum, he roundly condemned President Bush's policy of military involvement in Iraq and reminded those present of his statements warning of lies and distortions about Iraq's supposed unlawful weapons of mass destruction as far back as early 2002 (the time of the occurrence of the first signs of the Bush Administration's formulation of an agenda for military action against Iraq). He decried the overall level of military spending as against the resourcing of education and what he regarded as poor educational outcomes achieved.
He incited Congressional Democrats to force a 'constitutional crisis' by denying all further budgetary appropriations in aid of continued American military involvement in Iraq. He further argued that the income tax should be 'wiped out' in favour of the FairTax proposal - which imposes a progressive sales tax on newly manufactured items varying from 19% to 23% while providing 'prebates' to untax families up to poverty level spending. He stated his view that experience showed income taxes were in general successfully 'gamed' by the wealthy at the expense of the poor and middle income earners. He finally voiced his support for the constitutional and legal reform to effect the National Initiative as a means of enabling citizen-initiated national lawmaking.
He also spoke in favor of public financial assistance for campaigning Presidential candidates.
The forum transcripts have been made available.
With seven other contenders for the Democratic nomination for President he appeared in a televised debate at South Carolina State UniversityinOrangeburg, South Carolina on 26 April 2007.
There is a six-minute highlight video of his performance. During the debate he urged the promulgation of a bill criminalizing the further prosecution of US military involvement in Iraq. He also advocated positions such as opposing preemptive nuclear war. He stated that the Iraq War had the effect of creating more terrorists and that the "war was lost the day that George Bush invaded Iraq on a fraudulent basis". Overall, he gained considerable publicity by shaking up the normally staid multiple-candidate format. However, it did not improve his performance in the polls; a May 2007 CNN poll showed him with less than 0.5 percent support among Democrats.[21]
On 17 March 2007, CNN, the Manchester Union Leader and WMUR-TV formally decided to exclude him from debates between Democratic Presidential candidates they would be sponsoring in New Hampshire.[22]
His campaign decried the decision as 'censorship, unbecoming a free society'.[23]
On 1 May 2007, the decision was reversed and he was invited to be a participant.
The venue was Saint Anselm College and the debate was nationally televised live via CNN on 3 June 2007.[24]
His speech and participation in this forum (alongside fellow Democratic candidates Dennis Kucinich and Joe Biden) is recorded here:Video and here: Audio and Video
He has been invited to the CBS/New York Times debate preceding the 2008 Democratic Presidential primary in New York. [25] The primary election is scheduled for 5 February 2008.
The season of Democratic Presidential caucuses and primaries commences with the Iowa caucus on 14 January 2008. The New Hampsire primary is on 22 January 2008. The 'Super Tuesday' or National Primary occurs on 5 February 2008 with the holding of those elections in fifteen States concurrently. The last primaries, those for Montana and South Dakota, will occur on 3 June 2008.
Mike Gravel has announced positions on issues relevant to the upcoming Presidential election and matters of general political controversy in the American context including healthcare, veterans affairs, drug policy, immigration, taxation, energy policy, stem cell research, abortion, foreign relations, LGBT civil rights, education, impeachment, campaign finance reform, constitutional reform, trade policy, and gun control.
Of distinction he advocates the legalisation of marijuana, he condemns and disavows the adoption of any nuclear first strike policy, and he supports the recognition of samesex marriage while opposing any maneuvres to restrict the availability of the same.
He advocates the national initiative and the fair tax proposal along with the abolition of the IRS, he would tax carbon-based energy consumption, he is pro-choice on the issue of abortion, he is against US military involvement in Iraq, he views the political methods of the 'war on drugs' as misguided, he opposes mandatory sentencing, he would permit the use of human embryonic stem cells for scientific research purposes, he favours the introduction of a 'guest worker program', he would move to renegotiate NAFTA, he supports a form of licensing of firearms ownership while defending the right to bear arms, and he disputes the viability of impeachment action against President George W Bush. He is opposed to the imposition of the death penalty. He would permit openly-identified homosexuals to serve in the military and therefore he would revoke the don't ask, don't tell policy to that end.
He has made funding commitments in regard to the National Science Foundation and the Veterans Administration. He has not made any funding commitments in respect of the National Endowment for the Arts.
