Working the field, part XV - Gravel
October 12, 2007 — wickleThe former Senator from Alaska has proven an interesting candidate. He was the first Democrat officially to declare his candidacy for the 2008 race, though he had to take public transportation to get to his announcement.
Mike Gravel was a two-term Senator who lost his reelection bid in 1980. If you’re looking for the definition of “has-been,” then you need look no further.
In 1971, he was instrumental in arranging the release of the Pentagon Papers, and he also filibustered the renewal of the draft for Vietnam, helping to end it in 1973.
Sen. Gravel has founded The Democracy Foundation, an organization which promotes direct democracy to replace the current republic. The ability to have people put issues onto national ballots would greatly alter the roles of power in the US government.
He wants us to remove all military personnel from Iraq by Christmas 2007. While he says that he has a plan, the fact that his plan is geared around taking effect 11 months before the election calls into question the wisdom of some of these details.
On the other hand, Gravel does state support for “a progressive Fair Tax,” though he also lists the Green Tax on his site. This tax on the use of carbon energy will probably be a lot more regressive than has been reported.
He supports gay marriage — not just civil unions, which at least makes him honest on the issue. He calls for a universal health care system “that provides equal medical services to all citizens, paid for by a retail sales tax (a portion of the Progressive Fair tax). Citizens would pay nothing for health benefits.”
Apparently, he doesn’t understand who will be paying those taxes.
He also calls for ending prohibition in terms of the war on drugs, and treating addiction as a health care problem, rather than a criminal one.
Like Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel is at about the bottom of the heap in terms of polling. However, he runs with his ideas rather than flash and top-dollar marketing. While I agree with him almost none of the time, it’s worth noting who he really is, and Democrats should consider looking at him in terms of what they really want in a candidate. If you want someone who really plans to abandon Iraq immediately, this might well be your guy. While the top candidates have conceded that we can’t withdraw that quickly, Gravel remains true to his idea that we could withdraw in 120 days.
October 22, 2007 at 12:31 am
Please watch my How Many More? video featuring Gravel speaking on ending the Iraq war.
October 22, 2007 at 12:43 am
Nothing there I haven’t seen before.
Our departure won’t end the war. It will simply turn the battle into a bloodbath, and it’s the innocent Iraqis who will pay for it.
As Mike Huckabee said, the question of whether we should have gone into Iraq is one for historians. But there’s a reality there, now, that we have to deal with.