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Issues
*The War in Iraq*
Immediate and orderly withdrawal of troops followed by aggressive diplomacy
*National Initiative for Democracy*
Empower Americans and turn every citizen into a lawmaker by enacting a national initiative.
*A Fair Tax*
Eliminate the income tax and replace it with a progressive national sales tax - Fair Tax.
*America's System of Education*
Education should be our nation's priority. We need to foster competition and rethink the system.
*Social Security*
Put real money in the Social Security Trust Fund and invest it properly so Americans can leave surplus to heirs.
*Veterans Affairs*
Fully finance the VA and end the war on our nation's vets.
*National Healthcare*
Enact a national, universal, single-payer, not-for-profit U.S. healthcare system.
Military-Industrial Complex Controls Our Government & Culture
Health Care Plan
Power to the People: National Initiative
NO Candidate Who Voted For the War in Iraq is Fit to be President: They Knew THEN What They Know Now
Talk on CNN--The Middle-East: Legalizing Marijuana: Fair Tax: and the Legitimacy of His Candidacy
Blog - see all 5
Why Hillary Endorsed the Surge Aug 22
Posted August 21, 2007 | 10:24 PM (EST) Huffington Post - By Senator Mike Gravel
In an attempt to please an audience of veterans yesterday, Hillary Clinton said the surge was "working" and gave a helping-hand to the Bush spin machine, Pentagon dead-enders and right-wing pundits who have already begun to quote her.
"Of course the surge is working," they'll say, "even Hillary Clinton acknowledges that!" Just when Congressional Democrats were beginning to grow spines and stand up against the war, Hillary has cut them off at the knees.
About
Mike Gravel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, to French Canadian immigrants. He attended French-speaking Catholic schools and as a teenager, when he wasn't working with his father and brothers in the house painting and construction business, volunteered in local Springfield politics, developing an avid interest in government
Senator Gravel enlisted in the U.S. Army (1951-54) and served as special adjutant in the Communication Intelligence Services and as a Special Agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps. He received a B.S. in Economics from Columbia University, New York City, and holds four honorary degrees in law and public affairs.
Mike Gravel served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1963-66, and as Speaker from 1965-66. He then represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate from 1969-81. He served on the Finance, Interior, and Environmental and Public Works committees, chairing the Energy, Water Resources, Buildings and Grounds, and Environmental Pollution subcommittees.
In 1971, he waged a successful one-man filibuster for five months that forced the Nixon administration to cut a deal, effectively ending the draft in the United States. He is most prominently known for his release of the Pentagon Papers, the secret official study that revealed the lies and manipulations of successive U.S. administrations that misled the country into the Vietnam War. After the New York Times published portions of the leaked study, the Nixon administration moved to block any further publication of information and to punish any newspaper publisher who revealed the contents.
From the floor of the senate, Gravel (a junior senator at the time) insisted that his constituents had a right to know the truth behind the war and proceeded to read 4,100 pages of the 7,000 page document into the senate record. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that Senator Gravel did not have the right and responsibility to share official documents with his constituents.
He then published The Senator Gravel Edition, The Pentagon Papers, Beacon Press (1971). This publication resulted in litigation, Gravel v. U.S., resulting in a landmark Supreme Court decision (No. 71-1017-1026) relative to the Speech and Debate Clause (Article 1, Section 6) of the United States Constitution.
He has worked as a cab driver in New York City, a clerk on Wall Street and as a brakeman on the Alaska Railroad. He founded and served as president of The Democracy Foundation, Philadelphia II, and Direct Democracy, nonprofit corporations dedicated to the establishment of direct democracy in the United States through the enactment of the National Initiative for Democracy by American voters.
Books authored by Senator Gravel are Jobs and More Jobs, and Citizen Power. He lectures and writes about governance, foreign affairs, economics, Social Security, tax reform, energy, environmental issues and democracy.
Senator Gravel is married to Whitney Stewart Gravel and has two grown children: Martin Gravel living in Colorado and Lynne Gravel Mosier, living in California. The Gravels have four grandchildren: Renee, Alex, Madison and Mackenzie.
Links
Gravel Campaign Site
Mike Gravel on MySpace
Sen. Gravel on YouTube
National Initiative for Democracy
News
GRAVEL AT DARTMOUTH DEBATE: "WE'RE STARTING A WAR RIGHT NOW" Senator Mike Gravel, appearing in the Democratic presidential debate on Sept. 27 in Hanover, N.H., wasted no time laying out his plan to force an end to the Iraq War. When asked by moderator Tim Russert how Senator Gravel would overcome the deadlock on passing legislation to end the war, he responded: "You stop the debate [over ending the war] by voting every single day on cloture. Twenty days, and you'll overcome cloture. The president vetoes the law. It comes back to the Congress. And in the House at noon every single day you vote to override the president's veto. You tell me that the votes aren't there-you go get them by the scruff of the neck, that's what you do. You make them vote." Questioned by Russert if he was suggesting that the candidates suspend their campaigns to end the war, Senator Gravel responded: "If it stops the killing-my God, yes-do it." The Senator then turned his attention to a vote that New York Senator Hillary Clinton had cast earlier in the day on a nonbinding resolution, known as the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which sanctions a U.S. attack on Iran. "We're just starting a war right today," said Senator Gravel. "There was a vote in the Senate today. Joe Lieberman, who authored the Iraq resolution, has offered another resolution, and it is essentially a fig leaf to let George Bush go to war with Iran. I want to congratulate Biden for voting against it, Dodd for voting against it. And I am ashamed of you, Hillary, for voting for it." The topic turned to immigration and whether the candidates would allow safe havens or "sanctuary cities" for undocumented aliens. "We're scapegoating the Latinos of our society because we as a society are failing in education, we're failing in healthcare, we're failing in our crumbling infrastructure, and we're failing by invading countries and spending our treasure," said Senator Gravel. "That's what's wrong. And so I'm ashamed as an American to be building a fence on our southern border. That's not the America that I fought for." Gravel was the only candidate to respond affirmatively to Russert's question concerning lowering the drinking age to 18. "I think we should lower it so anybody that could go fight and die for this country should be able to drink," answered Senator Gravel. Later, Senator Gravel pushed his plan for a carbon tax to wean America off its addiction to oil. "We can get off the gasoline in five years, and we can get off of carbon in 10 years. All we have to do is want to do it," said Senator Gravel. "[If] we put a tax on gasoline, [this] permits politicians and bureaucrats to play favorites. You do it right at the lump of coal, and you do it at the gas, and you do it at the oil, and then that filters through the system properly." When asked if he supported nuclear power, Senator Gravel responded emphatically: "Not at all. The solution, obviously, is wind power. If we manufactured 5 million of these 2.5 meg windmills across the country, we could electrify the entire nation-the entire nation." Russert closed the debate by questioning the candidates on their favorite Bible verse. The Senator responded: "The most important thing in life is love. That's what empowers courage, and courage implements the rest of our virtues." You can now purchase Mike Gravel for President Support Packages, which contain buttons, bumper stickers and t-shirts, on our new web site at www.gear.gravel2008.us. Every dollar you spend on Gravel Gear goes right to the campaign. Show your support for the Senator, and get your Gravel Gear today! Learn More www.gravel2008.us
My Music
Comments - see all 17
Any news on that debate with Dr. Paul?
posted Oct 15
Show your support for Mike Gravel by registering as a user on WhosYourCandidate.Com. You pick which candidate is your favorite by editing your Whosyourcandidate.com profile, and, by doing that, your vote is added to the candidate poll on Whosyourcandidate.com. Take a look at it if you like.
posted Sep 28
agreed. mike gravel is very concerned about protecting the environment and has experience doing so. Since he served as a United States Senator form the state of Alaska, the issue of preserving ANWAR is one that hits very close to home. while in the senate, he served on the Environmental and Public Works committees, chairing the Energy, Water Resources, Buildings and Grounds, and Environmental Pollution subcommittees. Senator Gravel also believes that global climate change is a matter of national security. As President, he will act swiftly to reduce America's carbon footprint in the world by passing legislation that caps emissions. By putting a hard cap on greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. will improve energy efficiency while generating energy from low-carbon sources. Both of these pathways provide lasting benefits from the economic and environmental perspectives. Improved energy efficiency reduces energy costs. Obviously, the fight against global warming must be a global effort and Senator Gravel believes that the U.S. should lead by example instead of insisting that other countries agree to follow our model before we do anything. As President, he will see that the U.S. launches and leads a massive global scientific effort to end energy dependence on oil and integrate the world's scientific community in this task.
posted Jun 3
what about the environment being the nations priority?...with ut a healthy planet to live on eduication doesn't matter.
posted Jun 2
Sure thing! I have been reading about you for a little while now and agree with most of what you have to say. I really like what you'd like to do with Social Security and Education. These are both very important things in my life and without S.S. around it is going to be very difficult for all of us!
posted May 27
Oh I have been. I think you/he (if he doesnt check this himself, which I assume he doesn't). He just needs to work on his anger problem. If he keeps his cool and still steal the show.. he has a very good chance. Remember Howard Dean? Don't let that happen.
posted May 24
here's a quick answer to your question: people only pay more if they buy more. if a rich businessman buys a maserati, he is going to be taxed more than a middle-class worker who buys a camry because the maserati costs more. of course, if the middle-class worker decides he wants the maserati, he'd be taxed the same amount as the rich person. this is where the term 'fair tax' comes from. it's not a flat tax where poor people lose, say, 10% of their $15,000 a year paycheck and rich people lose 10% of their $1.5 million paycheck. obviously, that tax is a lot more 'fair' to the rich guy. it's also not a traditional progressive tax where the rich are taxed more simply because they make more money. mike gravel's fair tax is the same for everyone; no exceptions and no loop holes. also, you get reimbursed for taxes you paid buying necessities like food, medicine, etc. basically what it comes down to is you pay according to your lifestyle. hope that makes sense. obviously, there's a lot more too it. so check outhttp://www.gravel2008.us/?q=fair_tax and there's also a video on the mike gravel virb page where he talks about the fair tax. -ben
posted May 22
Well, I came across your page a few days ago. I find this fair tax quite interesting but, I wonder. The current income tax allows for some variance between economic situations, like -- the poor have initiatives set in so that they do not have to pay as much as a middle class worker would. Now reading the simple description for your fair tax on this page, the question comes.. will some people be paying more or less than others based on their ability to pay? Suppose I could go buy your book........ haha
posted May 22
definitely will be spreading your word. can't wait to see that interview with colbert.
posted May 4
Mike Gravel for president! YEAH!
posted May 4
Mike, I'm not saying we were right in going to war with Iraq, but the fact is that we are there now whether we like it or not. To just pack up and leave would leave that area very, very unstable and probably worse than unstable. It's my opinion that since we created the big mess in Iraq, we need to stay until some sort of order can be put in place. I can just see Iran plowing through Kurdistan to take over Iraq and then onto Israel. It's way to volitile to just leave Iraq now or any time soon.
posted May 2
the U.S. presence in Iraq is perpetuating the problem of the insurgency; we invaded them. there is NO military solution to terrorism. terrorism has many forms and it has been around for thousands of years. it is easy to make enemies when you hate them right back and continue to engage in the same violent acts they use against you. the Iraqis must be given the chance to stand on their own two feet and work on solving the problems within their own country . withdrawal from Iraq does not put an end to our assistance. it must be followed with aggressive diplomacy to address the underlying causes of terrorism and help Iraq remain a sovereign state, not a puppet state. -Ben
posted May 1
your positions seem right on except the ludicrous idea of immediate withdrawl from iraq. that's just insane!!!!
posted May 1
1-15 of 17 comments | view more
Mike Gravel for president says:
According to an Associated Press Article, former Democratic Senator from Alaska, Mike Gravel, is being excluded from yet another debate (big surprise). It is the October 30th debate in Philadelphia, co- sponsored by the Democratic National Committee and MSNBC. It is essential, in a Democracy, for all voices to be heard. We should continue to attempt to adhere to this Democratic ideal, so please contact the DNC and MSNBC today about Mike Gravel's exclusion. And, please, spread the word about this. Even people who are not Mike Gravel supporters might help get Gravel re-invited to the debate, if they value freedom of speech and fairness. Links to contacts, my petition, and a live chat on this subject are listed below. Democratic National Committee:http://www.democrats.org/contact.html My Petition: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/letgravelspeakoct30 MSNBC contact page:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/ NBC Contact page:http://www.nbc.com/Footer/Contact_Us/ Live Chat:http://irc.wikia.com/campaigns/
posted Oct 20