PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
by Nathan Shrader
Arlington, VA—Surrender is not a term that appears in former United States Senator Mike Gravel's lexicon. Gravel, who until a few weeks ago was a candidate for the Democrat Party's presidential nomination, announced his departure from the Democrat flock and a new affiliation with the Libertarian Party last week.
Gravel, who served in the upper chamber from 1969 to 1981, placed third in the 1972 Democrat nominating contest for the Vice Presidency, ultimately losing to Tom Eagleton who was later replaced on the ticket by Sargent Shriver. His record of success in the Senate is extensive—he led the fight which ultimately ended the draft during the Vietnam War in 1971, entered the famous Pentagon Papers in to the public record, stopped nuclear testing in the North Pacific, and worked tirelessly to limit nuclear power plant construction in the United States.
I asked Gravel earlier this month why he decided now to jump ship and seek the Libertarian nomination. "I didn't want to let any additional time go. Time is running out if I want to win a nomination in another party," said Gravel. Slighted by the Democrats and cut out of a debate in Philadelphia last September, Gravel came to the understanding that his old party's debates were "grossly unfair," according to him, not just because of access, but also the allotment of time given to the individual candidates during the debates.
Gravel thinks that both poor press coverage of his actual record and being spurned by party bosses helped defeat his campaign's legitimacy from the start. "The media had license from the Democratic Party to ignore me," according to Gravel. "When I was cut out of the debates, not a single candidate complained about the unfairness."
Gravel feels that the Libertarian Party is a natural home for him these days. He strongly favors ending the income tax, an idea embraced by conservatives, moderates, and libertarians alike who are sick of the federal tax structure. "The income tax is corrupt because it shifts the load from the wealthy to average Americans and the poor. We don't really tax wealth in this country," says Gravel. "Studies show that we lose $500 billion each year under the current system and we spend $250 billion each year just to run the IRS." Gravel favors ending the income tax, shifting to a federal consumption tax that will benefit Middle America.
"Wall Street donates to Democrats and Republicans because Wall Street doesn't want to change the tax code," concedes Gravel. Solving this and other problems requires either a third party presidency or a fusion party that he believes he can produce. "I don't have a truly partisan bone in my body. I will be the first president not guided by party," he says.
Gravel also feels that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will fail to bring about foreign policy change. "Both are supportive of imperialism and triumphalism and both support the military industrial complex," he says. "They are both gutless wonders who refuse to ruffle feathers. Neither will end the war. During one of the debates they asked who would have all of the troops withdrawn from Iraq after their first term. Neither Obama or Hillary committed to do it." Gravel did.
A Gravel campaign this fall would also likely differ from Obama, Clinton, or even McCain as he supports the closure of America's excessive military bases around the globe, forging friendships with Russia and China, and working to dissolve NATO—which he calls "very archaic."
Among his other positions that differ from the major party candidates is that he opposes the current government wire-tapping program and invasions of privacy, feels the Department of Homeland Security provides very little protection, opposes the war on drugs, seeks to close Guantanamo, and favors a program known as the National Initiative that creates a "legislature of the people."
"The National Initiative grants the people the power to make laws," according to Gravel. "This is a process that is people-driven, not PAC driven. The National Initiative does not place a cap on donations from individuals and only caps donations from non-natural persons." The Initiative would be implemented by the Democracy Amendment. According to their web page, the Amendment establishes "legislative procedures and creates an administrative agency to implement those procedures and conduct initiative elections on behalf" of the public.
Perhaps the piece of the Gravel platform that most conflicts with the Democrat and Republican agenda is his call for term limits on the federal judiciary—Supreme Court, Circuit Court, and Court of Appeals judges.
Gravel's plan says that a federal judge cannot serve more than 12 years total on the federal bench, which he believes will reduce fights in the Senate and end making careerists out of federal judges. "You're making a papist out of a judge" with the current system, according to Gravel. But he wouldn't stop there. Gravel also envisions a single six year term for presidents, two six year terms for the Senate, and three four year terms for members of the U.S. House. The same 12 year rule would apply for cabinet secretaries and heads of bureaucratic agencies.
As for the Libertarian nomination, Gravel is actively pursuing the nod at this moment. "I think I will win it," he says. "I am the only Libertarian candidate with a national reputation and extensive government experience. You shouldn't be president without government experience."
"We are real excited to have Senator Gravel in the Libertarian Party," says Andrew Davis, spokesman for the national party. "He brings a lot of prestige. Senator Gravel did a good bit for liberty while in the Senate. The Libertarian Party is welcoming to anyone." Gravel, while brining a high profile to the race, is not necessarily a lock for the nomination. According to Davis, there are around 16 other candidates competing for the nomination.
Gravel believes that as the Libertarian nominee, he can make a pitch to disenfranchised Democrats and Republican voters. "I will break the monopoly of the two parties," says Gravel. "I am closer to the Constitution than Bush, I support earmark control, and I am competent," he says.
John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, according to Gravel, is "unstable," but even the scrappy former Alaskan senator is unsure if anyone can beat him. Despite this, he will press on.
Defense policy denotes only one area of great contrast between Gravel and McCain. "He [McCain] refuses to accept that we made a mistake in Iraq and our continued presence helps extend the problem," says Gravel. "McCain believes in preemptive war. We are in a dangerous situation. McCain is unstable… bombing Iran is insanity. The people living in Iran are Persians, not Arabs. They are natural allies. Iran can help stabilize the Middle East, said Gravel.
More information on Gravel's candidacy can be found at this web page: http://www.gravel2008.us/
This story was the first of a three part series leading up to the 2008 Libertarian National Convention on May 22, 2008 in Denver.
Nathan Shrader can be reached at nathanrshrader@yahoo.com
