Mike Gravel

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Mike Gravel
Mike Gravel cropped.png
Personal Details
Education: Assumption College
American International College
Columbia University (BS)
Party: Democratic (before 2008; 2010–present)
Libertarian (2008–2010)
Media
Website: https://mikegravel.com/
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Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel (born May 13, 1930) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1981. A former member of the Libertarian Party, he ran for U.S. president in the 2008 election.

Born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, by French-Canadian immigrant parents, Gravel served in the U.S. Army in West Germany, and later graduated from the Columbia University School of General Studies. He moved to Alaska in the late 1950s, becoming a real estate developer and entering politics. He served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1963 to 1967 and also became Speaker of the Alaska House. Gravel was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968.

As a senator, Gravel became nationally known for his forceful but unsuccessful attempts to end the draft during the War in Vietnam and for putting the Pentagon Papers into the public record in 1971 at some risk to himself. He conducted an unusual campaign for the Democratic nomination in 1972 for Vice President of the United States, and then played a crucial role in obtaining Congressional approval for the Trans-Alaska pipeline in 1973. He was reelected to the Senate in 1974, but gradually alienated his Alaskan constituents, and his bid for a third term was defeated in a primary election in 1980.

Gravel returned to business ventures and went through difficult times, suffering corporate and personal bankruptcies amid poor health. He has been an advocate of direct democracy and the National Initiative.

In April 2006 Gravel began a run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States to promote those ideas. His campaign gained an Internet following and national attention due to forceful, humorous, and politically unorthodox debate appearances during 2007, but he found very little support in national polls or the 2008 caucuses and primaries. In March 2008 he left the Democratic Party and joined the Libertarian Party to compete for its presidential nomination and the inclusion of the National Initiative into the Libertarian Platform. At the Libertarian National Convention of 2008, he failed on both counts. He subsequently became an executive for a marijuana products company and continued to speak out about various political issues and candidates.

Launching his bid in April 2019, Gravel ran for president again in the 2020 election, in a campaign designed as a democratic project rather than with the intent to win. He met the donor threshold to qualify for the second of the Democratic Party debates, but was not invited. His campaign ended four months after it began.[1]

Biography

Gravel was born on May 13, 1930 in Springfield, Massachusetts, one of five children of French-Canadian immigrant parents, Alphonse and Marie (née Bourassa) Gravel.[2][3][4]

Gravel "decided to become a pioneer in a faraway place,"[5] and moved to pre-statehood Alaska in August 1956, without funds or a job, looking for a place where someone without social or political connections could be a viable candidate for public office.[6][7] Alaska's voting age of 19, less than most other states' 21, played a role in his decision,[8] as did its newness[6] and cooler climate.[7]

Seeing Alaska as a wide-open place with no political establishment or entrenched interests,[9] Gravel quickly became part of the civic scene there.[10][11]

By early 1958, Gravel was running as Democratic Party primary candidate for a Third Division seat in House of Representative of the territorial legislature[12] (this was one of the four judicial divisions into which Alaska was sectioned at the time). Using the slogan "Gravel, the Roadbed to Prosperity", he ran but lost.[7][9] At the same time, he was also an advocate for Alaskan statehood.[11]

2008 presidential campaign

Democratic Party primaries

Mike Gravel at the launch of his Presidential campaign in April 2006

On April 17, 2006,[13] Gravel became the first candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2008 election, announcing his run in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Short on campaign cash, he took public transportation to get to his announcement.[14] (Gravel called for public financing of elections.[15]) Other principal Gravel positions were the FairTax, withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq within 120 days, a single payer national health care system, and term limits.

Gravel had opposed the Iraq War from the beginning,[16][17] and in 2006 said that U.S. troops in Iraq, as in Vietnam, had "died in vain".[16][18] He also favored a regional peace initiative, as well as reparation payments for Iraqis.[16][17] Gravel also called for a "U.S. corporate withdrawal from Iraq", with reconstruction contracts held by U.S. companies to be turned over to Iraqi firms.[16][17]

Gravel campaigned almost full-time in New Hampshire, the first primary state, following his announcement. Opinion polls of contenders for the Democratic nomination showed Gravel with 1 percent or less support. By the end of March 2007, Gravel's campaign had less than $500 in cash on hand against debts of nearly $90,000.[19]

Gravel (far left) at an August 2007 candidates' forum; frontrunners Edwards, Clinton, and Obama are to the immediate right of the moderator

Because of his time in the Senate, Gravel was invited to many of the early Democratic presidential debates. During the initial one at South Carolina State University on April 26, 2007, he suggested a bill requiring the president to withdraw from Iraq on pain of criminal penalties. 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."[20] Regarding his fellow candidates, he said, "I got to tell you, after standing up with them, some of these people frighten me – they frighten me."[20] Media stories said that Gravel was responsible for much of whatever "heat" and "flashpoints" had taken place.[20][21][22] Gravel gained considerable publicity by shaking up the normally staid multiple-candidate format; The New York Times' media critic said that what Gravel had done was "steal a debate with outrageous, curmudgeonly statements."[23] The Internet was a benefit: a YouTube video of his responses in the debate was viewed more than 225,892 times, ranking seventeenth in most views for week and first among news and politics clips; The YouTube debate clip was also ranked #7 top rated (for week), #23 top favored (for week), #25 most discussed (for week), #4 most linked (for week), and #1 top rated – news and politics (for week).</ref> his name became the fifteenth most searched-for in the blogosphere;[24] and his website garnered more traffic than those of frontrunners Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or John Edwards.[7] Gravel appeared on the popular Colbert Report on television on May 2,[7] and his campaign and career were profiled in national publications such as Salon.[7] Two wordless, Warholesque campaign videos, "Rock" and "Fire", were released on YouTube in late May and became hits,[25] and eventually gained over 760,000 and 185,000 views respectively.[26][27] "Rock," in turn, was given airtime during an episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Some thirty-five years after he first achieved the national spotlight, he had found it again.

Gravel's fundraising efforts for the first three quarters of 2007.

All this did not improve his performance in the polls; a May 2007 CNN poll showed him with less than 0.5 percent support among Democrats.[28] Gravel was in the next several debates, in one case after CNN reversed a decision to exclude him.[29] Like some of the other second-tier candidates, Gravel did not get as much time as the leaders; during the June 2, 2007, New Hampshire debate, which lasted two hours, he was asked 10 questions and allowed to speak for five minutes and 37 seconds.[30]

During the July 23, 2007, CNN-YouTube presidential debate, Gravel responded to audience applause when he had complained of a lack of airtime and said: "Thank you. Has it been fair thus far?"[31] Detractors began to liken him to "the cranky uncle who lives in the attic,"[32] or "the angry old guy that just seemed to want to become angrier."[33] Berkeley political scientist David Terr found that moderator George Stephanopoulos directed roughly five percent of his questions to Gravel;[34] in a poll asking who did the best in the debate, Gravel placed seventh among the eight candidates.[35] National opinion polls of contenders for the Democratic nomination continued to show Gravel with one percent or zero percent numbers. By the end of the third-quarter 2007, Gravel had about $17,500 in cash on hand, had collected a total of about $380,000 during the 2008 election cycle,[36] and was continuing to run a threadbare campaign with minimal staff.[6]

Gravel in Manchester, New Hampshire on January 6, 2008, two days before the state's Democratic primary.

Beginning with the October 30, 2007, Philadelphia event, Gravel was excluded from most of the debates, with the debate sponsors or the Democratic National Committee saying Gravel's campaign had not met fund-raising, polling, or local campaign organizational thresholds.[37][38][39] For the Philadelphia exclusion, Gravel blamed corporate censorship on the part of sponsor owner and alleged military-industrial complex member General Electric for his exclusion[40][41] and mounted a counter-gathering and debate against a video screen a short distance away,[42] but he had lost his easiest publicity. In reaction, supporters organized "mass donation days" to try to help the campaign gain momentum and funds, such as on December 5, 2007, the anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition.[43]

Gravel did not compete in the initial 2008 vote, the Iowa caucuses,[44] but was still subjected to a false report from MSNBC that he had pulled out of the race afterward.[45] Gravel did focus his attention on the second 2008 vote, the New Hampshire primary. There he received about 400 votes out of some 280,000 cast, or 0.14 percent,[46] before taking time off to improve his health.[47] He resumed campaigning, but fared no better in subsequent states. By the end of January 2008, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Gravel were the only remaining Democrats from the initial debates still running;[48] Gravel vowed to stay in the presidential campaign until November.[49][50] On March 11, 2008, Gravel continued to remain in the Democratic race but additionally endorsed a Green Party candidate for president, Jesse Johnson,[51] saying he wanted to help Johnson prevail against Green Party rivals Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader.[52] By late March, Gravel had almost no fundraising and was only on the ballot in one of the next ten Democratic primaries.[53]

Switch to Libertarian Party

Main article: National Convention 2008

On March 25, 2008, Gravel announced that he would leave the Democrats and join the Libertarian Party,[54][55] saying: "My libertarian views, as well as my strong stance against war, the military industrial complex and American imperialism, seem not to be tolerated by Democratic Party elites who are out of touch with the average American; elites that reject the empowerment of American citizens I offered to the Democratic Party at the beginning of this presidential campaign with the National Initiative for Democracy."[54] The following day Gravel entered the race for the 2008 Libertarian presidential nomination,[56] saying that he would have run as a third-party candidate all along except that he needed the public exposure that came from being in the earlier Democratic debates.[56] Gravel's initial notion of running as a fusion candidate with other parties was met with skepticism[57] and not pursued.

As a Libertarian candidate, Gravel faced resistance to his liberal past and unorthodox positions;[58] nevertheless, he garnered more support than he had as a Democrat, placing second and third in two April 2008 straw polls.[59] In the May 25 balloting at the 2008 Libertarian National Convention in Denver, Gravel finished fourth out of eight candidates on the initial ballot, with 71 votes out of a total 618; he trailed former Congressman and eventual winner Bob Barr, author Mary Ruwart, and businessman Wayne Allyn Root.[60] Gravel's position did not subsequently improve and he was eliminated on the fourth ballot.[60] Afterwards he stated that "I just ended my political career," but he vowed to continue promoting his positions as a writer and lecturer.[61]

Awards and honors

In 2008 Gravel received the Columbia University School of General Studies' first annual Isaac Asimov Lifetime Achievement Award.[62]

Writings

  • Gravel, Mike. Jobs and More Jobs. Mt. McKinley Publishers, 1968.
  • Gravel, Mike. Citizen Power: A People's Platform. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972. ISBN 0-03-091465-5.
    • revised and reissued as Citizen Power: A Mandate for Change, AuthorHouse, 2008. ISBN 1-4343-4315-4.
  • Gravel, Mike and Lauria, Joe. A Political Odyssey: The Rise of American Militarism and One Man's Fight to Stop It. Seven Stories Press, 2008. ISBN 1-58322-826-8.
  • Gravel, Mike and Eisenbach, David. The Kingmakers: How the Media Threatens Our Security and Our Democracy. Phoenix Books, 2008. ISBN 1-59777-586-X.
  • Gravel, Mike. Voice of a Maverick: The Speeches and Writings of Senator Mike Gravel. Brandywine House, 2008.
  • Gravel, Mike. Foreword to "Poisoned Power: The Case Against Nuclear Power Plants." [John W. Goffman & Arthur R. Tamplin, Rodale Press, Inc., Emmaus, PA, June 1971].
  • Gravel, Mike. The Failure of Representative Government and the Solution: A Legislature of the People. AuthorHouse, 2020. ISBN 1-7283-3929-4

References

  1. ↑ http://www.washingtontimes.com,+The Washington Times. "Gravel meets donor threshold to qualify for Democratic primary debate" (in en-US). https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jul/13/mike-gravel-2020-candidate-meets-donor-threshold-n/. 
  2. ↑ Mike Gravel genealogy, Wargs.
  3. ↑ Current Biography Yearbook 1972, p. 182.
  4. ↑ Gravel and Lauria, A Political Odyssey, pp. 69–70.
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nyt022776
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wapo090907
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named salon050707
  8. ↑ Warren Weaver, Jr. (July 2, 1971). "Impetuous Senator: Maurice Robert Gravel" (fee required). The New York Times. https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F20D10FD3A5B1A7493C0A9178CD85F458785F9. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Gravel and Lauria, A Political Odyssey, p. 136.
  10. ↑ "Democrats Plan Two-Day Drive For Campaign". Fairbanks News-Miner: p. 10. October 7, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/10383606/?terms=%22mike%2Bgravel%22. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Alaskan Young Demo Tells Conference Statehood Views". Fairbanks News-Miner. Associated Press: p. 3. June 23, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/image/11709894/?terms=%22mike%2Bgravel%22. 
  12. ↑ "Total of 30 Candidates File For Fourth Division Seats". Fairbanks News-Miner: pp. 1, 3. February 3, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/image/4530775. 
  13. ↑ "Washington: A 'Maverick' For President". The New York Times. April 18, 2006. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01EED8173FF93BA25757C0A9609C8B63. 
  14. ↑ Elliot, Philip (April 17, 2006). "Ex-Alaska Sen. Gravel Runs for President" (fee required). Associated Press. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-122070086.html. 
  15. ↑ The Candidates: Sen. Mike Gravel: Democratic Candidate for President, Former U.S. Sen. (D-Alaska), Washington Post (October 16, 2007).
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Pew
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 How Mike Stands on the Issues Template:Webarchive, MikeGravel.us (accessed September 7, 2016).
  18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Kim
  19. ↑ "FEC Form 3P for Mike Gravel". Federal Election Commission. April 15, 2007. http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00423202/285065/. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 No Breakout Candidate at Democratic Debate, ABC News, April 26, 2007
  21. ↑ "Clinton edges ahead after first Democratic debate", The Times, April 27, 2007.
  22. ↑ Hillary Clinton shines in Democratic candidates' debate, Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, April 27, 2007.
  23. ↑ Alessandra Stanley (May 4, 2007). "A Show Where Candidates Are More Prop Than Player". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/us/politics/04tvwatch.html. 
  24. ↑ Mark Memmott, Jill Lawrence (April 30, 2007). "Mike Gravel, soon to be a household name". USA Today. http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/04/mike_gravel_soo.html. 
  25. ↑ Lisa Tozzi (June 18, 2007). "Mike Gravel: Behind the Music". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/18/mike-gravel-behind-the-music/. 
  26. ↑ Template:Cite video
  27. ↑ Template:Cite video
  28. ↑ Bill Schneider (May 7, 2007). "Poll: Liberals moving toward Clinton; GOP race tightens". CNN.com. http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/07/schneider.2008.polls/index.html. 
  29. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  30. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  31. ↑ "Part I: CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate transcript". CNN.com. July 24, 2007. http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html. 
  32. ↑ Rick Pearson (January 7, 2008). "Mike Gravel to teens: Say 'yes' to drugs". Baltimore Sun. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/01/mike_gravel_tells_teens_do_pot.html. 
  33. ↑ Dan Harrie (January 22, 2008). "Democratic hopeful Gravel visits Park City". The Salt Lake Tribune. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8043044. 
  34. ↑ "ABC News Debate – Unfair for Kucinich and Gravel". USA Election Polls. August 23, 2007. http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/articles/dennis-kucinich-mike-gravel-unequal-time-abc-debate.html. 
  35. ↑ "ABC News Poll" August 19, 2007, ABC News
  36. ↑ "Report for Mike Gravel for President 2008". Federal Election Commission. October 17, 2007. http://query.nictusa.com/pres/2007/Q3/C00423202.html. 
  37. ↑ Alex Johnson (October 31, 2007). "Democratic rivals target Clinton's vote on Iran". NBC News. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21548813. 
  38. ↑ "CNN keeps Gravel out of Democratic debate in Las Vegas". Las Vegas Sun. Associated Press. November 7, 2007. http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2007/nov/07/110710306.html. 
  39. ↑ "Kucinich booted from Iowa debate". The Hill. December 12, 2007. http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/kucinich-booted-from-iowa-debate-2007-12-12.html. 
  40. ↑ Mike Gravel (October 30, 2007). "Corporate Censorship!". Mike Gravel for President 2008. http://www.gravel2008.us/?q=node/2510. 
  41. ↑ Sarah Wheaton (October 30, 2007). "Gravel vs. MSNBC". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/gravel-vs-msnbc/. 
  42. ↑ Larry Eichel (October 30, 2007). "The debate is on. Here. Tonight". philly.com. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20071030_Democratic_debate_starts_at_9.html. 
  43. ↑ "December 5 Is "Mass Donation Day" For Mike Gravel". The Presidential Candidates. December 4, 2007. http://www.thepresidentialcandidates.us/2007/12/december-5-is-mass-donation-day-for.html. 
  44. ↑ "Second-Tier Dems Hope for Caucus Boost". WHO-TV. January 3, 2008. http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7572270. 
  45. ↑ J. Skyler McKinley (January 4, 2008). "We're Still in the Race!". Mike Gravel for President 2008. http://www.gravel2008.us/content/were-still-race. 
  46. ↑ "Election Center 2008: Primary Results for New Hampshire". CNN. January 9, 2008. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#NH. 
  47. ↑ "Mike Gravel to campaign on". Associated Press. January 8, 2008. https://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/08/former_alaska_senator_to_keep_campaigning/?rss_id=Boston.com%20--%20Top%20political%20stories. 
  48. ↑ Sarah Morrison (February 7, 2008). "Candidate Speaks to Political Science Class". The Daily Californian. http://www.dailycal.org/article/100285/candidate_speaks_to_political_science_class. 
  49. ↑ Isaac Arnsdorf (February 13, 2008). "Gravel urges direct democracy at YPU". Yale Daily News. http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/23498. 
  50. ↑ Joel Stein (March 4, 2008). "The Third Democrat in the Race". Time. http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1719305,00.html. 
  51. ↑ "Mike Gravel endorses Jesse Johnson (Green Party) for President". Third Party Watch. March 11, 2008. http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/03/11/mike-gravel-endorses-jesse-johnson-green-party-for-president/. 
  52. ↑ David Weigel (March 18, 2008). "Several Minutes with Mike Gravel". Reason. http://reason.com/blog/show/125552.html. 
  53. ↑ Amy Hollyfield (March 27, 2008). "Mike Gravel has gone from long shot to no shot for presidency". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/article432763.ece. 
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 "Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel joins Libertarian Party ranks". Libertarian Party. March 25, 2008. http://www.lp.org/media/article_573.shtml. 
  55. ↑ Mike Gravel (March 26, 2008). "A Personal Message from Mike". Mike Gravel for President 2008. http://www.gravel2008.us/content/personal-message-mike. 
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 Sarah Elkins (March 31, 2008). "Maverick Mike". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/129467/. 
  57. ↑ Josh Gerstein (March 27, 2008). "Barr, Gravel Eye Libertarian Nod for President". The New York Sun. http://www.nysun.com/national/barr-gravel-eye-libertarian-nod-for-president/73744/. 
  58. ↑ Philip Klein (May 21, 2008). "Will the Real Libertarian Please Stand Up?". The American Spectator. http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13249. 
  59. ↑ "Straw Poll Results". Mike Gravel for President 2008. April 8, 2008. http://www.gravel2008.us/content/straw-poll-results. 
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 "Press Releases: Presidential and VP Vote Totals – Updated Live!". LP.org. May 25, 2008. http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml. 
  61. ↑ "Libertarians Pick Barr as Presidential Nominee". Fox News. May 25, 2008. http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/. 
  62. ↑ Pianin, Alix (March 3, 2008). "GS Honors Students, Alum at Annual Gala". Columbia Daily Spectator. http://columbiaspectator.com/2008/03/03/gs-honors-students-alum-annual-gala. 
  • The Pentagon Papers Senator Gravel Edition. Vol. Five. Critical Essays. Boston. Beacon Press, 1972. 341p. plus 72p. of Index to Vol. I–IV of the Papers, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, editors.
  • Moritz, Charles, ed. (1973). Current Biography Yearbook 1972. New York: H. W. Wilson Company. 

External links

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