Mike Gravel: Difference between revisions

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By 2019 Gravel was living in [[Seaside, California]].<ref name="nytm-2019" /> He was working on a book, at the time titled ''Human Governance'', about his principal idea for direct democracy, a [[Article Five of the United States Constitution|U.S. Constitutional Amendment]] to create a "Legislature of the People" that would circumvent the existing Congress.<ref name="nytm-2019" /><ref name="Atlantic" /> The book was [[self-published]] at the end of the year by [[AuthorHouse]] under the title ''The Failure of Representative Government and the Solution: A Legislature of the People''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/1728339294/ref=rdr_ext_tmb |title=The Failure of Representative Government and the Solution |publisher=Amazon |access-date=January 12, 2020}}</ref>
By 2019 Gravel was living in [[Seaside, California]].<ref name="nytm-2019" /> He was working on a book, at the time titled ''Human Governance'', about his principal idea for direct democracy, a [[Article Five of the United States Constitution|U.S. Constitutional Amendment]] to create a "Legislature of the People" that would circumvent the existing Congress.<ref name="nytm-2019" /><ref name="Atlantic" /> The book was [[self-published]] at the end of the year by [[AuthorHouse]] under the title ''The Failure of Representative Government and the Solution: A Legislature of the People''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/1728339294/ref=rdr_ext_tmb |title=The Failure of Representative Government and the Solution |publisher=Amazon |access-date=January 12, 2020}}</ref>
== Political positions ==
[[File:Graveld.JPG|thumb|right|Mike Gravel with [[campaign finance reform]] activist and friend Ethel "[[Granny D]]" Haddock]]
[[Alan Abramowitz]] and Jeffrey Allan Segal described Gravel as "a maverick, if not an eccentric, in the Senate."<ref name="Abrahmowitz">Alan Abramowitz & Jeffrey Allan Segal, ''Senate Elections'' (University of Michigan Press: 1992), p. 75: "Gravel was a maverick, if not an eccentric, in the Senate."</ref><ref>Phil Williams, ''The Senate and U.S. Troops in Europe'' (Macmillan, 1985) p. 255: "Not only was Gravel one of the Senate's mavericks or outsiders who lacked the status, prestige and influence of someone like Mansfield ..."</ref> His [[Americans for Democratic Action]] "Liberal Quotient" scores ranged from 81 out of 100 (1971) to 39 out of 100 (1980),<ref name="Abrahmowitz" /> with an average of around 61.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adaction.org/pages/publications/voting-records.php |title=Voting Records |publisher=[[Americans for Democratic Action]] |access-date=November 5, 2016}} Gravel's ADA scores for 1969 through 1980 are 72, 75, 81, 75, 65, 43, ?, 45, 55, 70, 47, 39. (The ADA site's 1975 report is missing some pages, including the one for Senators from Alaska.) His lower scores from 1974 on are partly a reflection of a change in ADA methodology regarding how they treat absences and paired absences from votes.</ref> His [[American Conservative Union]] scores ranged from 0 out of 100 (several years, including 1971 and 1972) to 38 out of 100 (1979), with an average of 14.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://acuratings.conservative.org/acu-federal-legislative-ratings/?year1=1971&chamber=13&state1=7&sortable=1 |title=Federal Legislative Ratings |publisher=[[American Conservative Union]] |access-date=November 5, 2016}} Gravel's ACU scores for 1971 (when ACU began its ratings) through 1980 are 0, 0, 5, 36, 23, 12, 20, 6, 38, 0.</ref> Abramowitz and Segal note that Gravel's lowest ADA ratings coincided with his two Senate re-election bids,<ref name="Abrahmowitz" /> and for the most part his highest ACU ratings followed the same pattern.
In 1972, as a young senator, Gravel published ''[[Citizen Power: A People's Platform]]'', a manifesto outlining his populist reform proposals.<ref>[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/senator-mike-gravel/citizen-power-a-peoples-platform/ Review: Citizen Power: A People's Platform], ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' (June 26, 1972).</ref>
=== Social issues ===
On drug policy, Gravel said in 2007 that he favors decriminalization and treating addiction as a public health matter.<ref name="Q&A" /><ref>George W. Grayson, ''Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State?'' ([[Transaction Publishers|Transaction]], 2011), p. 260.</ref><ref name="3dTranscript">[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/us/politics/29transcript.html Transcript of the Third Democratic Primary Presidential Debate], PBS (June 28, 2007), transcript provided by the New York Times.</ref> During his 2008 presidential candidacy he condemned the [[War on Drugs]] as a failure, saying that it did "nothing but savage our inner cities and put our children at risk."<ref name="3dTranscript" /> Gravel called for abolition of [[Capital punishment in the United States|capital punishment]] in his book ''Citizen Power'', and adhered to this position during his 2008 run for president.<ref name="Pew">[http://www.pewforum.org/2008/11/04/religion-and-politics-08-mike-gravel/ Religion and Politics '08: Mike Gravel], [[Pew Research Center]] (November 4, 2008).</ref> He supports [[abortion rights]].<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" /><ref name="Kim">Richard Kim, [https://www.thenation.com/article/mike-gravel/ Mike Gravel: An inconvenient truth-teller], ''The Nation'' (November 8, 2007).</ref>
During the 2008 campaign Gravel was a strong supporter of [[LGBT rights]]. He supported [[same-sex marriage in the United States|same-sex marriage]] and opposed the [[Defense of Marriage Act]] and the U.S. military's "[[don't ask, don't tell]]" policy.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" /> He wrote in 2008 that "depriving gays and lesbians of equal rights is immoral."<ref name="Pew" />
=== Foreign policy and defense issues ===
Gravel is a critic of [[American imperialism]].<ref name="Q&A" />
Gravel firmly opposes U.S. military action against Iran and Syria.<ref name="GravelOfficial" /> He voiced opposition to the [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]], the [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]], the [[Torture and the United States|use of torture]], [[Indefinite detention without trial|indefinite detention]], and what he called "flagrant ignorance" of the [[Geneva Convention]].<ref name="GravelOfficial" /> In 2014 Gravel called for the release of the full, unredacted [[Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture]].<ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/2014/12/16/mike_gravel_to_senator_mark_udall Mike Gravel to Senator Mark Udall: Make Full Torture Probe Public Like I Did with Pentagon Papers], ''Democracy Now!'' (interview with [[Amy Goodman]]) (December 16, 2014).</ref>
Gravel opposes the use of [[international sanctions]] as a policy tool and blamed the ones against [[Iraq under Saddam Hussein]] for the deaths of a half-million children in that country.<ref name="Pew" /> In 2013 Gravel said that [[sanctions against Iran]] were "illegal".<ref name="Keating">Joshua Keating, [https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/02/22/mike-gravel-on-movies-sanctions-and-what-we-can-learn-from-iran/ Mike Gravel on movies, sanctions, and what we can learn from Iran] (February 22, 2013).</ref>
During his 2008 candidacy, Gravel called for a cut in military spending, variously reported to be 15 percent<ref name="Pew" /> or 50 percent.<ref name="Kim" /> He called for the savings to boost public education spending.<ref name="Pew" /> To spur international [[nuclear nonproliferation]] efforts, Gravel called for unilateral reductions in the [[U.S. nuclear arsenal]].<ref name="Q&A" />
In 2008 Gravel criticized the decision of [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]] [[Nancy Pelosi]] to not pursue the [[efforts to impeach George W. Bush]] and the [[attempted impeachment of Dick Cheney]], saying also that Bush and Cheney had committed crimes and deserved "to be prosecuted" at [[International Criminal Court|The Hague]].<ref name="Goodman">[http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/17/former_senator_mike_gravel_calls_for Former Senator Mike Gravel Calls for Independent 9/11 Investigation and Prosecution of President Bush and Vice President Cheney], ''[[Democracy Now!]]'' (June 17, 2008).</ref> In 2013 he expressed disdain for President Obama, calling him "a total fraud" and saying that both Bush and Obama should be tried "for the crimes and murders they've committed" in the [[International Court of Justice]].<ref name="Nelson">Steven Nelson, [https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/07/09/former-sen-gravel-nsa-leaks-should-have-come-from-senators Former Sen. Gravel: NSA Leaks Should Have Come From Senators], ''U.S. News & World Report'' (July 9, 2013).</ref> Gravel specifically condemned Obama for the [[drone strikes in Pakistan]] and elsewhere.<ref name="Nelson" />
=== Economy, immigration, and environment ===
During his 2008 candidacy Gravel favored a progressive [[FairTax]] scheme, which would abolish the [[Internal Revenue Service]], eliminate the [[federal income tax]] (which Gravel called "corrupt"),<ref name="Q&A" /> and impose a [[national sales tax]].<ref name="GravelOfficial" /><ref name="LVS">[http://lasvegassun.com/politics/voterguide/2008/mike-gravel/issues/taxes/ 2008 Elections: Caucus Guide: Mike Gravel on Taxes], ''Las Vegas Sun'' (accessed September 7, 2016).</ref><ref>[http://business.time.com/2008/01/04/the_fair_tax_has_its_moment_in/ The Fair Tax has its moment in the sun. Could there be more to come?], Time (January 4, 2008).</ref> To offset the new sales taxes on essential goods, Gravel's plan called for monthly government rebate payments to individuals and families.<ref name="GravelOfficial" /><ref name="LVS" /> During his 2020 campaign Gravel also voiced support for a third legislative body that would give the people direct control of the budget as well as the implementation of a [[land value tax]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fortune.com/2019/07/11/mike-gravel-land-value-tax/ |title=Mike Gravel: A Land Value Tax Helps Return Power to People |website=Fortune |language=en |access-date=2019-07-12}}</ref>
Gravel opposed the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA) during his 2008 candidacy, calling it unfair and economically harmful and needing renegotiation.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" /> Gravel believed that NAFTA was the "root cause" of illegal migration to the U.S.<ref name="GravelOfficial" /> He favored a [[guest worker program]] and "setting up naturalization procedures that would fairly bring immigrants into legal status."<ref name="GravelOfficial" /> In a 2007 interview, Gravel identified himself as "very much of a globalist" who believed in open markets and open borders and condemned the scapegoating of undocumented immigrants.<ref name="Arrington">Michael Arrington, [https://techcrunch.com/2007/12/08/presidential-candidate-mike-gravel-does-things-a-little-differently/ Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel Does Things A Little Differently], ''TechCrunch'' (December 8, 2007).</ref> Gravel also said that he favored eliminating the cap on [[H1B visa]]s.<ref name="Arrington" />
As a senator from Alaska, Gravel favored [[Arctic Refuge drilling controversy|drilling]] in the [[Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]], but opposed it during his 2008 campaign.<ref name="Pew" /> In 2008, Gravel supported a [[carbon tax]] to combat climate change.<ref name="Pew" />
Gravel spoke in favor of [[net neutrality]] during his presidential campaign.<ref name="Arrington" />
=== Education and health care ===
Gravel called for the cost of college tuition to be borne by the federal government, rather than students.<ref name="Pew" /> In his 2008 campaign, he called the [[No Child Left Behind Act]] "a failure"<ref name="Q&A" /> and called for it to be "reformed and fully funded".<ref name="GravelOfficial" /> He expressed support for universal [[pre-kindergarten]] and the expansion of the [[Head Start (program)|Head Start]] program; and expressed an openness to [[charter school]]s<ref name="GravelOfficial" /> and [[school vouchers]]. He also suggested extending the school day and the school year, and supported [[merit pay]] for teachers.<ref name="otieducation">{{cite web |url=http://www.ontheissues.org/2020/Mike_Gravel_Education.htm |title=Mike Gravel on Education |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=April 2, 2019 |website=[[On the Issues]] |access-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref>
Gravel also called for publicly funded [[universal health care]] to replace the current [[Health insurance in the United States|employer-sponsored health insurance]] system.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" /> He supported "full funding" of the [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs|VA system]].<ref name="GravelOfficial" /> When asked in 2007 about [[naturopathy]], [[homeopathy]], and [[acupuncture]], Gravel said that he was "totally" in favor and was "very very much in favor" of [[holistic medicine|holistic health care]].<ref name="Q&A" />


== Awards and honors ==
== Awards and honors ==
MJL
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