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By early 1958, Gravel was running as Democratic Party primary candidate for a Third Division seat in House of Representative of the territorial legislature<ref name="fdnm-feb58">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/4530775 |title=Total of 30 Candidates File For Fourth Division Seats |newspaper=Fairbanks News-Miner |date=February 3, 1958 |pages=1, 3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref> (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.<ref name="salon050707" /><ref name="odyssey-136">Gravel and Lauria, ''A Political Odyssey'', p. 136.</ref>  At the same time, he was also an advocate for Alaskan statehood.<ref name="fnm-statehood" />
By early 1958, Gravel was running as Democratic Party primary candidate for a Third Division seat in House of Representative of the territorial legislature<ref name="fdnm-feb58">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/4530775 |title=Total of 30 Candidates File For Fourth Division Seats |newspaper=Fairbanks News-Miner |date=February 3, 1958 |pages=1, 3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref> (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.<ref name="salon050707" /><ref name="odyssey-136">Gravel and Lauria, ''A Political Odyssey'', p. 136.</ref>  At the same time, he was also an advocate for Alaskan statehood.<ref name="fnm-statehood" />
== Career after leaving the Senate ==
Of his 1980 defeat, Gravel later recalled: "I had lost my career. I lost my marriage. I was in the doldrums for ten years after my defeat,"<ref>Politics1, [http://www.politics1.com/blog-0406a.htm#0417 "P2008: An Interview With Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102230755/http://www.politics1.com/blog-0406a.htm |date=January 2, 2008 }} by Ron Gunzburger, April 17, 2006.</ref> and "Nobody wanted to hire me for anything important. I felt like I was worthless. I didn't know what I could do."<ref name="wapo090907" /> By his own later description, Gravel was a womanizer, and had an affair while in the Senate, and in December 1980 he and his wife Rita separated.<ref name="odyssey-196">Gravel and Lauria, ''A Political Odyssey'', pp. 196–197.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://newyork.metromix.com/events/article/q-and-a-mike/492923/content |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010150630/http://newyork.metromix.com/events/article/q-and-a-mike/492923/content |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 10, 2008 |title=Q&A: Mike Gravel |author=Leonard Jacobs |publisher=[[Metromix]] |date=July 8, 2008 |access-date=July 20, 2008}}</ref><ref name="ap121281">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ygcgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CGUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5116,1717191 |title=People in the News |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[Lewiston Journal]] |date=September 12, 1981 |page=14}}</ref> They filed for divorce in September 1981;<ref name="ap121281" /> she would later get all of his Senate pension income.<ref name="salon050707" />
=== Return to politics ===
In 1989, Gravel reentered politics.<ref name="salon050707" /> He founded and led The Democracy Foundation, which promotes [[direct democracy]].<ref>[http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0413-11.htm "First Democrat to Announce Candidacy for President on Monday"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061122112654/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0413-11.htm |date=November 22, 2006 }}, Joe Lauria, CommonDreams New Centre, Published April 13, 2006.</ref> He established the Philadelphia II corporation, which seeks to replicate the original 1787 Constitutional Convention in bringing direct democracy about.<ref name="ni4d-rev" />
Gravel led a quixotic effort to get a [[United States Constitution]]al amendment to allow voter-initiated federal legislation similar to state ballot initiatives.<ref name="salon050707" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/07/power-people-democracy-foundations-plan-create-fourth-branch-government |title=Power to the People: The Democracy Foundation's Plan to Create a Fourth Branch of Government |author=Jonathan Stein |magazine=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |date=June 29, 2007 |access-date=November 25, 2012}}</ref> He argued that Americans are able to legislate responsibly, and that the Act and Amendment in the National Initiative would allow American citizens to become "law makers".
In 2001,<!-- need a firmer cite on this --> Gravel became director of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, where he admired institute co-founder Gregory Fossedal's work on direct democracy in Switzerland.<ref name="ni4d-rev">{{cite web |url=http://old.ni4d.us/library/fossedal_direct_democracy_in_switzerland.htm |title=Direct Democracy in Switzerland: A Review |publisher=National Initiative for Democracy |access-date=November 13, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511232809/http://old.ni4d.us/library/fossedal_direct_democracy_in_switzerland.htm |archive-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref> By 2004, Gravel had become chair of the institute,<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20041029205923/http://www.adti.net/background/contacting.html |archive-date=October 29, 2004 |title=Contacting the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution |publisher=Alexis de Tocqueville Institutio] |url=http://www.adti.net/background/contacting.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> and Fossedal (who in turn was a director of the Democracy Foundation) gave the introduction at Gravel's presidential announcement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2008/gravel/gravel041706b.html |title=Former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel Announces His Campaign |date=April 17, 2006 |publisher=Democracy in Action}}</ref>
In 2003 Gravel gave a speech on direct democracy at a conference hosted by the ''American Free Press''. The event was cosponsored by the ''Barnes Review'',<ref name="salon050707" /> a journal that endorses Holocaust denial.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wymaninstitute.org/articles/2003-denialreport.php |title=Holocaust Denial: A Global Survey – 2003 |author=Alex Grobman, Rafael Medoff |publisher=David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies |access-date=December 29, 2009}}</ref> After some controversy over his appearance, Gravel apologized, saying he did not realize the group's ties. Gravel has said repeatedly that he does not share the group's views on the Holocaust,<ref name="pjv">{{cite news |url=http://www.pjvoice.com/v26/26300words.aspx |title=Interview with Senator Mike Gravel |author=Alan Tuttle |publisher=Philadelphia Jewish Voice |date=August 2007 |access-date=January 1, 2008}}</ref> stating, "You better believe I know that six million Jews were killed. I've been to the Holocaust Museum. I've seen the footage of General Eisenhower touring one of the camps. They're [referring to the ''Barnes Review'' and publisher Willis Carto] nutty as loons if they don't think it happened".<ref name="politics1">{{cite news |url=http://www.politics1.com/blog-0406a.htm |title=An Interview with Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel |author=Ron Gunzburger |publisher=Politics1.com |date=April 17, 2006 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102230755/http://www.politics1.com/blog-0406a.htm |archive-date=January 2, 2008}}</ref> The group invited Gravel to speak again, but he declined.<ref name="pjv" />
Mike and Whitney Gravel lived in Arlington County, Virginia, until 2010 and now reside in Burlingame, California.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mikegravel.us/contact |title=National Contacts |publisher=MikeGravel.us |access-date=March 18, 2013}}</ref> They have the two grown children from his first marriage, Martin Gravel and Lynne Gravel Mosier, and four grandchildren.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/bio |title=Mike Gravel Biography |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227091525/http://www.gravel2008.us/bio |archive-date=December 27, 2007}}</ref> Whitney Gravel's income has sustained the couple since 1998.<ref name="wapo090907" /> In the 2000s, Gravel suffered poor health, requiring three surgeries in 2003 for [[back pain]] and [[neuropathy]].<ref name="salon050707" /> Due to unreimbursed medical expenses and debts from his political causes, he declared [[personal bankruptcy]] in 2004.<ref name="wapo090907" /><ref name="salon050707" /> He began taking a salary from the non-profit organizations for which he was working; much of that income was lent to his presidential campaign. In 2007, he declared that he had "zero net worth".<ref name="salon050707" />


== 2008 presidential campaign ==
== 2008 presidential campaign ==
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=== Democratic Party primaries ===
=== Democratic Party primaries ===
[[File:Mgravelgrandpa.jpg|thumb|left|Mike Gravel at the launch of his Presidential campaign in April 2006]]
[[File:Mgravelgrandpa.jpg|thumb|left|Mike Gravel at the launch of his Presidential campaign in April 2006]]
name="salon050707" /> On April 17, 2006,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01EED8173FF93BA25757C0A9609C8B63 |title=Washington: A 'Maverick' For President |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 18, 2006 |access-date=December 24, 2007}}</ref> Gravel became the first candidate for the [[Potential Democratic candidates in the 2008 U.S. presidential election|Democratic nomination]] for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 election]], announcing his run in a speech to the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] Short on campaign cash, he took [[public transportation]] to get to his announcement.<ref>{{cite news |author=Elliot, Philip |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-122070086.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511205241/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-122070086.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |title=Ex-Alaska Sen. Gravel Runs for President |agency=Associated Press |date=April 17, 2006 |access-date=August 28, 2010 |format=fee required}}</ref> (Gravel called for [[public financing of elections]].<ref name="Q&A">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/10/01/DI2007100101475.html The Candidates: Sen. Mike Gravel: Democratic Candidate for President, Former U.S. Sen. (D-Alaska)], ''Washington Post'' (October 16, 2007).</ref>) Other principal Gravel positions were the [[FairTax]], [[Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (2007–2011)|withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq]] within 120 days, a [[single-payer health care|single payer national health care system]], and [[term limits]].
On April 17, 2006,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01EED8173FF93BA25757C0A9609C8B63 |title=Washington: A 'Maverick' For President |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 18, 2006 |access-date=December 24, 2007}}</ref> Gravel became the first candidate for the [[Potential Democratic candidates in the 2008 U.S. presidential election|Democratic nomination]] for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 election]], announcing his run in a speech to the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] Short on campaign cash, he took [[public transportation]] to get to his announcement.<ref>{{cite news |author=Elliot, Philip |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-122070086.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511205241/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-122070086.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |title=Ex-Alaska Sen. Gravel Runs for President |agency=Associated Press |date=April 17, 2006 |access-date=August 28, 2010 |format=fee required}}</ref> (Gravel called for [[public financing of elections]].<ref name="Q&A">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/10/01/DI2007100101475.html The Candidates: Sen. Mike Gravel: Democratic Candidate for President, Former U.S. Sen. (D-Alaska)], ''Washington Post'' (October 16, 2007).</ref>) Other principal Gravel positions were the [[FairTax]], [[Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (2007–2011)|withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq]] within 120 days, a [[single-payer health care|single payer national health care system]], and [[term limits]].


Gravel had opposed the [[Iraq War]] from the beginning,<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial">[http://new.mikegravel.us/issues How Mike Stands on the Issues] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917034549/http://new.mikegravel.us/issues |date=September 17, 2016 }}, MikeGravel.us (accessed September 7, 2016).</ref> and in 2006 said that U.S. troops in Iraq, as in Vietnam, had "died in vain".<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="Kim" /> He also favored a regional peace initiative, as well as [[reparations (transitional justice)|reparation payments]] for Iraqis.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" /> 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.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" />
Gravel had opposed the [[Iraq War]] from the beginning,<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial">[http://new.mikegravel.us/issues How Mike Stands on the Issues] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917034549/http://new.mikegravel.us/issues |date=September 17, 2016 }}, MikeGravel.us (accessed September 7, 2016).</ref> and in 2006 said that U.S. troops in Iraq, as in Vietnam, had "died in vain".<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="Kim" /> He also favored a regional peace initiative, as well as [[reparations (transitional justice)|reparation payments]] for Iraqis.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" /> 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.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" />
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[[File:YearlyKos 2007 (1046567384) (croppeda).jpg|thumb|right|Gravel (far left) at an August 2007 candidates' forum; frontrunners Edwards, Clinton, and Obama are to the immediate right of the moderator]]
[[File:YearlyKos 2007 (1046567384) (croppeda).jpg|thumb|right|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 warfare|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."<ref name="abc042607" /> 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."<ref name="abc042607">[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3086826 No Breakout Candidate at Democratic Debate], [[ABC News]], April 26, 2007</ref> Media stories said that Gravel was responsible for much of whatever "heat" and "flashpoints" had taken place.<ref name="abc042607" /><ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1713018.ece "Clinton edges ahead after first Democratic debate"], ''[[The Times]]'', April 27, 2007.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uselections08/story/0,2066862,00.html Hillary Clinton shines in Democratic candidates' debate], Ewen MacAskill, ''[[The Guardian]]'', April 27, 2007.</ref> Gravel gained considerable publicity by shaking up the normally staid multiple-candidate format; ''[[The New York Times]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> media critic said that what Gravel had done was "steal a debate with outrageous, curmudgeonly statements."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/us/politics/04tvwatch.html |title=A Show Where Candidates Are More Prop Than Player |author=Alessandra Stanley |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 4, 2007 |access-date=December 28, 2007}}</ref> 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;<ref group="nb">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gMlHv2lDqA <!--Added by H3llBot--> |title=p. Mike Gravel at the Democratic Debate |work=This video has been removed due to terms of use violation |publisher=[[YouTube]] |access-date=May 4, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518062818/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gMlHv2lDqA <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date=May 18, 2007}} 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]];<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/04/mike_gravel_soo.html |title=Mike Gravel, soon to be a household name |author=Mark Memmott, Jill Lawrence |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=April 30, 2007 |access-date=December 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024150656/http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/04/mike_gravel_soo.html |archive-date=October 24, 2007}}</ref> and his website garnered more traffic than those of frontrunners [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Barack Obama]], or [[John Edwards]].<ref name="salon050707" /> Gravel appeared on the popular ''[[Colbert Report]]'' on television on May 2,<ref name="salon050707" /> and his campaign and career were profiled in national publications such as ''[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]''.<ref name="salon050707" /> Two wordless, [[Andy Warhol|Warholesque]] campaign videos, "Rock" and "Fire", were released on YouTube in late May and became hits,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/18/mike-gravel-behind-the-music/ |title=Mike Gravel: Behind the Music |author=Lisa Tozzi |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 18, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref> and eventually gained over 760,000 and 185,000 views respectively.<ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rZdAB4V_j8 | title=Mike Gravel – Rock |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=May 27, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRwizmuCnOw | title=Mike Gravel – Fire |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=May 28, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref> "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.
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 warfare|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."<ref name="abc042607" /> 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."<ref name="abc042607">[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3086826 No Breakout Candidate at Democratic Debate], [[ABC News]], April 26, 2007</ref> Media stories said that Gravel was responsible for much of whatever "heat" and "flashpoints" had taken place.<ref name="abc042607" /><ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1713018.ece "Clinton edges ahead after first Democratic debate"], ''[[The Times]]'', April 27, 2007.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uselections08/story/0,2066862,00.html Hillary Clinton shines in Democratic candidates' debate], Ewen MacAskill, ''[[The Guardian]]'', April 27, 2007.</ref> Gravel gained considerable publicity by shaking up the normally staid multiple-candidate format; ''[[The New York Times]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> media critic said that what Gravel had done was "steal a debate with outrageous, curmudgeonly statements."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/us/politics/04tvwatch.html |title=A Show Where Candidates Are More Prop Than Player |author=Alessandra Stanley |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 4, 2007 |access-date=December 28, 2007}}</ref> 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;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/04/mike_gravel_soo.html |title=Mike Gravel, soon to be a household name |author=Mark Memmott, Jill Lawrence |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=April 30, 2007 |access-date=December 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024150656/http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/04/mike_gravel_soo.html |archive-date=October 24, 2007}}</ref> and his website garnered more traffic than those of frontrunners [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Barack Obama]], or [[John Edwards]].<ref name="salon050707" /> Gravel appeared on the popular ''[[Colbert Report]]'' on television on May 2,<ref name="salon050707" /> and his campaign and career were profiled in national publications such as ''[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]''.<ref name="salon050707" /> Two wordless, [[Andy Warhol|Warholesque]] campaign videos, "Rock" and "Fire", were released on YouTube in late May and became hits,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/18/mike-gravel-behind-the-music/ |title=Mike Gravel: Behind the Music |author=Lisa Tozzi |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 18, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref> and eventually gained over 760,000 and 185,000 views respectively.<ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rZdAB4V_j8 | title=Mike Gravel – Rock |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=May 27, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRwizmuCnOw | title=Mike Gravel – Fire |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=May 28, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref> "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.


[[File:Mike Gravel for President 2008 fundraising.png|thumb|left|Gravel's fundraising efforts for the first three quarters of 2007.]]
[[File:Mike Gravel for President 2008 fundraising.png|thumb|left|Gravel's fundraising efforts for the first three quarters of 2007.]]
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As a Libertarian candidate, Gravel faced resistance to his liberal past and unorthodox positions;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13249 |title=Will the Real Libertarian Please Stand Up? |author=Philip Klein |magazine=[[The American Spectator]] |date=May 21, 2008 |access-date=May 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526112141/http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13249 |archive-date=May 26, 2008}}</ref> nevertheless, he garnered more support than he had as a Democrat, placing second and third in two April 2008 [[straw poll]]s.<ref name="libdebate1">{{cite news |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/content/straw-poll-results |title=Straw Poll Results |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=April 8, 2008 |access-date=April 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409183243/http://www.gravel2008.us/content/straw-poll-results |archive-date=April 9, 2008}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="lp-vote">{{cite web |url=http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |title=Press Releases: Presidential and VP Vote Totals – Updated Live! |publisher=[[Libertarian Party (United States)|LP.org]] |date=May 25, 2008 |access-date=May 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528033121/http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gravel's position did not subsequently improve and he was eliminated on the fourth ballot.<ref name="lp-vote" /> Afterwards he stated that "I just ended my political career," but he vowed to continue promoting his positions as a writer and lecturer.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ |title=Libertarians Pick Barr as Presidential Nominee |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=May 25, 2008 |access-date=May 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528190001/http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
As a Libertarian candidate, Gravel faced resistance to his liberal past and unorthodox positions;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13249 |title=Will the Real Libertarian Please Stand Up? |author=Philip Klein |magazine=[[The American Spectator]] |date=May 21, 2008 |access-date=May 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526112141/http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13249 |archive-date=May 26, 2008}}</ref> nevertheless, he garnered more support than he had as a Democrat, placing second and third in two April 2008 [[straw poll]]s.<ref name="libdebate1">{{cite news |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/content/straw-poll-results |title=Straw Poll Results |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=April 8, 2008 |access-date=April 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409183243/http://www.gravel2008.us/content/straw-poll-results |archive-date=April 9, 2008}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="lp-vote">{{cite web |url=http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |title=Press Releases: Presidential and VP Vote Totals – Updated Live! |publisher=[[Libertarian Party (United States)|LP.org]] |date=May 25, 2008 |access-date=May 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528033121/http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gravel's position did not subsequently improve and he was eliminated on the fourth ballot.<ref name="lp-vote" /> Afterwards he stated that "I just ended my political career," but he vowed to continue promoting his positions as a writer and lecturer.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ |title=Libertarians Pick Barr as Presidential Nominee |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=May 25, 2008 |access-date=May 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528190001/http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
== 2008–early 2019 ==
[[File:Mike Gravel by Gage Skidmore.jpg|right|thumb|Gravel speaking about the National Initiative at [[Ball State University]] in February 2010.]]
In June 2008 Gravel endorsed the NYC 9/11 Ballot Initiative, saying the measure would create a "citizens commission rather than a government commission" with subpoena power against top U.S. officials to "make a true investigation as to what happened" regarding the [[September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thevillager.com/villager_268/pentagonpapers.html |title='Pentagon Papers senator' calls for new 9/11 probe |author=Jefferson Siegel |work=[[The Villager (Manhattan)|The Villager]] |date=June 18–24, 2008 |access-date=June 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202043401/http://thevillager.com/villager_268/pentagonpapers.html |archive-date=December 2, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/17/former_senator_mike_gravel_calls_for |title=Former Senator Mike Gravel Calls for Independent 9/11 Investigation and Prosecution of President Bush and Vice President Cheney |author=[[Amy Goodman]] |work=[[Democracy Now!]] |publisher=[[Pacifica Radio]] |date=June 17, 2008 |access-date=June 22, 2008}}</ref> He later said, "Individuals in and out of government may certainly have participated with the obviously known perpetrators of this dastardly act. Suspicions abound over the analysis presented by government. Obviously an act that has triggered three wars, Afghan, Iraqi and the continuing War on Terror, should be extensively investigated which was not done and which the government avoids addressing."<ref>{{cite web |first1=Sean |last1=Miller |access-date=2019-08-27 |title=Gravel mulls primary challenge to Obama in '12 |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/132995-gravel-mulls-primary-challenge-to-obama-in-12 |date=9 December 2010 |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]}}</ref>
In August 2008 Gravel was speaking to a crowd of supporters of [[Sami Al-Arian]] (who two years earlier had pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison for a charge of conspiracy in helping [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]], a "[[specially designated terrorist]]" organization)<ref name="plea">{{cite web |url=http://nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/U.S._v_Al-Arian_pleaagr.pdf |title=Plea Agreement; U.S. v. Al-Arian |date=February 28, 2006 |access-date=March 8, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301162657/http://nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/U.S._v_Al-Arian_pleaagr.pdf |archive-date=March 1, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Laughlin-plea">{{cite news |author=Meg Laughlin |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2006/04/23/Hillsborough/In_his_plea_deal__wha.shtml |title=In his plea deal, what did Sami Al-Arian admit to? |newspaper=[[St. Petersberg Times]] |date=April 23, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sptimes.com%2F2006%2F04%2F23%2FHillsborough%2FIn_his_plea_deal__wha.shtml&date=2012-10-21 |archive-date=October 21, 2012}}</ref> when he was caught on tape saying of Al-Arian's prosecutor, "Find out where he lives, find out where his kids go to school, find out where his office is: picket him all the time. Call him a racist in signs if you see him. Call him an injustice. Call him whatever you want to call him, but in his face all the time."<ref name="fox080508">{{cite news |url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/3911196/find-out-where-he-lives/?playlist_id=87937 |title='Find Out Where He Lives' |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=December 22, 2009 |access-date=August 28, 2010}}</ref> Gravel was criticized for potentially involving the children of the prosecutor, and Al-Arian's family disavowed the sentiments.<ref name="fox080508" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Barakat |first=Matthew |title=Al-Arian trial postponed as judge questions case |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=August 8, 2008 |url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Aug08/0,4670,AttacksProfessor,00.html |access-date=August 18, 2008}}</ref>
Gravel defended Alaska Governor [[Sarah Palin]] after she was chosen as Republican presidential nominee [[John McCain]]'s running mate in September 2008. He praised Palin's record in standing up to corruption among Alaskan Republicans, thought her national inexperience was an asset not a detriment, and predicted that the "[[Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal|Troopergate]]" investigation into whether she improperly fired a state official would "come out in her favor."<ref name="pac090108">{{cite news |publisher=[[Pacifica Radio]] |work=2008 Election Center |url=http://election411.org/article/id/3601160/interview-mike-gravel |title=Interview with Mike Gravel |date=September 1, 2008 |access-date=March 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416131512/http://election411.org/article/id/3601160/interview-mike-gravel |archive-date=April 16, 2009}}</ref> Gravel made clear he would not support or vote for either McCain-Palin or Obama-Biden in the general election.<ref name="pac090108" /> The following year Gravel said that Palin's politics were "terrible, but that doesn't detract from the fact that she's a very talented person". He predicted that Palin would run for president in 2012 and that "she's going to surprise a lot of people"<ref name="pol121109">{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30468.html |title=Mike Gravel says Sarah Palin will run for president |author=Martin, Jonathan |newspaper=[[The Politico]] |date=December 11, 2009 |access-date=December 12, 2009}}</ref> Palin did not run, but Gravel's prediction about "TrooperGate" was accurate as Palin was found not to have violated ethics laws.
From mid-2008 through October 2009 Gravel gave several lectures at South Korean universities about the [[Korean National Initiative]], a Korean adaption of the National Initiative Gravel has proposed in the United States.
In 2013 by the invitation of [[Hamed Ghashghavi]] the secretary for international affairs of the 3rd [[International Conference on Hollywoodism]] in [[Tehran]], [[Iran]], Gravel attended that event as an [[Iranian government]]-organized anti-[[Hollywood]] conference.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/02/22/mike-gravel-on-movies-sanctions-and-what-we-can-learn-from-iran/ |title=Mike Gravel on movies, sanctions, and what we can learn from Iran |author=Keating, Joshua |magazine=[[Foreign Policy]] |date=February 22, 2013}}</ref> Gravel noted that the conference was attended by "various elements of extremes" but said it was necessary to discuss how the U.S. film industry portrayed Iran in order to prevent "an insane war" between the two nations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/world/middleeast/stung-by-argo-iran-backs-conference-decrying-hollywoodism.html |title=Stung by 'Argo,' Iran Backs Conference Denouncing 'Hollywoodism' |author=Erdbrink, Thomas |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 18, 2013 |access-date=March 1, 2013}}</ref>
In May 2013 Gravel was one of several former members of Congress to accept $20,000 from the [[Paradigm Research Group]], an advocacy group for [[Disclosure (ufology)|UFO disclosure]], as part of holding what they termed a Citizen Hearing on Disclosure, modeled after congressional hearings, regarding supposed U.S. government suppression of evidence concerning [[UFO]]s.<ref name="abc-ufo">{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/former-sen-mike-gravel-says-white-house-suppressing-112957111.html |title=Out there: Former Sen. Mike Gravel says White House suppressing evidence of ETs |publisher=[[Yahoo! News]]/[[ABC News]] |date=May 3, 2013 |access-date=May 4, 2013}}</ref> Gravel said, "Something is monitoring the planet, and they are monitoring it very cautiously, because we are a very warlike planet,"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/us/politics/panel-convenes-in-washington-to-discuss-aliens.html?_r=0 |title=Visitors From Outer Space, Real or Not, Are Focus of Discussion in Washington |author=Siddons, Andrews |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 3, 2013 |access-date=May 4, 2013}}</ref> and, "What we're faced with here is, in areas of the media, and the government too, an effort to marginalize and ridicule people who have specific knowledge."<ref name="abc-ufo" />
In December 2014 Gravel was announced as the new CEO of [[KUSH]], a company which makes marijuana-infused products for medicinal and recreational use, and a subsidiary of [[Cannabis Sativa, Inc]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/mike-gravel-kush-marijuana-113878.html |title=Mike Gravel to helm pot products company |author=Kendall Breitman |publisher=[[Politico]] |date=December 30, 2014 |access-date=December 31, 2014}}</ref> He also became an Independent Director of Cannabis Sativa.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cannabissativainc.com/company.php |title=The Team |publisher=Cannabis Sativa, Inc. |access-date=March 6, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316115430/http://cannabissativainc.com/company.php |archive-date=March 16, 2016}}</ref>
During the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016|2016 Democratic presidential primaries]], Gravel praised [[Bernie Sanders]] and [[Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016|his campaign]], saying "Bernie is one of the most gifted politicians I have ever observed. He's a person of great integrity and very clever." Gravel predicted that Sanders would be elected president but would be unable to get his key reforms through Congress, and thus that Sanders and his supporters should back some of the proposals of the National Initiative.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/2016/02/21/this_is_the_key_to_bernie_sanders_political_revolution_heres_how_we_beat_gop_obstruction/ |title=This is the key to Bernie Sanders' political revolution: Here's how we beat GOP obstruction |first=Mike |last=Gravel |magazine=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]] |date=February 21, 2016}}</ref>
Gravel has gone further in conspiratorial thinking in relation to the September 11 attacks, saying in 2016 on a conspiracies-oriented radio program: "We killed 58,000 American servicemen in the Vietnam War and all they did was die in vain. What's so unusual about killing 3,000 more in order to develop the grist for the mill to empower into infinity the military industrial complex?" The remarks were later disavowed by even Gravel supporters.<ref>Harry Cheadle, [https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wjm9em/mike-gravel-the-online-left-wing-sensation-is-also-a-911-truther-1 "Mike Gravel the online left wing sensation is also a ..."] Vice.com, March 21, 2019</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>


== Awards and honors ==
== Awards and honors ==
In 2008 Gravel received the [[Columbia University School of General Studies]]' first annual Isaac Asimov Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pianin |first1=Alix |title=GS Honors Students, Alum at Annual Gala |url=http://columbiaspectator.com/2008/03/03/gs-honors-students-alum-annual-gala |access-date=October 10, 2014 |newspaper=[[Columbia Daily Spectator]] |date=March 3, 2008}}</ref>
In 2008 Gravel received the Columbia University School of General Studies' first annual Isaac Asimov Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pianin |first1=Alix |title=GS Honors Students, Alum at Annual Gala |url=http://columbiaspectator.com/2008/03/03/gs-honors-students-alum-annual-gala |access-date=October 10, 2014 |newspaper=[[Columbia Daily Spectator]] |date=March 3, 2008}}</ref>


== Writings ==
== Writings ==
* Gravel, Mike. ''Jobs and More Jobs''. Mt. McKinley Publishers, 1968.
* Gravel, Mike. ''Jobs and More Jobs''. Mt. McKinley Publishers, 1968.
* Gravel, Mike. ''[[Citizen Power: A People's Platform]]''. [[Henry Holt and Company|Holt, Rinehart and Winston]], 1972. {{ISBN|0-03-091465-5}}.
* 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}}.
** 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 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 [[David Eisenbach|Eisenbach, David]]. ''The Kingmakers: How the Media Threatens Our Security and Our Democracy''. [[Phoenix Books and Audio|Phoenix Books]], 2008. {{ISBN|1-59777-586-X}}.
* 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. ''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. 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}}
* Gravel, Mike. ''The Failure of Representative Government and the Solution: A Legislature of the People''. AuthorHouse, 2020. {{ISBN|1-7283-3929-4}}
 
== Notes ==
{{reflist|2|group="nb"}}


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
* ''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.
* ''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.
* {{cite book |editor=Moritz, Charles |title=Current Biography Yearbook 1972 |publisher=[[H. W. Wilson Company]] |location=New York |year=1973 <!-- book has no ISBN --> |title-link=Current Biography Yearbook}}
* {{cite book |editor=Moritz, Charles |title=Current Biography Yearbook 1972 |publisher=H. W. Wilson Company |location=New York |year=1973 <!-- book has no ISBN --> |title-link=Current Biography Yearbook}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
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