Mike Gravel on Situation Room

[Monkeyman]

Run time: 07:57 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLWZd4BCCPo   Posted on YouTube: May 01, 2007 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: May 01, 2007 By DU Member: Monkeyman Views on DU: 311

 
hmmm

[whistle]

1. I like Mike Gravel, he is the one and perhaps only sane candidate

...for president on either side!

<snip>
Mike Gravel Biography
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.
<MORE>

http://www.gravel2008.us/bio

[PreacherCasey]

2. He is being disingenuous regarding Kucinich. He knows Kucinich doesn't support action against Iran.

I like Gravel, but that pisses me off.

[loudsue]

3. He did a GREAT JOB on that interview! Anyone who makes fun of this guy

isn't paying attention. He's far more SANE than any of the blowhards we have anywhere near the beltway.

:kick::kick::kick:

[bjobotts]

4. Liked him at Debates,...This changed my mind

Acts like he's got some 'special' insight and really he doesn't. Made a big deal out of "all options on the table"(means nukes) as regards Iran as if other candidates would not be cautious enough about using them. Has good insights but talks around issues and questions. Wolf should have pursued him further on "no serious enemies" because first he denies we have them then admits we do. Not a unifying character, doubt if he works well with others. Admire his passion but Wolf couldn't get him to say he would support whoever won the nomination if he didn't. Love him being a "part" of the solution but not it's leader. America needs as much healing as criticism and he will never get past the image of being a "crusty old fart". But then I have to keep in mind there is no such thing as the "perfect" candidate.

[IndyOp]

5. Welcome to DU bjobotts! There definitely is no such thing as a

perfect candidate. Right now, Gravel is doing good work for us because he is raising the bar in terms of questions that candidates are forced to answer. The issue of a potential pre-emptive nuclear attack on Iran is a huge concern for me - it would be a disaster for Iran, Iraq and the US. Bush Co. have been threatening Iran and Hillary Clinton has been NO better than them -- she has said that we can't take the option of an attack on Iran off the table and that is diplomatic code for her willingness to kill people to please corporations that want to control Iran's oil.