OMG...I Think I'm Starting to Fall for Mike Gravel.

[Toasterlad]

He was OUTSTANDING tonight. I'm a Kucinich guy, but Mike was really speaking to me tonight. Anybody got any good reasons I shouldn't vote for him? And please don't give me that tired "unelectable" shit. Give me FACTS.

[MalloyLiberal]

1. "Fair tax"..

[bobbolink]

2. Is taxing poor people into oblivian a good enough reason?

:mad:

[aquart]

10. That would be sufficient for me.

[rockymountaindem]

12. Nah

I mean, I never see any poor people. I don't even believe they exist. :sarcasm:

[bobbolink]

24. I"ll send you a picture of me, then.

Cuz, I *know* I exist. :hi:

[Double T]

3. Mike isn't the same old front runner type of candidate.........

Mike speaks his mind, like Dennis Kucinich, but does it with a lot more passion. I'm sick of the same old PC rhetoric from the front runners; their corporate ties disqualify them from my slate.

[never_get_over_it]

4. Why I stopped even paying attention to Gravel

in an interview with Mike Malloy he said Kucinich was irrelevant....don't know if I can find the clip or not but I think it was actually on a thread here at DU. I've been a Kucinich supporter since he ran in 2004....I love Kucinich and when Gravel said he was irrelevant that was it for me - the rest of that interview was bizarre also....

[DianaForRussFeingold]

20. Hmmm... Kucinich is as relevant as Mike Gravel was during the Viet Nam war !

;-) IMHO, If given half a chance, he could be the most loved and admired president ever! He is the most like Bobby Kennedy and maybe that's why they want him, to be irrelevant. It's strange he would say that when Kucinich is so much like he was in 1971!

[never_get_over_it]

23. Actually

when I found the link to the interview here at DU I listened to the part about Kucinich again and Gravel didn't say Dennis was irrelevant he said he was off the mark - after spending a bit of time before that being very negative about him. Interestingly enough Gravel said in that Malloy interview that he supported Kucinich in 2004 - anyway even though Gravel is obviously supporting himself - as a BIG Kucinich fan I didn't like him talking Dennis down - and as I said the rest of the interview was very strange.

[leftchick]

5. I love him too

he is my kind of liberal.

[jgraz]

6. He's great to have in the race, but he's not someone I'd want as president

His policies are not well thought out, IMHO. He seems to favor big, untested ideas instead of good old fashioned hard work. I don't have a lot of confidence that he'd have the focus to really lead on a day-to-day basis..

[book_worm]

7. Was he not invited to the AFL-CIO debate? or a scheduling conflict?

[never_get_over_it]

9. Wasn't invited

apparently, according to the sponsors, he didn't fill out their questionairre in time - I think Gravel disputes this....

[ConsAreLiars]

8. He's is a pro-corporate libertarian (Malloy Show link included)

He wants to tax your purchases of food and whatever, but not your purchases of stocks and bonds because that would undermine the capitalist system. And batshit crazy. You want to know what he really thinks? Listen to his July 10, 2007 two hour discussion with Mike Malloy. The archives are at http://www.novamradio.com/index.php?pid=3 but you need to be a "founder" (contributor) to download. Contributing to NovaM is a good idea in any case.

(edit to add a reference to the Malloy show link in the header)

[never_get_over_it]

15. Don't need to go to novamradio

can find it right here at DU

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=385&topic_id=40790

[DianaForRussFeingold]

19. Thank You! I'm Listening now

:yourock:

[orleans]

11. malloy had him on his show about a month ago.

i think anyone who liked him was cured of it after that.

[IntravenousDemilo]

13. Most of his positions are very agreeable.

Anti-death penalty, single-pay non-profit health care, recognition of equal marriage, pro-Kyoto, anti-war, in favour of legalizing pot, against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", all very commendable. But...

1. His idea of replacing income tax with an increased sales tax would unfairly target the poor, who would pay a larger portion of their income on such a tax than the rich would. This is the case with all sales taxes, no matter how progressive one might try to make them.

2. At 77, he is way too old by now for the job. You're living in the United States, not some gerontocracy like the Soviet Union under Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko, or China until recently. Hell, McCain is too old as well, and so was Reagan.

[Wiley50]

14. Don't fall on Gravel, You'll skin up your knees n/t

[DianaForRussFeingold]

16. Thank You! I learned a great deal from your post and the other replies

My first choice is Gore,my second was Clark but he may not run. I posted a couple of videos of Gravel so I could learn more about him. DU is great for getting to know the candidates. After reading all the posts, I'm still shopping around before I commit. I love to read everyone's opinion but I'm like you, I want to learn the facts. I know one thing this man got us out of the draft and Viet Nam. Check this video out if you can. "One man can make a difference" http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x45933

[Hamlette]

17. you're kidding....right? Did you hear him on Diane Rehm this week?

he wants to hold binding national votes on public policy and foreign policy decisions.

Can you say California?

He is insane. That would be one reason not to vote for him.

If you need more....you might want to listen to him.

(Drives me nuts when ppl like Ron Paul because he is right on Iraq. He is wrong on everything else. Also bugs me when ppl criticize Romney for changing his position on abortion but support Kucinich. HELLO?)

[EFerrari]

18. I fell hard for him when I heard the story of how he got the Pentagon papers

into the Congressional record. :)

[Truth2Tell]

21. I don't want him to be President...

I just want him to stand on stage with whoever is elected President and be given an opportunity to make opposing remarks every time the President appears in public - sort of a full-time running commentary position.

Mike Gravel for Secretary of Conscience!

[nickgutierrez]

22. Two reasons:

1. National sales tax. Absolute non-starter.

2. Total lack of diplomacy. All I've ever heard from him, when he gets asked a question, is how he never gets asked any questions. And he's over-the-top vicious when he does answer it. We've already seen where that kind of alienating diplomacy gets us with the current president. (Based on his appearance on the Mike Malloy radio show and the YouTube/CNN debate).