Attention Mike Gravel fans (you know who you are)

[Blue_In_AK]

He's going to be on Shannyn Moore's show http://kudo1080.com/ in about 15 minutes talking about the filibuster, a subject he's very familiar with since he filibustered the renewal of the draft in 1971. I'm sure he'll have choice words for today's Senate Democrats who roll over for the Republicans at the mere "threat" of a filibuster, or this stupid supermajority crap.

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Gravel

On the night of June 29, 1971, Gravel attempted to read the (Pentagon) papers on the floor of the Senate as part of his filibuster against the draft, but was thwarted when no quorum could be formed. Gravel instead convened a session of the Buildings and Grounds subcommittee that he chaired. He got New York Congressman John Dow to testify that the war had soaked up funding for public buildings, thus making discussion of the war relevant to the committee. He began reading from the papers with the press in attendance, omitting supporting documents that he felt might compromise national security, and declaring, "It is my constitutional obligation to protect the security of the people by fostering the free flow of information absolutely essential to their democratic decision-making."

He read until 1 a.m., until with tears and sobs he said that he could no longer physically continue the previous three nights of sleeplessness and fear about the future having taken their toll. Gravel ended the session by, with no other senators present, establishing unanimous consent towards inserting 4,100 pages of the Papers into the Congressional Record of his subcommittee. The following day, the Supreme Court's New York Times Co. v. United States decision ruled in favor of the newspapers and publication in The Times and others resumed. In July 1971, Bantam Books published an inexpensive paperback edition of the papers containing the material The Times had published.

THAT'S what a filibuster is supposed to be.


Yeah, I know, Gravel's a loose cannon and all that, but I always admired him for his dedication to ending the Vietnam War.

[gateley]

1. I'm a fan -- and in no small part because of how ballsy he was to filibuster and

get the Pentagon Papers into the public record. I love how he's no-BS, and he seems like basically such a good guy. Thanks for posting this! :hi:

[Cirque du So-What]

2. I admire Mike Gravel

and look forward to a synopsis of his appearance on Ms. Moore's show.

[dgibby]

3. I likey Mikey!

He's one of the good guys. Thanks for posting.

K/R