Mike Gravel: "I just ended my political career"
kenny olav
Posts: 3,319
That's what I heard him say live at the Libertarian convention today, shortly after his 4th place finish.
I didn't expect the Libertarians to nominate him. They are generally disenchanted Republicans, so they went with Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman, and a very conservative one. They also selected as their VP nominee, Wayne Allen Root, a man who unabashedly and ultra-emphatically declared his top three issues to be home schooling, internet gambling and gun rights.
Gravel, coming from the Democratic party, and being of the left-libertarian vein, didn't fit in with the party as it is, although he did win some states like Indiana and Oregon.
I first heard of Mike Gravel about a year ago, and I very quickly became a fan of his. He's a smart, tireless guy, and fantastically odd. Too odd and too passionate for some people... for most people I guess... but as hopeless as his campaign was, it was brilliant and inspiring, and Gravel's got a great sense of humor. It's sad to see him to go, but maybe he'll still treat us to some more YouTube videos.
And now I don't know if I'm going to vote for a Presidential candidate. After all, I don't think there should even be a President of the United States, or a executive branch. We've been sold on our 3 branches of government and how they provide checks & balances. But that's fucking bullshit. James Madison and all of his asshole brethren were very open and honest about their desires to preserve the prosperity of the elite. They were only democratic in the sense that they expanded the ruling class. The only entity that should serve as a check & balance against the government is the people, and that's why I support Mike Gravel for supporting the National Initiative.
I would love to see the whole Federal government be done away with. With trillions of dollars flowing through it, it's a HUGE magnet for corruption. Plus, it's simply absurd that less than 600 people are supposed to represent more than 300 million people. But I digress...
Sen. Mike Gravel ended the draft with his filibuster and helped bring an end to the Vietnam War by reading the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional record. He made this country better, and he could have done so much more.
C'est la vie... that's French for WTF.
I didn't expect the Libertarians to nominate him. They are generally disenchanted Republicans, so they went with Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman, and a very conservative one. They also selected as their VP nominee, Wayne Allen Root, a man who unabashedly and ultra-emphatically declared his top three issues to be home schooling, internet gambling and gun rights.
Gravel, coming from the Democratic party, and being of the left-libertarian vein, didn't fit in with the party as it is, although he did win some states like Indiana and Oregon.
I first heard of Mike Gravel about a year ago, and I very quickly became a fan of his. He's a smart, tireless guy, and fantastically odd. Too odd and too passionate for some people... for most people I guess... but as hopeless as his campaign was, it was brilliant and inspiring, and Gravel's got a great sense of humor. It's sad to see him to go, but maybe he'll still treat us to some more YouTube videos.
And now I don't know if I'm going to vote for a Presidential candidate. After all, I don't think there should even be a President of the United States, or a executive branch. We've been sold on our 3 branches of government and how they provide checks & balances. But that's fucking bullshit. James Madison and all of his asshole brethren were very open and honest about their desires to preserve the prosperity of the elite. They were only democratic in the sense that they expanded the ruling class. The only entity that should serve as a check & balance against the government is the people, and that's why I support Mike Gravel for supporting the National Initiative.
I would love to see the whole Federal government be done away with. With trillions of dollars flowing through it, it's a HUGE magnet for corruption. Plus, it's simply absurd that less than 600 people are supposed to represent more than 300 million people. But I digress...
Sen. Mike Gravel ended the draft with his filibuster and helped bring an end to the Vietnam War by reading the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional record. He made this country better, and he could have done so much more.
C'est la vie... that's French for WTF.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
But if he's not running anymore, I'd rather not. I may write in "NONE OF THE ABOVE".
Certainly, there are some things about Obama that cause me to prefer him to win over McCain, so if it looks a close election in MA, I suppose I'll vote for Obama. However... if Obama can't win Massachusetts by a wide margin, he's not going to win anyway. So scratch that...
—Dorothy Parker
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/6902/conspiracytheoriesxt6qt8.jpg
If I align with any political party, it's the Libertarian party. I don't do drugs. And I'm not a republican nor do I regularly vote republican. Hence, your generalization is wrong.
Libertarians believe in the primacy of individual liberty and Libertarian thought stems more from classical liberalism than it does conservatism. You might try giving this a read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism
"Liberalism refers to a broad array of related ideas and theories of government that consider individual liberty to be the most important political goal......The word "liberal" derives from the Latin liber ("free, not slave"). It is widely associated with the word "liberty" and the concept of freedom...
The above post from FFG describes myself as well. Do I expect some kind of utopia no? Nor am I some kind of person in favor of abolishing all government another preconceived notion of libertarians. I'm not really a rally going flag waving libertarian either, they just tend to espouse more of the values I agree with.
Most people speak in generalities so I'll forgive it. What the republicans and democrats are currently is more facist than it is conservative or liberal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism
He just ooozes opportunist. I think he's just doing whatever he can to get back into some kind of political office. Who knows what he really believes anyway. Write a couple of Creative Loafing articles and work for the ACLU and all of a sudden you're a libertarian... um not for me thanks. At least you knew what Harry Browne and Michael Badnarik were about.
While I'm open to the idea that Barr has perhaps actually matured somewhat in his views, it's simply too early to determine that. Barr should not be seeking the presidency while at the same time denouncing his own votes vis a vis drugs, government surveillance, and war when many of those votes are only a few years old. Had he won a Congressional seat and then demonstrated a commitment to liberty beyond lip service, I'd then entertain voting for him for president. If I want empty rhetoric, I'll just vote for Obama.
Saying that both the Republican and Democratic parties had "bought into a system of running a charity called the United States of America," Barr criticized programs that used public funds to educate children of illegal immigrants and maintain foreign military bases "that have no more efficacy in the 21st century."
"The federal government needs to get away from the notion that simply because we have all this money in the treasury -- or we can borrow more money -- that we can provide all these services," he said. "That is not responsible government."
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-barr13-2008may13,0,7350346.story
nice burn! and taking Obama down with him... extra points have been earned.