Gravel

Recently (within the past week or two) Google removed the search expansion option from "Gravel" to "Mike Gravel." You know, when you type something in, and it suggests popular searches and whats hot in the news? Well it now solely consists of "landscape gravel" "gravel calculator" "gravel size" and "cost of gravel...." Good?

Washington Post shows the former senator to have $17,527 on hand for his campaign - actually a substantial amount when compared to his total funds raised of $130,598. He's conserving resources to try and stay for the long haul - but unfortunately, he'll have to pull up his numbers within the Libertarian Party if he hopes to have a shot at winning their nomination.

Gravel also published a letter on his website supporting former President Jimmy Carter in his attempt to mediate the peace process between Israel and Hamas.

Who besides Jimmy Carter can keep the Middle East peace effort alive while our lame duck president plays out his remaining days? Should we just hope that warring parties in the Middle East patiently wait until a new president takes over next year? And why should they be patient? The Democratic Party’s candidates seem to share the same obstinate, ill-informed views as George Bush and John McCain. Carter’s critics don’t know much about Israel’s real security situation- nor do they really care about it. All they want to do is please AIPAC and hawkish members of the American Jewish community who don’t have to live under the daily threat of terrorism. Ever notice how people who don’t have to fight in wars tend to be the most fervent war hawks?

Gravel's 5 minutes of (almost) fame came and went during the height of the presidential race..well during the race to find the major political candidates. His website is now caught up in criticizing the "White House and Democratic Senate['s...] cynical game of who blinks first."

For breaking news to Gravel diehard fans (a small caveat, I'm sure), Mike Gravel has joined the Libertarian Party. Gravel indicates his reasoning as being that "the Democratic Party no longer represents [his] vision for our great country[...]The fact is, the Democratic Party today is no longer the party of FDR. It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism -- all of which I find anathema to my views."

In case you were interested, the top 6 Libertarian presidential candidates are (in no particular order, except following that of the Gravel blog):

• George Phillies
• Wayne Allyn Root
• Christine Smith
• Michael Jingozian
• Dr. Mary J. Ruwart
• Sen. Mike Gravel

Poor Mike

Mike Gravel is still on the ballot. Against all odds, the Alaskan senator has stuck through longer than many other candidates - longer than many of the big names. He is even in third place overall in total delegates for the Democratic presidential primary - and his total fundraising has reached a whalloping $379,795 - which is a lot more than people predicted.

Gravel actually got .2% of the Democratic votes in Ashley County, Arkansas - which is a big improvement over his early statistics. While Michigan voted for Gravel an astonishing .3% (because Obama was not on the ballot...), states such as Mississippi were much more typical. Mississippi gave Gravel .1% with 587 votes, and he earned the same .1% in New Hampshire.

Mike Gravel is maximizing the publicity he does get by funneling it toward his nonprofit organization The Democracy Foundation (DF) and Philadelphia II, both of which "advance democracy and empower the People." DF has proposed The National Initiative for Democracy, a new law amending the constitution and "equipping the people with the central power of government, lawmaking...to control the abuses of government."

And as a last hurrah, Gravel has held to his promise of refusing to endorse the Democratic candidate. The senator endorsed Jesse Johnson, who is seeking the Green Party nomination, on Thursday and will travel and campaign with him as their schedules permit.

Mike Gravel: "My political party long ago walked away from taking the necessary steps that will safeguard our nation's and our children's futures. I worked dedicatedly throughout my career as a U.S. senator to protect the precious resources our country had within its boundaries as well as to mitigate the negative impact our businesses and individuals were having on the planet. I have watched the ever-important job of stewarding these gifts vanish from the political landscape, and I hold the Democratic Party leadership responsible for giving up that fight."

Voting

Mike Gravel got an entire 325 votes in the recently-certified Arkansas election - which is pitiful. More people chose not to vote for a candidate. Gravel does indeed appear to be slowing his campaign, as he did not respond to a debate invitation from the JCPA, which is odd considering he needs as much attention as possible if he is to remain in the presidential race. However, he had an appearance Friday for Harvard democrats, and tonight to Columbia University's College of General Studies - he knows his case as a candidate is hopeless, so he is utilizing his role to speak to voters about the issues he is passionate about.

However, Mike Gravel is suing a pro-Hilary 527 in the federal court system. The organization ran an ad that "flagrantly violates the law" by using "phrases...or individual words, which in context can have no other reasonable meaning than to urge the election...of a particular candidate."

Gravel Slows Down

After months of energetic campaigning, it appears that Mike Gravel is finally giving up his fight. Although I could not find any source that announced his official withdrawl, his personal websited was not updated, and he didn't seem to be campaigning anywhere this week (a rarity for Gravel.) Furthermore, Gravel's website advertised his newly revised book-not his campaign, thus implying that he was slowing down his vigorous fight. However, although Gravel may not be running as ardently for president as he once did, his dissension of the state of our nation, and the candidacies of Obama and Clinton, are two elements that are still in full swing. In fact, Gravel speaks about such topics in his book, Citizen Power, stating, “Most Americans today are frustrated and confused. They are told by everyone that they are ‘the richest people in the world’ and ‘the world’s freest nation.’ Yet, they see poverty in the midst of plenty and continued erosion of their civil liberties. . . . People are tired of liberal ‘promises’ and conservative ‘game plans’ which offer the rhetoric of hope but, in reality, merely protect and perpetuate the status quo. . . ." Gravel's tenacity may have decreased in the presidential primaries, but his words and opinions remains as sharp as ever.

Sources Used: www.Myspace.com/MikeGravel
www.gravel2008.com

Gravel

There isn't much new in Gravel's campaign. He is being compared to Ralph Nader because of his stubbornness in staying on the Democratic ballot, but even being the third candidate doesn't mean any more votes are being shepherded towards him - he has zero delegates, to be exact. Actually, searching for Mike Gravel in news articles unfortunately brings up some articles about... gravel. Yes, the gravel you find in asphalt. Or, perhaps referencing a race track? A positive note: Gravel got 1 vote of 1992 registered Democratic votes in Malibu.

On another note, beliefnet.com rated Mike Gravel's "spiritual rating" (0 is secular; 10 is theocrat) to be a 4. In comparison, Bill Richardson and Mike Huckabee each pulled an 8
and Thompson got a 3.

Bloggers are noting in amazement how the media is thoroughly ignoring Mike Gravel's (often radical) statements about war and the Constitution and rights. While they "...may have suggested Dennis Kucinich was a space alien,...they didn't let on Gravel ever existed."

Gravel fights for a cause

Despite his many financial setbacks, Gravel continues to campaign around the country. Last week, he gave speeches at Columbia and Yale University, and is heading west this week to speak with students at UC Berkely. Furthermore, Gravel recently posted a lengthy speech on his website, praising Edwards' efforts in the race, and asserting that he was the much more honest and genuine president that Clinton or Obama. Gravel claimed that Clinton and Obama have no intentions of ending the war, and that they are both backed by and therefore in support of corporate-interests. Such rhetoric is quite extreme considering both candidates base their campaigns on the "people's" best interest and "ending the war in Iraq." However, it is not surprising that Gravel, who has received less than 1% of votes in the Democratic primaries, and is running out of funds, will make bold comments to gain media attention. Still despite the cloud of doom that continues to surround his chances of success (he actually can't feasibly win by this point), Gravel insists, "Winning the nomination isn’t the only reason some of us run for the highest office in the country. We persevere because we care deeply for our country, and we subject ourselves to the grueling schedule and the often unflattering media spotlight because we believe in the importance of the issues that we bring to the table." While Gravel's campaign may not be an unpredictable one like Obama's or Hillary's, Gravel's harsh rhetoric is indubitably entertaining!.

sources used: http://www.gravel2008.us/