GravelTracker

Mike Gravel's Still In the Race, and He's Got Ideas

Mike Gravel on education

On No Child Left Behind law
Former Alaska senator Mike Gravel says he doesn’t like the No Child Left Behind education law, saying its emphasis on testing has robbed students of a well-rounded education. The law requires every state to test students annually. Schools failing to make academic progress over several years could be closed or have their faculty replaced.

“Principals constantly prep students for the tests by cutting not only art, gym and music but also history and science,” he wrote in The New York Sun on Aug. 30, 2007. “No wonder children are bored with school.” Gravel was not in office when President Bush signed the law in January 2002.

On making college affordable
Gravel says low-income students who want to attend college should be given tuition assistance. He wants to provide technical training to those who don’t want to attend college. He would give tax breaks to companies that hire and train teenagers to perform technology-based jobs.

Other education priorities
Gravel supports government vouchers for low-income students, a longer school calendar and merit pay for teachers. “Why should teachers with energy, excitement and talent be paid the same as the ones who don’t make an effort?” he asks.

Gravel also points out that American students spend far less time in school than their Japanese and European counterparts. He advocates an education system that would require students to begin school at a younger age and to spend more hours a day and more days a year in school than they do now.

Gravel Announces New Hampshire RV Tour

From the New Hampshire Presidential Watch:

Senator Mike Gravel will be embarking upon a statewide tour of New Hampshire between now and the January 8th primary. His "Stop and Think" tour will be conducted with the Gravel campaign RV, and starts with a slate of events in northeast NH. The RV will be unveiled just after the New Year, it will not be included in this leg of the tour.

More events to follow shortly:

Friday 12/28

10:00 AM
Town Hall Meeting
VFW George J Maxfield of 1772
43 Highland St.
Rochester, NH

1:30 PM
Town Hall Meeting
Ossipee Town Hall

3:30 PM
Editorial Board with The Conway Daily Sun
64 Seavey Street
North Conway, NH

5:00 PM
Town Hall Meeting
The Metropolitan Coffee House
2680 Main St.
North Conway, NH

Saturday 12/29

10 AM
Town Hall Meeting
Jackson Village, NH

11 - 11:30 AM
Lunchtime Meet & Greet at J-Town Deli
174 Main St.
Jackson Village, NH

1 PM
Town Hall Meeting
Berlin VFW
1107 Main St.
Berlin, NH

Mike Gravel gets some ink

From the LA Times:

For those wondering what makes Mike Gravel tick (and it's hard to imagine not occasionally musing about that while watching him rant and rave during Democratic presidential debates), a one-stop shopping source has arrived.

The Washington Post's Sunday magazine devoted its cover story to the one-time senator from Alaska and, if nothing else, it paints a vivid picture of what it's like to run for the White House on a miniscule budget (and with the help of a devoted, bagel-chomping aide).

The lengthy piece offers biographical details (born in Massachusetts to French-speaking parents from Canada, Gravel didn't speak English until he was 7) and a quick review of the niche he carved for himself in the early 1970s as one of the most audacious public officials opposing the Vietnam War.

(Continue to the full article)

Gravel Plans New Hampshire Campaign

From The New Hampshire:

Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Mike Gravel, will be campaigning in New Hampshire from Dec. 16 to 22. Though he may not be as well known as his opponents, the former Alaskan senator does not think that means he should be ignored.

"I offer a change. I offer to empower the American people," Gravel said in a telephone interview yesterday.

This empowerment would come in the form of a new, fourth branch of government which would require a major change in the Constitution. It's called the National Initiative for Democracy (NID) and it would be made up of citizens who would have the power to vote on laws along with Congress.

However, Laura Jones, president of College Democrats at UNH, thinks that NID is "really out there" and prevents anyone from taking Gravel seriously as a candidate.

(Continue to the full article)

Gravel's Support Base Online

From AFP:

He's been written off by big US media as unelectable and has little money to finance his White House bid, but former Democratic Senator Mike Gravel has been able to keep his hopes alive thanks to YouTube and the Internet.

His avant-guard campaign ads, including one in which he stares at the camera saying nothing before tossing a large rock into the water and walking away, have been hits on YouTube.

And while the debates were going on in Philadelphia and Las Vegas, Gravel held his own discussions of the issues, via streaming video on the Internet, watched by thousands.

(continue to the full article)

Gravel Denied at Another Debate

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel won't be on stage next week for the CNN-Nevada Democratic Party debate.

CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman says Gravel didn't meet the fundraising threshold set by the network.

Candidates had to have raised at least $1 million in donation to get an invitation.

Gravel, a former Alaska senator, raised about $240,000 through September.

Bohrman says the rule is intended to limit the debate to candidates who are serious about running for president.

Gravel also was not invited to an MSNBC debate in Philadelphia last week.

His campaign spokesman says the former senator still plans to come to Las Vegas. Gravel is expected to speak next week at the Democrats Jefferson Jackson dinner, along with the other candidates.

Gravel says he would remain outspoken if elected

From the Nashua Telegraph:

Mike Gravel promises that when he becomes a leading presidential candidate, he'll continue to say the same things he says now as a bottom-tier Democratic aspirant.

The former U.S. Senator from Alaska said he will speak about, among other things, his push for a federal ballot initiative that would allow citizens to share legislative powers with Congress, and his support for decriminalizing marijuana and selling it in liquor stores.

"I'm at an age where I can care less," Gravel said Friday in an interview with The Telegraph editorial board. "I'm not motivated by greed. I could care less. I came out of the Senate with less money than before I went in."

(Continue to the full article)

Gravel Responds to Being Banned from NBC Debate

Mike Gravel's statement to NBC News:

"It is clear that NBC just wants me out of the race. This was made evident by the fact that NBC did not even inform me of its arbitrary criteria before making the decision to stifle my  campaign. NBC's Todd waited until 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19, to inform my staff that I was not invited to the Oct. 30 debate at Drexel University in Philadelphia.  That's a fact!

Since I announced my candidacy for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States on April 17, 2006, I have certainly traveled to New Hampshire and Iowa at least 14 times. And, according to a recent CNN poll, I am tied with Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich and Chris Dodd.

NBC claims I haven't raised enough money to qualify. I'm proud of the fact that I don't collect millions from special interests (or fugitives like Norman Hsu). The reason why Senator Hillary Clinton seems to have a fundraising scandal every month is because money has corrupted our democracy. By stifling my voice on the basis of fundraising dollars, NBC is reinforcing the power of money over our national political discussion and our freedom."

(Read his full response here)

Gravel Will Not Participate in Next Debate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Gravel will not be part of the next Democratic presidential debate, Oct. 30 in Philadelphia.

The former Alaska senator did not meet fundraising and polling requirements for the forum, said NBC News political director Chuck Todd.

The two-hour debate, sponsored by NBC News and the Democratic National Committee, will be telecast on MSNBC. Brian Williams will moderate.

All the other Democratic candidates are expecting to participate, including Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd; former Sen. John Edwards; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

Gravel has been a lively presence in past debates despite having no campaign staff to speak of and virtually no money. He has raised about $287,000 overall and had $17,000 on hand at the end of the quarter that ended Sept. 30.

By contrast, Clinton has about $35 million on hand for the primary season, and Obama has over $32 million.

A fierce critic of the Iraq war, Gravel has challenged other candidates to step up their efforts to end the conflict.

He told Clinton at the last debate he was ashamed of her for voting for a Senate resolution declaring the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. Earlier this year in a discussion about using nuclear weapons against Iran, he confronted Obama.

"Tell me Barack, who do you want to nuke?" Gravel said.

"I'm not planning on nuking anybody right now, Mike," Obama replied.

This Democrat doesn't shun Florida

This Democrat doesn't shun Florida

The sparse crowds that attend Mike Gravel's events like his ideas but hold little hope.

By JACOB H. FRIES, Times Staff Writer
Published October 18, 2007

---

CLEARWATER -- Mike Gravel seemed more concerned about the wasted food. He had just finished a campaign stop and was at Sam Seltzer's Steakhouse for a fundraiser.

There were platters of crackers, cheese, fruit and shrimp, but no one there to eat them.

"I'm sorry," Bertrand Burnbaum, an organizer, told Gravel. "If we just had more time, we could have got some people here."

It was just another day on the campaign trail for Gravel, who made several stops in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday. The former Alaska senator vying for the Democratic presidential nomination has been called the longest of long shots, Candidate Asterisk, the one who provides "comic relief" in a campaign full of overly scripted encounters.

But for all the derisive descriptions, Gravel is the one and only Democratic candidate willing to campaign in the Sunshine State. The rest of the field has signed a pledge to boycott Florida because the state scheduled its primary too early.

Even though he has Florida to himself, Gravel lacks name recognition. He has been out of the public eye for a generation.

Gravel grew up in Springfield, Mass., served a stint in the Army in the 1950s and was elected to the Senate in 1968, where he became a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War. But after he lost his seat in 1980, he disappeared from the spotlight.

Now at 77, with polls showing his support at 1 percent, Gravel has entered the race to talk about three main issues: ending the Iraq war, eliminating the income tax in favor of a national sales tax and establishing his National Initiative, which would allow citizens to add proposed laws to the national ballot.

So far, however, he has received more attention for his off-the-cuff comments in the Democratic debates. In one, he said his fellow candidates "frighten me."

In the third quarter of this year, he raised $130,000 to Hillary Rodham Clinton's $27-million.

Nicole Sullo, a nurse from Port Richey, said she didn't know much about Gravel besides his stance on drugs (he favors legalizing marijuana). She came to an event at St. Petersburg College to hear more.

"He's not going to win, but maybe can get these big guys to answer some questions, God forbid," Sullo, 34, said before Gravel arrived. "It seems like he has some guts."

Sullo's mother, Barbara, interjected, "He has guts because he knows he's not going anywhere."

Without an entourage or even an introduction, Gravel slid into the college auditorium mostly unnoticed. He wore khaki pants and a blue blazer, and just as he reached the front, people recognized him and began applauding. About 200 people filled the auditorium, many of them students whose teachers offered extra credit to attend.

Gravel first explained his pet issues and then fielded questions from the audience on topics ranging from gay marriage to energy to health care. As much as anything, his answers communicated disgust -- with the Bush administration, fellow Democrats and the general state of the country.

"We spend more money on defense than the rest of the world combined," he said, his voice shaking with anger. "Who are we afraid of?"

On global warming and oil: "We may cook the human race off the face of the Earth in the next 100 years. ... I can get this country off of gasoline in five years."

At the end, before thanking the crowd and leaving for Sam Seltzer's, he left the audience with this message: "You can't believe what they've done to you."

Gravel stayed at the steakhouse for a half hour, nibbling on food and talking on a cell phone. Then he went to the University of South Florida for another speech. This one was attended by about 45 students.

Gravel looked across the room and noticed how young the crowd was.

"Many of you weren't alive when I left office," he said.

For the next 15 minutes, he talked about the Constitution, American history and his activism during the Vietnam War. He seemed tired, his voice bereft of its usual passion.

Then a man raised his hand, said he wanted a Democrat in the White House and asked Gravel what makes him most electable?

"You are interested in power over substance," he said, outraged. "I am not afraid. I am going after the military industrial complex."

Several jumped from their seats and clapped.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/18/State/This_Democrat_doesn_t.shtml