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MY DETAILS
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MEMBER SINCE:
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28 Oct 2007, 2:19 pm |
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LAST LOGIN:
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16 Feb 2008, 8:12 pm |
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Schools
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Columbia University
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Mi Mundo y Political Views
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The following is a summary of Senator Mike Gravel's positions.
The National Initiative
One of the most important contributions to good governance since our nation's founding, the National Initiative grants citizens the power to put measures on national ballots.
The Iraq War
Senator Gravel advocates an immediate and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops. His current plan, if enacted, would have all U.S. soldiers home by Christmas 2007.
Iran and Syria
Senator Gravel opposes a military confrontation with Iran and Syria and advocates a diplomatic solution to the current situation.
Global Warming—Climate Change
Senator Gravel believes that global climate change is a matter of national security and survivability of the planet. As President, he will act swiftly to reduce America's carbon footprint in the world by initiating legislation to tax carbon at the source and cap carbon emissions. He will also initiate a massive scientific effort, integrating the world's scientific and engineering community, to end energy dependence on oil and integrate the world's scientific community in this task.
Progressive Fair Tax—A Green Tax
Senator Gravel's Progressive Fair Tax proposal calls for eliminating the IRS and the income tax and replacing it with a national sales tax on new products and services. To compensate for the tax on necessities, such as food, lodging, transportation and clothing, there would be a "rebate" to reimburse taxpayers. This would be paid in a monthly check from the government to all citizens.
Universal Healthcare Vouchers
Senator Gravel advocates a universal healthcare system that provides equal medical services to all citizens, paid for by a retail sales tax (a portion of the Progressive Fair tax). Citizens would pay nothing for health benefits.
Reproductive Rights
Senator Gravel supports a woman's right to decide if and when to have children and to make the difficult decision about abortion without interference by government.
Immigration
While Senator Gravel supports protecting our borders, he also advocates a guest worker program and naturalization procedures that fairly bring immigrants into legal status. He would also address the root cause of illegal immigration: NAFTA.
LGBT Rights
Senator Gravel supports same-sex marriage and opposes the Defense of Marriage Act. He also strongly opposes the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" legislation on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.
Social Security—Stop the Rip-off
Senator Gravel wants to put real money, rather than borrowed money, in the Social Security Trust Fund. He advocates investing it properly and identifying the interests of individual beneficiaries so they can know what their retirement fund is and leave surplus funds to heirs.
Education
Senator Gravel supports re-ordering national budget priorities in order to improve the American education system. He supports government funding of education from pre-kindergarten to higher education.
Veterans Affairs
As President, Senator Gravel would ensure that veterans receive full and unambiguous funding for their most important needs, including treatment for post traumatic stress disorder.
War on Drugs Failure
The War on Drugs has been a failure. It is time to end prohibition and start treating addiction as a public health problem.
Net Neutrality
Senator Gravel supports a free and open Internet with unlimited access to all sites regardless of content. He will do this by supporting legislation and regulation that keeps you in control of your internet usage and promotes free speech.
For more detailed explanations of Senator's Gravel issues, please see the PDF booklet, 'Mike Gravel: Man for America,' available at his website: gravel2008.us
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About Yourself
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Senator Mike Gravel: Man for America
Mike Gravel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, to French Canadian immigrants. He attended French-speaking Catholic schools, and as a teenager, when he wasn’t working with his father and brothers in the house painting and construction business, he volunteered in local Springfield politics, developing an avid interest in governance and government.
In the early 1950s, Mike Gravel enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as adjutant in the Communications Intelligence Service and as a Special Agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps in Germany and France.
After graduating with a B.S. in economics from Columbia University, Mike Gravel moved to Alaska, where he built a real estate business. He served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1963 to 1966, and was then elected to two terms in the U.S. Senate, representing Alaska from 1969 to 1981.
Senator Gravel served on the Finance, Interior, and Environment and Public Works committees, chairing the Energy, Water Resources, Buildings and Grounds, and the Environmental Pollution subcommittees. During the environmental watershed decade of the 1970s, he co-sponsored or co-authored every piece of meaningful Senate legislation dealing with air, water, waste and energy.
In 1971, as a freshman senator critical of the Vietnam War and of government secrecy, Mike Gravel used his position as a senator to release the “secret” Pentagon Papers and facilitated their publication as The Senator Gravel Edition, The Pentagon Papers, Beacon Press (1971). This publication occasioned litigation, Gravel v. U.S. Government, resulting in a landmark Supreme Court decision relative to the Speech and Debate Clause of the United States Constitution, establishing the precedent that members of Congress cannot be bound by the official secrets of any presidential administration.
Senator Gravel waged a successful lone filibuster for five months, ending the military draft in the United States. He forced an end to the undersea testing of obsolete nuclear warheads in the earthquake-prone area of Amchitka Island, Alaska, which could have compromised the food chain of the North Pacific. He also initiated the national and global critique of nuclear power generation.
Despite being opposed by both government entities and the oil industry, in 1973 Senator Gravel introduced the amendment to authorize the construction of the Alaska oil pipeline, building support and allies to secure passage of the amendment by a single vote. In addition to providing jobs and a wide array of economic benefits to citizens of Alaska, the pipeline has been responsible for providing 20 percent of the United States’ oil supply over the last generation.
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My Comments
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