On Monday, April 17, Mike Gravel will announce to the National Press Club that he is running for President of the United States. Who is Mike Gravel, you ask?
Think back to the days of the Vietnam War. Mike Gravel was a Democratic US Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1980. He was central in ending the military draft and in getting the Pentagon Papers released to the press.
Gravel is clearly an idealist: “The Democratic Party has to stand for something if it wants power,” he says.
On many issues, Mike Gravel looks appealing. He’s against he Iraq War and against government secrecy.
Ah, but then there’s that tax thing. Gravel wants to repeal corporate and federal income taxes and replace them with a 23 percent national sales tax. Um, aren’t sales taxes regressive, putting a bigger burden on lower and middle income Americans than they put on high income Americans? I want to hear Gravel’s explanation of this policy.
Gravel2008.com is under construction. It looks like we’ll be able to learn more about this interesting candidate soon.
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Mike Gravel for President bumper stickers
Whatever happened to Mike Gravel, then?