The Canadian National Newspaper: Inside the U.S. Presidential Campaign Trail: Senator Mike Gravel's Vision for America

Inside the U.S. Presidential Campaign Trail: Senator Mike Gravel's Vision for America

by Mindi Iden
Mike Gravel Campaign 2008

Most people do not know who Senator Mike Gravel is and what he has accomplished as Senator.

On Health care, he is one of the few candidates who advocates a truly universal healthcare system. The United States is one of only a handful of industrialized nations that do not provide healthcare to their citizens.

The Senator’s plan, which is called the HEALTH SECURITY SYSTEM, provides each American with an annual healthcare certificate that covers basic medical services. Each American uses their certificate to purchase a BASIC HEALTH SERVICE PLAN from either a limited number of private health insurance providers or a government “Medicare type” service plan.

The difference is the private health insurance providers compete on administrative costs and efficiencies -- not on the kinds of health services that are provided.

The government will define the basic services that the plans must offer. No American is denied healthcare, and the costs would not be placed on the backs of businesses.

The Senator believes that education is a right for all Americans. Did you know that 1/3 of our High School students don’t graduate? We need to provide funding for public education systems from kindergarten through our higher education.

In today’s high-tech world, we should be extending school hours for children and reducing summer vacations to better educate America’s youth and keep them competitive with children from Asia and Europe. No Child Left Behind: Let’s do away with it! It clearly hasn’t worked. It has failed our schools; it has failed our teachers and it has failed our children.

With a degree in economics from Columbia University, Senator Gravel has revolutionary plans for fixing the economy. In the past two decades, Americans have been led to believe that debt is wealth. This has led to record levels of debt… this threatens the foundation of our country. We need to reverse this trend by encouraging Americans to start saving again. We can do this by reforming the manner in which the federal government collects its revenue. Lets do away with the inherently regressive income tax, and replace it with a progressive Fair Tax -- a retail sales tax on new goods and services -- Senator Gravel believes we can encourage Americans to start saving again.

We’ve watched as those in power have irresponsibly borrowed against Social Security to finance more wars and spending. Meanwhile, the divide between the rich and the poor has only grown…wars not only damage generations of young men and women, they also destroy families.

The first thing Senator Gravel would do as President would be to end the war in Iraq immediately. He would then sit down with the parties in the region - the Iraqis, the Iranians, the Syrians, the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the Saudis - and discuss ways to stop the bloodshed.

Security is on the minds of all Americans. Senator Gravel believes that the radicalization of Muslims is the result of decades of bad policy in the Middle East.

Ending the killing and treating other countries as equals is a good place to start. Terrorism has been with us since the dawn of civilization. Terrorism should be handled with police work not dropping bombs on cities and towns.

There is one thing that Mike is not afraid of that is taking risks and leading for the good of the people.

We [Americans]…everyone, every citizen of our nation, owe a debt of gratitude to this candidate for making it possible that… “We the People”…decide whether we should place ourselves… and most directly you… in harm’s way. During his tenure in the Senate, Gravel was known as a critic of the Vietnam War. He waged a nearly five-month long, one-man filibuster against the renewal of the military draft... You [Americans] can also thank Senator Gravel that your children are not going to be drafted and sent to Iraq!

Gravel was also against nuclear testing in the North Pacific, which would have affected the food chain of the North Pacific and helped organize a worldwide environmental opposition to the Pentagon’s plan’s which halted the program.

While Senator in Alaska, he was responsible for the construction of the Alaska pipelin; despite opposition by all of the oil companies and Congress... virtually alone in the beginning. He built support and gained allies. This amendment passed by one vote! The Alaska pipeline is responsible for 20% of the United States’ oil supply. And he did it without environmental problems. He worked for the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

He then (risking jail time), read the Pentagon Papers into public record. Exposing the lies of the administration; the Pentagon Papers in effect helped end the Vietnam War!

That was leadership then and that is the leadership he will be as President of the United States.

In the spring of 2002 Senator Gravel was one of the first current, or former, federal elected official to oppose the planned invasion of Iraqi. Most of the other candidates flip flop on their positions about Iraq.

Senator Gravel speaks directly and openly to the American people. We need to stop spending our money on this war, stop threatening other countries, and stop seeking to increase the military. We already spend more than half of all our money on the military and that doesn’t even include the cost of the Iraq War. The military-industrial complex controls our government.

We need to spend our money not on war and military build up; we need to spend it on renewable energy, to get off of oil in 5 years and off of carbon in 10. We all know that oil is not a viable solution. Our CO2 output is destroying this planet, causing the extinction of many species and the human race is going to be one of them if we don’t turn this around immediately.

Under a Gravel Administration we would stop feeding the Military Industrial Complex and the Big Money Corporatocracy and start nurturing the Renewable Energy solution. This is something we Americans could be proud of. Under a Gravel Administration we would have Universal Healthcare, Quality Education, and a Fair Tax. We would have Net Neutrality and most importantly, we would have a plan to empower the American people to vote directly on the issues. This is the only way to wrestle the control of our government away from Corporations, Big Money Lobbyists and the military-industrial complex.

1. He advocates an immediate and orderly withdrawal of American troops back to the United States. Look up General William Odom’s essay on Iraq at the Hudson Institute. You will see this not a “far left” idea … but a policy based on the political and military realities in the Middle East and the Islamic world.

2. The troops would be replaced by aggressive and artful diplomacy that would bring in our traditional partners; as well as the region’s nations and begin a dialogue with those countries, with which we have major differences.

3. As a U.S. veteran, the Senator will end the war against the veterans! They deserve and will get all the funding necessary for treatment.

4. He would implement a “Fair Tax”: a national sales tax to replace the federal income tax and do away with the IRS.

One area that I feel is important to you and to everyone in this nation is called the National Initiative. We need to empower every American to take the initiative and empower the people… all of us… to make laws at every level of government.

Since the People’s record is so good at the state and local levels of government why can’t Americans make laws at the federal level in partnership with their elected representatives? This is a way the internet will empower us all; you will be able to see the bill and vote on the internet… it is your right!

We need to keep the top tier candidates on the issues, we need someone who is not afraid speak up for our rights.

And all you need to know about Senator Gravel and supporting him in his race for President is available at LINK.

Make comments about this article in The Canadian Blog.

Are you an articulate writer who represents a U.S. Presidential campaign? Propose your editorial submission to, LINK

Become a Member:

Would you like to see other similar articles and critical commentaries in The Canadian National Newspaper? Then, show your support. Make a member-pledge donation, in support of the Membership Drive of the Pro-Democracy Media Foundation.

The Canadian can only continue to publish investigative articles in such areas, with the donations from members of the public in Canada, the U.S., and abroad. Consider making a donation of $50.00, $75.00, $100.00, $200.00 or more. Donors are eligible to receive our first collector's print edition in mail. Alternatively, you can send us a note to be placed on our special email list of members. Member-donors can also suggest articles or commentaries to be published in The Canadian.

The Canadian is a socially progressive and not-for-profit national newspaper, with an international readership. We provide an alternative to the for-profit commercial focused media, which often censors vital information and perspective of potential interest to the diverse Canadian public, and other peoples internationally.