Mike Gravel for President 2008
Alaska's Senator Mike Gravel Announces His Candidacy!
Mike Gravel, who represented Alaska as a maverick Democratic Senate from 1969 to 1981, has announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination with a press conference at the National Press Club.
As it happens, I just heard Senator Gravel on CSPAN, announcing his candidacy. On the strength of his record of public service, most especially his standing alone and tall during the Vietnam war, I declare this site, Gravel Country.
I remember now, only vaguely all the way back to 1971,
...during the struggle over the Pentagon Papers, the secret official study that detailed how missteps and manipulations by successive U.S. administrations and their agents had created the quagmire that was the Vietnam War.He's been on the right side of history all his life. Unlike 90% of other candidates, he's not going to change now that he's running.
Daniel Ellsberg, a military analyst, provoked a national uproar when he put the report in the hands of the New York Times, which published portions of it in June of that year. The Justice Department moved to block further publication of information from the Pentagon Papers and to punish newspaper publishers who revealed the contents.
At that point, Gravel, a war critic, stepped in. The senator tried to read the contents of the study into the Senate record and to release them to the public, arguing that he had the authority to do so as a senator communicating with his constituents. He then sought to publish the papers in book form as The Senator Gravel Edition, The Pentagon Papers [Beacon Press].
When Justice Department went after the senator and his publisher, Gravel fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court. While lower courts expressed sympathy for the Gravel's stance, the high court rejected his claim that as a senator he had a right and a responsibility to share official documents with his constituents. Fortunately for Gravel, publicity surrounding the case was so damning to the administration's position that it finally backed off.
posted by Vigilante at 4/22/2006 09:20:00 PM
3 Moderated Comments:
Apropos your comments about the backbone Mike Gravel showed in bringing the Pentagon Papers to the American people, check out Daniel Ellsberg's op/ed piece in the 6/11/06 edition of the Los Angeles Times. Deja vu all over again? Gravel's candidacy for President in 2008 is anything BUT business as usual.
Mike Gravel.....you seriously need to take a look at this guy. I think he's a slime. In the late eighties he attempted to take over a Alaska native corporation using lies and deciept, and catering to a naive disident group within the corporation. He claimed the Corporation owed him $3 million dollars which was nonsense and it was simply an attempt at extortion. I was there and saw it all. He lied, threatened, and bullied. He lost. And was sued by management and lost those law suits. He's a slime ball.
20 Years ago? Come on, anonymous, you are so embarrassed about what you did 20 years ago, you don't even leave your name, much less a nickname. Geta a life.
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