The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
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Dem hopeful speaks to students
Gravel speaks to EMU on Iraq, immigration and taxes
By Dan DuChene, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: December 13, 2007
While presidential hopeful Mike Gravel said he has garnered a lot of attention in the Democratic primary race, he doesn't expect to get the bid from his party.
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In a campaign stop made at Eastern Michigan University's Student Center Dec. 6, the former U.S. senator from Alaska said he intends to use what attention he has acquired to run for president under a different party.
The self-described "colorful individual" said he is considering running for the position with the Green or Libertarian parties.
After being blocked by fellow party members, Gravel said he feels some animosity from the Democratic Party. He said he has some proof to that effect, and he has plans to go public with it.
"It may end up on YouTube at some point," Gravel said.
One of four Democrats running in Michigan's primary, Gravel said he disagreed with other candidates who chose to not run because the state moving its election up to Jan. 15.
"I think it was stupid of the Democratic leadership to punish Michigan," he said. "I'm here in Michigan and I hope you'll look at my candidacy and do something about it."
Whether or not he continues the race as a Democrat, Gravel said the platform of his candidacy is empowering the citizens in the country to take a more active role in politics.
"The power of government is lawmaking," Gravel told the crowded room. "I want to empower you to become lawmakers."
Using Article VII of the U.S. Constitution, Gravel said he intends to rely on private citizens to introduce legislation to Congress. He said the government has become increasingly corrupted by money, and hopes increased involvement from the populace would improve things.
"You'll do a better job than your leaders," Gravel said.
Gravel said he would make several other changes to the structure of the government, including disbanding the Electoral College setting term limits to justices on the U.S. Supreme Court and limiting his own powers as president.
Another major platform for his campaign is the so-called "fair tax."
Also touted by Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, a former governor from Arkansas, the plan would do away with the income tax altogether and rely solely on a national sales tax to generate revenue for the government.
Gravel said the system would prove to be a more progressive tax than an income tax because of lavish spending by the wealthy and rebates provided by the government for sales made on essential goods and services. He said the current income tax system allows the wealthier to pay a lesser portion of their income than the average taxpayer because of exemptions and a bracketed rate formula.
"For the first time in the history of this country, we'll have a fair, transparent system of taxation," Gravel said. "We'll tax existing wealth and we won't tax wages."
Aside from making the tax system fairer, he said the "fair tax" would change the inherent practices of the U.S. economy by encouraging people to save instead of spend. He said it would cause the economy to stabilize, but still allow it to increase and remain healthy.
"We'll be like the Asian tigers," Gravel said.
"Trust me," he said, "until we put a system like this into place, you will never solve any of your domestic issues."
Gravel, who said he was an outspoken opponent to the Vietnam War during his time in the U.S. Senate from 1969 to 1981, said he is adamantly opposed to U.S. military involvement in Iraq.
Along with a five-month filibuster in the U.S. Senate that helped to end the draft in 1973, Gravel was also responsible for introducing the so-called "Pentagon Papers" into the public Congressional Record in 1971.
"This is despicable," Gravel said of the war. "It's lying to the American people."
Not only did he say he'd begin moving U.S. troops from Iraq with immediately if he were elected, he said he would form a commission to look into the "criminality" of what lead to the invasion and subsequent armed conflict.
"They will be prosecuted to the full extant of the law," Gravel said of the current administration, including President Bush. "It's murder."
Gravel's plan to withdraw from Iraq includes having all troops out within 120 days and investing $30 billion into the Iraqi government through programs similar to the "New Deal" during the Great Depression. He said he would remove all U.S. contractors from the country, shrink the U.S. embassy and enlist the help of Iran, Syria, Israel and Turkey to fight the al-Qaida presence.
On other issues, Gravel said he is pro-choice and supports gay rights.
"I want to be the poster boy of the gay community," he told the audience.
Gravel said he would open up borders to immigrants to the U.S. He said he would dissolve border guards and allow workers to come and go at will. He said the government is having so much trouble solving the "immigration problem" because there isn't one.
"They're just a bunch of rednecks," he said of those who want to toughen the U.S. immigration policy. "It's just silliness."
When asked about how his policy would affect terrorism, he said it wouldn't because the two issues are unrelated.
"Terrorism is a criminal problem, treat it as a criminal problem," Gravel said. "We don't have to punish ourselves."
Like his stance on immigration, Gravel said the problems the U.S. has with drug abuse are unsolvable because there is no actual problem.
"The only problem is the War on Drugs, not the drugs themselves," he said. "Get a prescription—legalize it."
Gravel said marijuana isn't an intoxicant, addictive or a "gateway drug." He said all recreational drugs are similar in nature to current prescription drugs and should be available from a doctor.
"Of course I've smoked pot. It doesn't do anything for me," he said. When asked about cocaine, he said, "I'll never do that again."
Armen Boyagian, a senior at EMU studying political science, said he found the speech "enlightening."
Boyagian said, "He made a lot of sense.
"It's different but it is worth a shot," he said. "We need a change in policy, domestically and abroad."
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