Mike Gravel

Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel (pronounced "Gravelle," not Gra-vel") was a former Democratic senator from Alaska, and "a Bernie more Bernie than Bernie could be." He briefly ran for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2008 (doing so again in 2020), then switched his affiliation in March 2008 to unsuccessfully seek the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. He is otherwise best known for his career in the U.S. Senate during the 1970s. His later political activities included campaigning for a national initiative and referendum to be implemented at the federal level in the United States.
==Background==
Gravel was born in Massachusetts to French-speaking immigrants from Canada, and he learned English at age seven. He also suffered from dyslexia, which he was bullied over by some teachers. After working in local politics some, he ran counterintelligence for the US Army during the Cold War. About his move to Alaska: he actually claimed that he moved there specifically so he could successfully run for office. He elaborated on this story to one reporter, saying that on his way there he had to pawn his gun to pay for a speeding fine.
==Senatorial career==
Gravel served as a Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1981. His most notable achievements during this time were filibustering the Vietnam draft twice, appealing a case to the Supreme Court to have the Pentagon Papers read into the record,Mike Gravel, former U.S. senator for Alaska who objected to wars, dies at 91, Tampa Bay News, June 27, 2021 and opposing nuclear testing in Alaska.Former Alaska senator Mike Gravel, who speeded construction of Trans Alaska oil pipeline, dead at 91, Frontiersman, June 28, 2021 
He lost his seat in the 1980 election due largely to an anti-incumbent backlash in Alaska over the Alaska Lands Conservation Act, which passed in 1980. That Gravel had opposed the Act and even tried to filibuster it didn't matter; Gravel had earlier opposed and successfully blocked a weaker "compromise" lands bill, and because of this he got the blame for the stronger bill passing. Alaskans were pissed off enough that he lost the Democratic primary.Maverick Gravel Is Defeated, New York Times, August 28, 1980 Clark Gruening, the victorious Democrat, then lost the general election to Republican Frank Murkowski, father of current Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.
==2008 US presidential election==
He was pro-choice on everything, ranging from abortion to gay marriage and pot. His pro-gay policy stemmed partly from his experience working in the Army, and one of his aims was to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.Andrew Belonsky (June 8, 2007). "Exclusive: Gravel on The Gays". Queerty. While he supported the FairTax initiative, just like Jesus's homeboy, Gravel called his version the "Progressive FairTax," which included a full rebate for necessities like food. Sweet… caviar! He was in favor of a carbon tax and international action on climate change, as well as a new guest worker program. He was also highly against the war in Iraq, as many libertarians were.
Gravel was officially a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church, though he was suspected of being a deep-cover atheist, or at least some kind of non-believer. He communicated support for the Rational Response Squad during his 2008 campaign, supported more funding and rigor in science education, and opposed creationism. Gravel also released a video on YouTube called "The Oppressive Nature of Religion" and dodged questions on his belief in religion at debates, saying that our society should be guided by love and not religion.RRS on Gravel, Gravel: "Oppressive Nature of Religion, Gravel debate
Gravel supported a constitutional amendment that would allow voter initiatives and referendums on a federal level, similar to the system in Switzerland… but bigger. He supported the impeachment of Curious George. He also supported universal healthcarehttp://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/28278-mike-gravel-wants-universal-health-care and for college tuition to be paid by government,http://www.pewforum.org/2008/11/04/religion-and-politics-08-mike-gravel/ both rather contrary to pure libertarianism.
Finally, his 2008 run drew some amused attention through his bizarre, " campaign ads.Radley Balko (July 5, 2007). "Mike Gravel: Dadaist Performance Guru". Reason. In one ad named "Rock", he stares at the camera for one minute in silence, then tosses a boulder into a lake.Crispin Sartwell (July 5, 2007). "Mike Gravel's ripple effect". The Los Angeles Times.(May 27, 2007). "Mike Gravel - Rock". YouTube. In another named "Fire", he gathers firewood, then the camera watches a campfire for seven minutes.(May 28, 2007). "Mike Gravel - Fire". YouTube. He explains that second one as a metaphor, with the fire representing the light of knowledge.(2007). "Senator Mike Gravel: Fundraising in Boulder". Fox31 News (KDVR), clipped via YouTube. He also recorded a vignette with Lady Gaga, which contains a line about "albino transvestites".Matt Stieb (June 28, 2021). "Remembering Mike Gravel With the Kids Who Ran His Campaign". New York."Gravel Goes Gaga!". YouTube. Though, that seems to have been in 2010, a bit after his run."Gravel Goes Gaga!". IMDb.
==2020 US presidential election==
Gravel formed an exploratory committee on March 19, 2019,Mike Gravel for President Exploratory Committee Federal Election Commission. 03/19/2019. and made his FEC filing the next month.STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY Federal Election Commission. 04/02/19. This was thought to have been a trolling attempt after the FEC filing was traced by a Politico reporter back to a New York teenager, but it turned out to be real.Jamie Lauren Keiles (June 6, 2019). "Are These Teenagers Really Running a Presidential Campaign? Yes. (Maybe.)" The New York Times Magazine. Peculiarly, the 2020 run was in fact mostly driven by a couple of random teenagers, from start to finish. The two (who became known as the Gravel Teens) were the ones to initially draft Gravel for another presidential run (after they heard about him from — no kidding — the podcast and they operated his social media. One of the teens, a high school student, complained that he had to go to school and help manage the campaign at the same time.Zach Montellaro (March 20, 2019). "'Do you know how old I am?': Teens draft Gravel to run for president". Politico. Gravel retained a veto power over the campaign's Twitter posts, using it once to prevent the teens from using foul language.Camilo Montoya-Galvez (June 10, 2019). "'It's been their show': Mike Gravel credits pair of teens for running 2020 campaign". CBS News. Nevertheless, Gravel's Twitter and Instagram accounts became known for their haphazard, meme-oriented posts, essentially becoming socialist Twitter's plaything.
Unlike the other candidates, Gravel clarified he was not running to actually win the nomination, but to bring left-wing ideas to the Democratic primary debate stage.Mike Gravel announces run for president to get into debates, not to win The Hill. 04/04/19. In such a crowded field including other progressives like Bernie Sanders, Marianne Williamson, and Elizabeth Warren, he never distinguished himself well enough to get on the debate stage, and dropped out early on.
His official platform included the following positions:
*Enacting Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All and eliminating private health insurance.Gravel 2020 Platform
*Enacting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal.
*Creating a free public tax preparation and tax filing program.
*Abolishing the NSA, ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.
*Abolishing the electoral college, instilling a ranked choice voting system, and establishing automatic voter registration.
*Banning the death penalty, cash bail, solitary confinement, mandatory minimum sentences and private prisons.
*Repealing the USA PATRIOT Act.
*Closing all offshore military bases, cutting military aid to Saudi Arabia and Israel, withdrawing all abroad soldiers back to the United States, ending the use of drones, and renaming the Department of Defense to the "Department of War".
*Investing $1.5 trillion in infrastructure.
==Crankery and conspiracy theories==
Gravel was a 9/11 "truther" and supported a new investigation into the attacks.http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/09/senator-engineers-911-controlled-demolitions/ In 2016, he said "there's no question in my mind that 9/11 was an inside job":Cheadle, Harry. "Mike Gravel, the Online Left-Wing Sensation, Is Also a 9/11 Truther". Vice. March 22, 2019.
In April 2019, Gravel said "there had to be somebody that was planting the explosives in these buildings which came down by controlled demolition": 
Later in April, he discussed 9/11 with David Pakman:David Pakman Show: "David & Senator Mike Gravel Debate 9/11 Conspiracies". YouTube. April 25, 2019. https://www.adn.com/commentary/article/former-senators-crazy-ideas-turn-out-be-mainstream/2016/04/26/
In addition to being a 9/11 truther, Gravel believed that the government covered up the existence of UFOs. In 2013, he attended a "citizens hearing" on the subject. Some of this former Alaska Senators ideas weren't so crazy after all April 2019/.
In 2013, Gravel attended the in Iran, a conference promoting Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories which was attended by several Holocaust deniers and other unsavoury figures. At the conference, he was photographed alongside E. Michael Jones.Kareem Rifai: "Mike Gravel at a Holocaust denial conference in Iran". Twitter. April 14 2021.
According to LaRouche PAC, Gravel signed a motion in 2019 to "exonerate" Lyndon LaRouche.(April 10, 2019). "VIPs Calling for Lyndon LaRouche's Exoneration". LaRouche PAC. Previously, Gravel had spoken at LaRouche-sponsored events, though his teenage spokesperson informs us:
In a 2006/2007 interview, Gravel stated:
==Why the switch?==
Gravel switched to the Libertarian Party because of his opposition to war, not because he was a right-winger. He felt that the DNC was being unfair to him and too friendly to Obama and Bill Clinton (sound familiar?). Gravel also decided that he owed his libertarian friends a favor, and seemed really enthusiastic about the libertarians — until he found out what freedom the Libertarians were really for: the "free" market. Gravel went back to the Democrats with his tail between his legs after the convention — a reminder to everyone to steer away from peer pressure.
==The Gravel Institute==
In 2020, he used some of the leftover money from his presidential candidacy to found the Gravel Institute, which aims to counter right wing misinformation. The videos use a similar format to PragerU, which the institute intends to counter, by featuring well known speakers (such as and with planned appearances from Bernie Sanders and Chelsea Manning) in five to ten minute videos. The day to day operation of the channel was originally handled mostly by the same two teenagers who ran his 2020 campaign,https://www.mic.com/p/can-the-gravel-institute-compete-with-the-right-wing-youtube-machine-48130839 but in 2022 they revealed a new board of directors which includes New York state senator law professor CEO Hicham Oudghiri, and former Ohio state senator and House candidate About, The Gravel Institute They have over 387k followers on TwitterGravel Institute Twitter and over 395K subscribers on YouTube as of August 2022.The Gravel Institute Social Blade
The institute has featured such dubious lefty luminaries as Slavoj Žižek, Bhaskar Sunkara (Jacobin magazine) and David Cross.
The institute has been known to sometimes promote apologia for ruthless dictators with false assertions, even dead ones, like Muammar al-Gaddafi in a post that was subsequently deleted. The institute falsely claimed and later apologized for claiming that the Wagner Group did not express Nazi ideology.
In the days preceding the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, The Gravel Institute was promoting claims eerily similar to Russian propaganda amid increasing threats of military intervention by Russia and pleas for Western military aid by Ukraine.Deleted Tweets Reveal a Progressive Group’s Ukraine Meltdown by William Bredderman (Published Feb. 25, 2022 9:32PM ET; Updated Feb. 26, 2022 3:12AM ET) The Daily Beast. After the actual invasion, the institute suddenly became embarrassed by the obsequious attachment to Putin and began deleting the posts, in addition to changing a video's title and description about Ukraine, and later deleting/privating said video. The video in question could still be viewed on their Facebook page as recently as late April 2022, but this has also been removed.The Gravel Institute - How Ukraine (Actually) Fell Apart
In 2023, the group's website shut down, apparently as a result of a lack of funding.
==External links==
*Official site
*YouTube channel (Last upload was in 2010)
*The Gravel Institute
==References==
Category:2008 US Presidential candidates
Category:2020 US Presidential candidates
Category:9/11 truthers
Category:Anti-imperialism
Category:Anti-war activists
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Category:Conspiracy theorists
Category:Former United States Senators
Category:LaRouche movement
Category:Left-wing activists
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Category:United States politicians
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