PBS Newshour: Mike Gravel Interview, Pt. 1

[Hissyspit]

Run time: 10:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nJSQmDuRdc   Posted on YouTube: October 02, 2007 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: October 02, 2007 By DU Member: Hissyspit Views on DU: 1188

 
October 01, 2007 - NEWS HOUR

[Deep13]

1. Should it bug me that the fringe candidate makes perfect sense?

:shrug:

[frog92969]

4. YES, it should!

Kucinich/Gravel - Gravel/Kucinich, I honestly wouldn't care.

[gateley]

6. I could go along with that -- gladly!

[Magleetis]

2. I saw this

last night and a chill went up my spine. This guy is for real. He makes far too much sense to be elected President.

[iamthebandfanman]

3. and yet

a majority of people around here call him crazy....


crazy like a fox, thats what i say.
lol

[gateley]

5. Prepare to continue being impressed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5ks8hz5Ulg

I've posted a link to this video a few times and nobody took notice -- I assume because it was 'wacky Gravel'.

In this vid he recounts his filibuster for ending the draft (which he never gets credit for) and how he introduced the Pentagon Papers into the public record.

I was laughing through the whole thing -- he sure can tell a story!

If you DO view it, please let me know what you think, if so inclined.

[Plucketeer]

7. I watched him last night....

.....and I wondered aloud, why he's not more popular, why he's considered weird or whacky, why we don't seek REAL PEOPLE like this to represent us in government. Of course, HE summed up those questions pretty well in this piece. "Little Guy" ain't got the money to command the microphone and so we suffer to those who do.
I think alot of the populace has gotten so conditioned to looking for convolution as a sign of intellect, that they're wary of common sense answers. It sounds too simple so the guy/gal musn't have a "grip" on things.
BTW, I'm aware of the "plain spoken" idiot we suffer under now. There's a difference in being plain spoken and speaking the plain truth. BIG difference!

:-(

[gateley]

8. I like your post. Good points -- thanks. nt

[gateley]

9. And Welcome to DU -- Glad you're here!

:hi:

[rabies1]

10. This man is terrific

I saw this clip when he was on Democracy Now. I love to hear him speak and am always entertained.
I find him straight to the point, brief, and honest in a unique way (sometimes almost brutal). He's so much fun to listen to. Though I am probably most likely to vote for Kucinich (Is it just because he's younger? More toned down & calmer?) But this guy is great fun and I love his energy and directness.
When he speaks - Look out!

[frog92969]

12. It was impressive

He is a real patriot and shows what it means to be a true American.

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

11. Making more sense every day....

Part of me has to appreciate what Nader was doing by providing an option....

we have given the dem a chance, and they are flaccid....sometimes as bad as the Republicans.

I hope to see him continue as an independent....

Death to two party rule!

[localroger]

13. A couple of unpleasant shocks

I really like most of what I've heard MG say, so I was taken aback when he suggested we need to eliminate summer vacation for school children. School is the only total institution we are all subjected to, and for those of us who don't agree with such authoritarian control structures those three months are the only way we stay sane on our way to adulthood. I'd want to see specific reforms of the methods and structures of schools to correct their authoritarian tendencies, and see them IMPLEMENTED, before I'd be willing to subject kids to them 52 weeks a year. Sheesh, I get a couple of weeks off and overtime pay for "homework."

I'm also leery of his proposed sales tax scheme. It's probably just that even here he didn't have a chance to flesh it out, but it's canon among economists that sales taxes are regressive and income taxes progressive. And while economists are wrong about a lot of things the math behind this is pretty solid. I'd like to see the details as to how this doesn't end up whacking the poor.

And as an aside, I'm not so sure I agree that the people are always smarter than their representatives. Our government is representative rather than direct not just to protect slavery, as Gravel implies in the interview, but because the Founders recognized the power of mobs. (We had the French to thank for an excellent example of how that could work out.) Our government was MEANT to be slow and inefficient so that its pace would be steady and its aim true. In fact, much of its modern unhealth can be traced to the overly direct reliance on polls which translate that whipsaw of popular opinion into action by our legislators. The Founders didn't see or want it that way, and unfortunately that part of their plan worked a lot better before the era of instantaneous communication.

[leftchick]

14. I heart mike

:loveya: