Real Change
My attempt to save the Democratic Party from militarists, corporate interests and party elites is over. I am now running for president under the Libertarian Party.
During the debates I tried educating Democrats about the need for REAL change.
I proposed eliminating the IRS, which stifles incentive and investment, and ending the War on Drugs that turns millions of citizens into criminals. I upbraided my opponents for opposing gay marriage and accused them of keeping gays and lesbians second-class citizenship.
I demanded that congressional Democrats prove that they really are against the Iraq War by cutting off the funding. And after Hillary voted to give Bush a green light to attack Iran, I told her I was ashamed of her.
My refusal to parrot the party line upset the establishment Democrats including George Stephanopoulos who called me “the skunk at the party.” With the consent of the Democratic Party hierarchy, the corporate media dumped me from the debates.
Well I have decided to dump the Democratic Party.
A major factor in my decision was the race-baiting that we have witnessed within the Democratic Party. Over the past few months, Bill Clinton stirred up Latinos against blacks, Geraldine Ferraro tried reviving white resentment, and Hillary harped on Jeremiah Wright. When Howard Dean did nothing to publicly condemn such race baiting, I knew the Democratic Party was irredeemable. I cannot belong to any party that tolerates racism along with corporate greed, militarism and homophobia.
I now seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination for the Presidency. I have long advocated libertarian positions on the IRS, the War on Drugs, and the need to bust the Military Industrial Complex. For two decades I have advocated a detailed plan to take legislative power away from governmental elites and give it to the people through the National Initiative. My battle to rescue the Democratic Party has ended, but my fight for the American people has only just begun.
Senator Mike Gravel is running for president under the Libertarian Party. He and David Eisenbach, PhD Columbia University have co-authored Kingmakers: How the Media Threatens Our Security and Our Democracy (Phoenix Books) due out this June.
mike gravel, libertarian, leaves democrats, column. election 2008
