Mike Gravel in Interviews during 2017-2019

On Principles & Values: Push Dems toward sensible views on political reform

The @MikeGravel Twitter account has tweeted over 100 times since the initial sort-of-announcement, and done so with social media acumen uncharacteristic of an 88-year-old former politician.

The account has also fired off several scathing attacks of Gravel's prospective opponents, including Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), who "kept innocent men on death row"; Joe Biden, who "voted for the Iraq War"; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who likes to "abuse American workers"; and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who "invented a drug dealer friend (and voted with Big Pharma)." The account also attacked Booker's "melodramatic" performance during Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing last year while touting Gravel reading the Pentagon Papers into the congressional record in 1971. Meanwhile, the account seems to favor Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), candidates it wants to push "toward more sensible views on political reform and foreign policy through the debate."

Source: Rolling Stone magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 20, 2019

On Tax Reform: I advocate a FairTax: pay as you spend

On the Fair Tax: "The biggest problem we have domestically is our tax system. Under the current system, if you're poor and have no income, you get nothing. Average people carry the load, and the poor are unattended. So, I advocate a Fair Tax. What we'll do under this plan is send you a check every month for the sales tax that you will pay on the essentials of life. This will protect the poor. It will cover their basic expenses. The rest of us will pay as we spend. The more you spend, the more you pay. If you don't want to pay, don't spend. So, this will create a cash flow to the poor, not only to the average citizen." Source: National Review magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls Aug 1, 2007

On War & Peace: Dislodge ourselves from Iraq, by working with Iran & Syria

On the consequences of withdrawal from Iraq: "All the statements made that it will be a bloodbath are correct. There is no question. But we instigated it. We brought it about. There is nothing we can do about that. Now, we must dislodge ourselves. The answer is to engage with Iran. We forget that Iran helped us to whip the Taliban in Afghanistan. So, countries like Iran and Syria ought to be engaged. These countries have a greater stake than we have in the stability of the Middle East." Source: National Review magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls Aug 1, 2007

The above quotations are from Interviews during 2017-2019, interviewing presidential hopefuls for 2020. Click here for main summary page. Click here for a profile of Mike Gravel. Click here for Mike Gravel on all issues.
*Mike Gravel on other issues:*
Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade	Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform Technology/Infrastructure War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org! Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Nov 01, 2021