On Sunday, October 19th, at 4 AM EST, former Libertarian presidential candidate and Democratic Senator Mike Gravel will be appearing on CSpan 2. He will be on the show Book TV discussing his book The Kingmakers, and will appear with his co-author David Eisenbach. This will most likely appear on CSpan in the future as well.
Over the past week or so, Gravel has been in Switzerland and France at the World of Direct Democracy Conference, promoting his proposed National Initiative for Democracy. While there, Gravel has produced two videos. The first one is a lecture he gave in Grenoble, France. The second video is a nuts-and-bolts explanation of the Democracy Act and Democracy Amendment, which comprise the legislation that would enact a direct democracy in the United States.
Grenoble, France
Explanation of Amendment and Act
28 responses so far ↓
1 Michael Gilson-De Lemos // Oct 15, 2008 at 5:06 pm
The LP US should certainly focus on state measures such as these to build the constituency and ballot access it desires by creating an autonomous fund for the purpose. It worked very well in Florida.
In fact the LNC authorized one but nothing has been done that I know of. State LP’s can certainly use this proven tactic, though.
2 paulie cannoli // Oct 15, 2008 at 5:27 pm
World of Direct Democracy Conference
Whew! I missed the “of” on first reading.
I was afraid he would come out of that with a proposal for a global initiative for democracy, administered by the UN, bound by the Declaration of Human Rights, adjudicated by the World Court, binding, and enforced by UN peacekeepers.
3 darolew // Oct 15, 2008 at 11:28 pm
That second video is new, right? So Gravel grew his mustache back?
4 Evan Ravitz // Oct 15, 2008 at 11:56 pm
http://Vote.org has a much better explanation of Gravel’s National Initiative than his official http://ni4d.org Even Gravel’s daughter Lynne Mozier carries cards saying “Vote at Vote.org!”
Ballot initiatives are the origin of most reforms, such as women’s suffrage (passed in 13 states before Congress went along), direct election of Senators (4 states), publicly financed elections (passed by initiative in 6 of 7 states with them), medical marijuana ( in 8 of 12 states) and increasing minimum wages (in all 6 states that tried in 2006). See http://Vote.org/initiatives for more examples and references. The media have seized on the problem initiatives. They generally kiss up to politicians.
Now, what we need is NATIONAL initiatives, so we can end torture, warrantless spying, perpetual war and debt and all the other garbage which unchecked “representative” govt has wrought.
http://Vote.org !
5 Ross Levin // Oct 16, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Thanks for noticing this, Evan.
6 paulie cannoli // Oct 17, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Hey is that Evan Ravitz from CO? We did MMJ emails when we came through Boulder in ’4? Long time no hear…
7 darolew // Oct 17, 2008 at 2:21 pm
“Ballot initiatives are the origin of most reforms, such as women’s suffrage (passed in 13 states before Congress went along), direct election of Senators (4 states), publicly financed elections (passed by initiative in 6 of 7 states with them), medical marijuana ( in 8 of 12 states) and increasing minimum wages (in all 6 states that tried in 2006).”
Yay for women’s suffrage and medical marijuana. Unfortunately, everything else you listed was a change for the worse. Not exactly a compelling case for NI4D.
8 Ross Levin // Oct 17, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Not everyone’s a libertarian, darolew.
9 Evan Ravitz // Oct 19, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Yea, Paulie, it’s Evan from Colorado who got you a bunch of signups for MPP. How goes it? If you want guests for Kubby’s or other radio shows, I do WAY better than Gravel explaining and selling his project. (I worked for him in Maine in 2002.)
I’ve been doing a bunch of interviews about it, which you can listen to under NEWS at the bottom of http://Vote.org.
evan at vote dot org
10 paulie cannoli // Oct 19, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Kubby is not doing his show anymore, but we’ve talked on and off about doing an IPR blogtalk show. Anybody up for it?
11 darolew // Oct 19, 2008 at 3:44 pm
“Not everyone’s a libertarian, darolew.”
You don’t have to be a libertarian to understand that direct election of Senators damages the checks and balances in the Constitution. You don’t have to be a libertarian to understand that publicly financed elections force taxpayers to support candidates they are ideologically opposed to and is thus immoral. That’s just common sense.
(The minimum wage, I’ll grant, requires some minimum economic knowledge and/or intelligent moral principle to oppose. Still, being a libertarian is not a prerequisite.)
12 G.E. // Oct 19, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Only idiots and evil people can support the minimum wage, which is nothing but an anti-employment law and a Big Business program to suppress wage rates:
http://www.citizeneconomists.com/view_articles_detail.php?aid=119
13 G.E. // Oct 19, 2008 at 3:51 pm
I agree “representative government” has been a complete failure.
The solution is not to replace it with direct socialism, but actual freedom.
Abolish the monopoly state.
14 Ross Levin // Oct 19, 2008 at 4:29 pm
But, darolew, people that aren’t libertarians could believe that publicly financed elections are a good thing and worth paying for because they limit special interests’ influence and could potentially boost minor candidates. And people could consider that “common sense,” too. Common sense is completely subjective.
I honestly don’t know enough about direct election of Senators or the minimum wage to talk about their affect on society.
15 G.E. // Oct 19, 2008 at 4:32 pm
HA!
16 paulie cannoli // Oct 19, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Given that government is given to regulatory capture by the best organized interests, public financing is likely to strengthen special interests and kill off alternative parties and independents.
17 Ross Levin // Oct 19, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I’m not saying that’s the way it is, I’m saying that’s the justification. And according to some peoples’ “common sense,” it makes sense.
18 Evan Ravitz // Oct 19, 2008 at 6:53 pm
WHATEVER reforms you want -liberal, libertarian, conservative, you aren’t going to get them from Congress (“the opposite of progress”) but from selling them in the open market of ideas -by ballot initiative. You can now vote to ratify Gravel’s National Initiative at http://Vote.org, much as citizens -not the 13 legislatures- ratified the Constitution at the conventions.
“The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.” –George Washington
19 paulie cannoli // Oct 19, 2008 at 8:27 pm
WHATEVER reforms you want -liberal, libertarian, conservative, you aren’t going to get them from Congress (â€the opposite of progressâ€) but from selling them in the open market of ideas -by ballot initiative.
I agree, although I remain unconvinced that it it should be centralized at the national level.
I do, however, like the idea of expanding I & R to the remaining states, one by one.
20 Ross Levin // Oct 19, 2008 at 10:32 pm
paulie – do you believe in any form of national government? (And if you don’t, then that begs the question of what the difference is between state and federal governments)
21 paulie cannoli // Oct 19, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I don’t believe any form of coercive territorial monopoly government at any scale should exist.
The bigger ones bother me more than the smaller ones.
22 paulie cannoli // Oct 19, 2008 at 10:38 pm
http://praxeology.net/anarcres.htm
To learn more.
23 Evan Ravitz // Oct 20, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Paulie, I’m as “local” as anyone. I sold my car in 1988 and leave Boulder County about 4 times a year. But, here and now, citizens need power to check and balance Congress.
Buying Congress is likely the world’s best investment, paying off at 1000 to 1, according to several sources, including Jack Abramoff, in the 3rd paragraph of http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/30/AR2005043000783.html. The world’s most tilted playing field, more of a brick wall.
In the Boulder Daily Camera one commenter suggested executing 1 of 10 Congressmen to get the rest to heel. I suggest that better and national ballot initiatives are the superior alternative.
And we must deal with an even-larger dictatorship, especially now that China owns our ass economically. Fighting the Power is the main reason the U.S. formed!
Now that Congress is bought by multinational corps, enabling NAFTA ( which 60% of us opposed) etc., citizens need NATIONAL power.
Now that the internet tends to bring truth out, it’s time. Please vote soon to ratify Gravel’s National (ballot) initiative at http://Vote.org. It’s a parallel process to how citizens, NOT the existing 13 State governments, ratified the Constitution at the Conventions.
24 paulie cannoli // Oct 20, 2008 at 1:16 pm
But, here and now, citizens need power to check and balance Congress.
I agree! We need to remove power from the national and international levels especially.
25 Ross Levin // Oct 20, 2008 at 3:22 pm
How are you going to do that, paulie?
26 paulie cannoli // Oct 20, 2008 at 4:05 pm
By any means necessary.
27 paulie cannoli // Oct 20, 2008 at 4:06 pm
I believe in diversity of tactics.
28 Ross Levin // Oct 20, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Here’s what I could find of Gravel on Book TV:
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