Ok...
At first I thought I liked him cause he was the grumpy oldster who said so much and spoke with so much passion that it made me smile.
Then I thought it was because I'd been totally turned off by the scary bloggers who thought so highly of their candidates that they were more than happy to tear down anyone who seemed like a "real" contender in this Primary Nightmare that calls itself a "discussion" on Democratic principles.
Heck there've been lots of thoughts going through my head...some for each of the top tier candidates...some growling at them for stupid shit...some not understanding why anyone would need to do Z, X, or Y. That kind of stuff...some in applause.
So a while back, I hied myself over to the Mike Gravel website to see what was up with the guy who would stare into the camera and then in a moment would turn the act of throwing a really big rock into a pond of water into a dramatized metaphor for the very thing we try to do here and in our daily lives--cause ripples/make waves/shatter the calm surface of complacency.
Cause whether he knew it or not...that's what he did here:
Just as he did with his protests on the Draft and his work with the Pentagon Papers. Just as he did in opposing nuclear power.
Indeed, many...if not most...of Mike's positions on the issues of the day parallel with what we've been calling for here in the NetRoots.
Against the Iraq War? Check
Return power to We the People? Check
Reduce the country's carbon footprint? Check
Diplomacy over military confrontations? Check
Education, Heathcare, Human Rights, Va Benefits? Check
And in spite of reports by the Traditional Media that he'd left this Primary Nightmare after Iowa, his website announced very clearly that he was still in the race. (There's vid...but I can't remember what I did with that link)
And while he's taking time out to deal with a respiratory infection, Noam Chomsky has made a statement applauding Mike Gravel's courageous stands and his "contribution to breaking the wall of secrecy that governments erect to protect themselves from their own citizens."
Indeed, as Chomsky notes Gravel's "integrity and courage should be an inspiration for people who care about their country, the fate of its people, and its role in the world."
I hope you feel better Senator Gravel. Cause we need your old-school crustiness and commitment to help "We the People" keep those young whippersnappers in line with Democratic Principles and making a noise in this world: