From 1969-81, Mike Gravel represented Alaska in the US Senate. An Army veteran from the Korean War era, Gravel moved to Alaska after his military service. Within a few years, he was elected to the state legislature. In 1968, Gravel scored a major upset by defeating incumbent US Senator Ernest Gruening in the Democratic primary. In an interesting twist, Gravel later lost his 1980 reelection race in the Democratic primary to Gruening's grandson. During his years in the US Senate, Gravel evolved into an opponent of the Vietnam War. Gravel made a name for himself in the Senate by leading a successful one-man filibuster that brought about the end of the compulsory military draft. He also became a national cause celebre in 1971 when he read the top-secret "Pentagon Papers" into the official record at a Senate Committee hearing -- a move that caused the US Supreme Court to lift the Justice Department's restraining order that had blocked the New York Times printing the document detailing the true story of the increasing US military involvement in Vietnam. The Nixon Administration wanted to criminally prosecute Gravel, but Gravel had automatic immunity for his actions within the Senate. Gravel also proposed a constitutional amendment to allow voter-initiated federal legislation on national ballots similar to state ballot initiatives. And, in the same Citizen Power book where he proposed the national referendum concept, Gravel also proposed a guaranteed $5,000 annual income paid with tax dollars to every US citizen. Based on those issues, Gravel then ran a quixotic bid for Vice President during the 1972 primaries. At the free-for-all 1972 convention, Gravel finished third with 226 delegates (7.5%). After his Senate re-election defeat, Gravel moved to Virginia. Since leaving the Senate, Gravel continues to actively promote his national referendum proposal. In his 2008 Presidential campaign, Gravel if focusing on three-issues: Opposition to the Iraq War, passage of the direct democracy constitutional amendment, and adoption of a Fair Tax plan that would replace all federal individual and corporate taxes with a 23% national sales tax on all new goods and services.
http://www.politics1.com/p2008-dems.htm#gravelMy opinion: This guy seems all over the spectrum: Progressive on Iraq and democracy, far right on taxes.
I'd be surprised if he becomes much of a threat for the nod.
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