SENATOR GRAVEL OFFERS A PLAN GUARANTEED TO END THE WAR IN IRAQ

[PuraVidaDreamin]

This alert is from the Gravel e-mail I receive

Washington, DC May 14th --- At 9:30 AM, at the National Press Club, Former United States Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Mike Gravel introduced the United States Armed Forces Withdrawal From Iraq Act, a tough law with sobering consequences to finally get the Bush Administration's full attention. Gravel will also outlined in detail a very tough legislative strategy to close out the war by Labor Day and have American troops home by Christmas. The only requirement is congressional leadership.

The Senator said, "The Congress must stop acting alone on the war issue and bring the American People into the fray to adjudicate the constitutional confrontation between the Congress and the President, if we are to end the mess Bush created before January 2009."

"Constitutionally the Congress is the superior power. The President can only enforce the law and obey it like any other citizen. Congressional timidity over the years encouraged by political partisanship has unleashed an imperial presidency. When the presidency falls into the hands of a messianic true-believer like Bush the result is a morally questionable foreign policy and a domestic disaster threatening the nation's safety." The Senator pointed out.

The essence of the Gravel Plan: the congressional leadership must draw-out over days and weeks, if necessary, repeated daily cloture votes in the Senate and repeated daily veto override votes in both chambers to give American voters time to weigh-in and force two-thirds of their Senators and Representatives to vote to override the President's veto of the American will.

Gravel added: "In the face of a President oblivious to human suffering and death, the voting public is the only power that can stop the war. The Congress can and must energize this citizen's power. Timidity, compromise, comity and politics as usual are not viable alternatives to LEADERSHIP when Americans and Iraqis are dying every day."
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Website: http://www.gravel08.us/

[RobertDevereaux]

1. Great idea! n/t

[Dhalgren]

2. Wow! Gravel has a head on his shoulders!

This is the kind of action that is required and must be done. The Congress must act and act now! Congress' job is to represent the People, that's it, Congress' only job. So far, neither Party is doing what one might call a "heck of a job"...

[Wickerman]

3. I don't have any hope that he will actually secure the nomination

let alone win. However, I have high hopes that someone brings bits and pieces of his common sense platform.

[doodadem]

4. How can Gravel introduce anything?

He's not in Congress anymore--how can he introduce any kind of bill?

[dfgrbac]

9. Nobody said he introduced anything!

Former Senator Mike Gravel is offering his plan to Congress to show them they don't need to kowtow to Bush on Iraq. War is really their responsibility and he is trying to wake them up to that fact!

[FreedomsTeeth]

5. Constitutionally the Congress is the superior power???

The president is commander and chief. I'm not sure I follow this logic.

[ljm2002]

6. The title "Commander In Chief" refers to...

...the President's status with respect to the armed forces. It is not a title that applies to his Presidency overall. He is not the Commander In Chief of all of us, only those of us in the military.

[The Magistrate]

8. Absolutely, Sir

Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the Constitution, and the debates over its adoption, undertsands this.

The 'commander in chief' title refers only to the direction of military forces, and indicates that a President ranks any member of the armed forces. It has nothing whatever to do with any other element of the civilian government. Those who exalt it in that regard seem to be under the misapprehension that the military forces of the United States are an element of the U.S. government, as opposed to one of its tools. At bottom, they are making the ludicrous claim that the Constitution of the United States not only envisions but establishes the government of this country as a military dictatorship.

[ljm2002]

7. Now there's an idea I could get behind!

C'mon Congresscritters, show us how it's done!

[dfgrbac]

10. Honorable and sane political voices

There are not many honorable and sane political voices out there. Mike Gravel is one of the few and deserves to be heard even though the media is trying their best to ignore him for fear he might succeed.

See more of Mike Gravel and hear his thoughts at the YouTube Channel for Mike Gravel. It was set up by a Gravel for President supporter and is blessed by the Gravel campaign.