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SAY IT AIN'T SO, MIKE.
The latest dispatch from Mike Gravel:
"I wanted to update you on my latest plans before news gets out. Today, I am announcing my plan to join the Libertarian Party, because the Democratic Party no longer represents my vision for our great country. I wanted my supporters to get this news first, because you have been the ones who have kept my campaign alive since I first declared my candidacy on April 17, 2006.
"The fact is, the Democratic Party today is no longer the party of FDR. It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism -- all of which I find anathema to my views. By and large, I have been repeatedly marginalized in both national debates and in media exposure by the Democratic leadership, which works in tandem with the corporate interests that control what we read and hear in the media. I look forward to advancing my presidential candidacy within the Libertarian Party, which is considerably closer to my values, my foreign policy views and my domestic views. "
So wait, the Libertarian Party is the true party of FDR now? Really Mike? And switching to that party will somehow make you less "marginalized"?
--Kate Sheppard
COMMENTS (8)
I'm tired of being on the fringe of the mainstream, so I'm moving to the mainstream of the fringe. Now I can really make a difference!
Posted by: Hogan | March 26, 2008 10:31 AM
"...the Democratic Party no longer represents my vision for our great country."
Snark, all you want, but this is a sentiment that is gaining popularity as the DNC and MSM concentrate on fixing the democratic nomination while people are losing their homes.
Posted by: not a gravel supporter | March 26, 2008 11:30 AM
I have a great deal of affection for FDR, but I can't help thinking that this is a bit odd:
The fact is, the Democratic Party today is no longer the party of FDR. It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex
... didn't FDR get the US involved in a war or so? And a fairly significant increase in the military-industrial complex? "The Great Arsenal of Democracy" ring any bells?
Posted by: ajay | March 26, 2008 12:20 PM
The Gravelanche: Coming Soon!
Posted by: Statler | March 26, 2008 12:47 PM
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the Japanese Combined Fleet got the U.S. in a war with an air attack on Pearl Harbor. But, to give credit where credit is due, I believe President Eisenhower coined the term "military-industrial complex" sometime right before he left office in 1961. That would have been, of course, 16 years after Roosevelt's political career was dented by his death.
Posted by: Marti Perez | March 26, 2008 1:37 PM
So wait, the Libertarian Party is the true party of FDR now?
Of course. We all know how much typical Libertarians LOVE the New Deal.
Posted by: "Fair and Balanced" Dave | March 26, 2008 2:21 PM
And, to Gravel's point - I read that Eisenhower originally was going to use the term "Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex" but it was too wordy so he dropped Congressional.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 26, 2008 2:31 PM
"The fact is, the Democratic Party today is no longer the party of FDR. It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism -- all of which I find anathema to my views."
Blame FDR all you want for WWII, but it was Harry Truman who first turned the US into a nation permanently at war. As to the rest of his statement, all you have to do is watch the defense appropriations process to realize who the Democrats' real constituency is.
Posted by: faux facsimile | March 26, 2008 2:41 PM