 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Mike Gravel, will be campaigning in New Hampshire from Dec. 16 to 22. Though he may not be as well known as his opponents, the former Alaskan senator does not think that means he should be ignored.
"I offer a change. I offer to empower the American people," Gravel said in a telephone interview yesterday.
This empowerment would come in the form of a new, fourth branch of government which would require a major change in the Constitution. It's called the National Initiative for Democracy (NID) and it would be made up of citizens who would have the power to vote on laws along with Congress.
However, Laura Jones, president of College Democrats at UNH, thinks that NID is "really out there" and prevents anyone from taking Gravel seriously as a candidate.
Jones admits that Gravel's chances of being president are low in part because of his big ideas and also because the field of candidates is particularly strong.
Gravel, who was senator from 1969-1981, has supporters on campus, including junior Chris Liquori.
"[He has] the type of leadership, courage and guts we need in our government," said Liquori, who hosts "Live with Liquori" on SCAN-TV. According to Liquori, he is doing "anything he can" to support awareness of Gravel, the one candidate along with Dennis Kucinich, who he thinks are "the only genuine candidates for change."
Gravel described himself "a man to afford change." Another big change Gravel would like to see is the direction of the country, especially when it comes to war.
"This is the third war in my lifetime and it's totally unnecessary," he said. "It puts the world in jeopardy."
During Vietnam, Gravel became known for efforts in ending the draft with filibustering.
"I ended the draft so young people today don't have to fight," Gravel said.
Liquori praised Gravel on his stance, describing him as bold, innovative and courageous.
However enthusiastic Gravel and his followers are, Gravel's statistical support is suffering. In a Bloomberg poll given this year, 2 percent or less of the polled chose Gravel as the Democrat most likely to beat a Republican. The same percentage also would have chosen Gravel if they were voting in the primary that day. These low poll numbers, along with his low campaign funding, means that he has been excluded from debates.
"The main stream media has cut me out," Gravel said. "They don't want to hear what I have to say."
That is not the only entity who might not want to hear him. According to political science professor, Andrew Smith, other Democratic candidates probably see Gravel as an annoyance.
"He's just one more person on stage that's taking away from them, the main players," Smith said.
Gravel plans on speaking to students and "talking the issues" when he comes to campus later this month.
He believes the government should pay for the cost of education, from kindergarten to the PhD level, referring to the cost of education and high student debts as "ridiculous."
Liquori also encourages his fellow students to do research on the contenders.
"I want people to understand that they have real choices in this election," Liquori said. "I am doing everything I can to fight the culture of both ignorance and apathy, or inevitability. Hillary Clinton is not invincible. She doesn't have to be our nominee or our president."
According to Smith, Clinton doesn't necessarily need to be invincible to beat Gravel on election day. "The only way he can win is if the other guys drive off a cliff in a bus."
Be the first to comment on this article!