Former Democratic Senator and Libertarian presidential candidate Mike Gravel is on a trip to South Korea, trying to bring about a national ballot initiative system there. He was interviewed recently on the show “Let’s Talk Pusan.
Mike Gravel interviewed in South Korea on “Let’s Talk Pusan”
Former Democratic Senator and Libertarian presidential candidate Mike Gravel is on a trip to South Korea, trying to bring about a national ballot initiative system there. He was interviewed recently on the show “Let’s Talk Pusan.” You can listen here – the interview itself is in English, just click play on the player underneath the number one.
The first half of the interview is about Mike Gravel himself and his political career, while the second half is about direct democracy, South Korea and its government, and why South Korea is likely to adopt a national initiative system.
(Full disclosure: I was a volunteer for Mike Gravel’s presidential campaign and I’m a volunteer for his campaign for national ballot initiatives in the United States. I’m also helping his effort in South Korea in a very small way.)
The National Initiative needs your support
Many keen observers of our representative democracy comment again and again about our broken political system, especially because of the corrupting influence of money on our elected representatives. Too often, the resulting public policy provides benefits to the corporate-military-industrial complex rather than enhancing the public interest.
Many keen observers of our representative democracy comment again and again about our broken political system, especially because of the corrupting influence of money on our elected representatives. Too often, the resulting public policy provides benefits to the corporate-military-industrial complex rather than enhancing the public interest.
During my many years in elective office, I saw the trade-offs and pay-offs (direct and indirect) that are common in the political arena. I saw how difficult it was – and is – for the most well intentioned elected officials to bring about the needed changes because of our flawed government structure. And, typically, in their attempts to navigate a flawed system, the legislators themselves become flawed.
How can we achieve public policy that more closely reflects the public interest? Bring the people – American voters – into a decision-making role in government as citizen-lawmakers in partnership with their elected representatives. The National Initiative for Democracy (NI4D), a legislative proposal that amends the Constitution and provided legislative procedures in a Federal Statute, does just that: empowers citizens (you and I) to be able to vote on the public policies that affect our lives – empowers citizens (us) as lawmakers.
I ran for president to bring attention to the National Initiative. As a result:
- There is a growing list of volunteers
- We are sending out monthly news letters
- Other people than myself are now speaking out about this in public
- People are planning film projects about NI4D
- More and more people are blogging about the National Initiative
- A very real grass-roots effort has begun which will be difficult to ignore
- NI4D is far more well known today than before I ran for president.
However, the problem now is that the Obama presidency has generated a renewed optimism that representative government may work this time. Donations have greatly decreased. It will take some time before Americans realize that electing a new cadre of politicians will not bring change. As I said in the campaign: “follow the money if you want to know the kind of government you’re going to get.” Wall Street continues to rule the economy, banks are getting most of the stimulus, and the military defense budget grows.
The rhetoric of White House policy is considerably improved and sounds cooperative but with one thousand military bases around the world, our nation’s policy remains imperialistic, even though we are broke and going the way of all empires.
I continued to speak out against these misguided policies and offered the obvious solution: empower American citizens as lawmakers. At a conference on direct democracy, last October in Switzerland, a professor from South Korea heard me speak about the National Initiative and asked if it could be applicable in Korea. My research before and since my subsequent trip to South Korea has convinced me that South Korea is one of the likeliest venues in the world to enact a National Initiative.
Democracy is a lot fresher in the minds of Koreans, evidenced by the people’s candlelight protests. They have the highest per capita savings rate in the world, so are the least likely nation to be affected by the global meltdown. Korea is one of the most Internet-wired nations in the world. And English is a mandated educational requirement from kindergarten on.
Most significantly, the South Korean Constitution is superior to our own.
- Article 1 of the Korean Constitution states:“all power emanates from the people” .
- Only the people can amend the Korean Constitution – they did eight times. The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times – not once by the people.
- American federal elections are conducted by state and local governments and as a result are subject to partisan corruption. The Korean Constitution creates a non-partisan Central Election Management Committee to conduct all elections.
- Korean citizens enjoy a lifetime voter registration regardless where they live.
The host of my initial trip (Korea Democracy Foundation) was not able to extend financial support for my return trip to Korea due to delays in government funding,. Nevertheless, some members of the Foundation and others have facilitated setting up lectures at universities and civic organizations. The title of my lecture says it all: “This Generation of Koreans has a Rendezvous with Destiny.”
I use the lecture to motivate volunteers from the audience to join teams committed to inform Koreans about the Korean National Initiative (KNI) and to seek its enactment by Korean voters in a national election. KNI is a recast of the American National Initiative. In three weeks starting from scratch, I have been able to develop eight teams with more than sixty members. The quality of the volunteers is awesome. Teams meet weekly and have 5 to10 members; when they acquire more than 10 members, they will replicate themselves into new teams. I personally meet with each of the teams to get them organized. The team strategy is the beginning of a grassroots educational movement to acquaint Koreans about the empowerment opportunity of the National Initiative.
I firmly believe we can succeed in enacting the National Initiative in Korea. The global attention generated by this success will become the catalyst to enact the National Initiative in the U.S. The KNI will then become the 21st century national model for direct democracy copied by most G-20 countries.
My wife, Whitney, and I are funding my present trip in Korea from our modest personal resources. We cannot continue beyond June, even though my message is resonating with Koreans. The fees, when available, for my lectures do not cover all of my living and travel expenses. It will take at least five months before I can secure the government authority for a foundation in Korea that will then permit us to raise funds from Koreans.
The Democracy Foundation (the sponsor of the National Initiative) needs funding to prosecute its programs in the U,S. and to finance my travel expenses until we can do a Korean fund raising campaign. I desperately need your help. Therefore, I am appealing to you – the 8,000 supporters on my Facebook political account, and the 20,000 in the U.S. National Initiative database – to make a donation to keep the National Initiative vision alive.
I hope you will respond to this appeal. The situation is critical and the opportunities enormous. I need your help, and I need it now. Thank you in advance and for your help in promoting direct democracy. Follow our progress at www.mikegravel.us and at www.NI4D.US.
Sincerely, Mike Gravel
P.S. Click on the Donate link below, It will take you to a secure site for your tax deductible donation. Thank you.
It’s not easy being Green for 5th District candidate
In the special congressional election on April 7th, Green party candidate Matt Reichel came in third out of three, getting about 7 percent of the vote. Reichel endorsed the National Initiative and Mike Gravel endorsed Reichel.
As voter’s trickled into the polls Tuesday to vote in the 5th District Congressional race, Green Party candidate Matt Reichel was hoping the meager turnout would improve his chances for an upset over his heavily favored Democratic opponent.
In the special congressional election on April 7th, Green party candidate Matt Reichel came in third out of three, getting about 7 percent of the vote. Reichel endorsed the National Initiative and Mike Gravel endorsed Reichel.
As voter’s trickled into the polls Tuesday to vote in the 5th District Congressional race, Green Party candidate Matt Reichel was hoping the meager turnout would improve his chances for an upset over his heavily favored Democratic opponent.
Reichel, a 27-year-old Northwest Side resident, is running against a frontrunner he described as part of “the Democratic machine establishment.” Although Democratic candidate and Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley is expected to win easily, Reichel wasn’t ready to concede the race Tuesday morning.
“We really have a chance to strike hard because Quigley’s kind of in that middle ground where he’s not the machine favorite, but he’s not a progressive,” said Reichel, sitting behind a cluttered desk in his modest Lincoln Square campaign office. “What we’ve seen today is that the presence out at the polling places isn’t quite what you’d expect in Chicago. Meanwhile, we’re out there, we’ve done well in the forums and the debates … this is all helping us.”
The 5th District has historically voted heavily in favor of the Democratic Party. In the special primary elections leading up to Tuesday’s race, Quigley received about 12,100 votes, almost three times more than Reichel and all six Republican Party candidates combined.
But despite long odds, a few volunteers joined Reichel Tuesday morning as he set out placards in Lincoln Square, shook hands with morning commuters, and voted at the Bethany Retirement Community on Ashland Avenue. Another two dozen Reichel supporters were out canvassing the 5th District neighborhoods as polls opened at 7 a.m.
“Matt’s a really charismatic speaker and he gets people excited about politics,” said 23-year-old Columbia College student August Grebinski, who became Reichel’s campaign manager after learning about the election on Facebook. “It’s obviously a long shot, but like any long shot there’s always a chance he could pull it off.”
The 5th District seat opened up when the incumbent, Democrat Rahm Emmanuel, was named President Barack Obama’s chief of staff. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski previously represented the district, which spans the North Side and western suburbs from O’Hare International Airport east to Lake Michigan.
While Reichel faces an uphill battle, he’s already overcome one hurdle that tripped up some 20 other candidates – securing a place on the ballot.
Reichel, a freelance French interpreter and translator, beat out four other Green Party members to claim the third ballot slot alongside Quigley and Republican candidate Rosanna Pulido, the state director of the Illinois Minutemen Project.
Chicago Election Board Chairman Langdon Neal agreed that “the real competitive election was in March for the primary.” But, despite Reichel optimism, Neal said that the “disappointingly low” turnout on Tuesday morning would likely lead to a Quigley victory.
“This is a heavily Democratic district,” Neal said, “and usually the primary winner is the easy winner in the general election.”
Not taking anything for granted, Democratic candidate Mike Quigley was out early Tuesday morning at the Ravenswood Metra station, shaking hands and urging commuters to visit the polls.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Quigley, whose campaign emphasized his role as a reformer on the Cook County Board. “But we know if we don’t do our job today we could be disappointed.”
Back at his office after a long morning of greeting voters and putting up campaign signs, Reichel seemed less sanguine than he had at the start of the day.
“We could pull off a historic upset, and we hope that happens,” he said, seated beneath a wall covered with campaign signs. “But if it doesn’t happen, the real realistic goal is to beat the Republicans.”
When asked what lessons he’d take away from his first campaign for public office, Reichel exhaled as he sat forward in his folding chair. “It’s harder than it looks."
Mike Gravel endorses Matt Reichel in special election
From the Matt Reichel Campaign:
We have exciting news to share! Former senator Mike Gravel of Alaska has endorses Matt Reichel for Congress! This high-profile endorsement from a political figure on the national stage is a major boost to our already dizzying campaign.
Here is Mr. Gravel in his own words:
“I am happy to offer my endorsement of Matt Reichel in the special congressional election in Illinois’s fifth congressional district. Matt is the best choice for the fifth district, and he needs your help to get elected.
From the Matt Reichel Campaign:
We have exciting news to share! Former senator Mike Gravel of Alaska has endorses Matt Reichel for Congress! This high-profile endorsement from a political figure on the national stage is a major boost to our already dizzying campaign.
Here is Mr. Gravel in his own words:
“I am happy to offer my endorsement of Matt Reichel in the special congressional election in Illinois’s fifth congressional district. Matt is the best choice for the fifth district, and he needs your help to get elected.
Matt is more than just a typical politician. He is a clear break from tradition for the congressional district that has elected Rod Blagojevich and Rahm Emanuel. He values peace and democracy above all else, as seen from his anti-war activism and his endorsement of the National Initiative for Democracy. The National Initiative is an important proposal that would establish ballot initiatives on the federal level in the United States. It would be an important step forward for transparent government and truly empowering the people, and I trust that this is something that Matt will work for once he is in Congress.
Matt has demonstrated that he is a capable politician with his victory in the Green Party primary on March 3rd. Now he needs your help. The general election is on April 7th, only a few weeks away. Please visit www.MattReichel.us to volunteer or donate, or send contributions to The Committee to Elect Matt Reichel to Congress, 1726 W. Carmen, Chicago, IL 60640.”
This enthusiastic endorsement from a respected statesman is a great benefit to this campaign. However, we still need quite a bit of help–both financially as well as volunteers to help get the word out. If you can help in either way, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Sincerely,
Ben Head
Director of Communications