Polls have revealed that only four in every ten Americans support the US President in the upcoming elections.
The following is the transcript of an exclusive Press TV’s interview with former US Senator Mike Gravel, where he explains how the hope for a better America and change is an illusion with the Republicans versus the Democratic option.
Gravel goes on to explain how neither part will save the American people, adding that the Americans have to save themselves.
Press TV:To discuss this further, we are being joined by former US senator Mike Gravel. Many thanks for joining us here on Press TV, Sir. Many American voters have come out and criticized lawmakers for not being able to get along long enough to actually fix a problem during great economic uncertainty. Do you think this is the cause of the dissatisfaction or is there a more fundamental underlying cause?
Gravel:It’s more fundamental than that. What you’re seeing is the frustration with both parties who really cannot perform. It’s really a disease of mature democracies. Because both parties are captive to special interests: corporate America, the military industrial complex, the insurance industry. All of that, so when you had the meltdown where Wall Street went amok, with the support of the political parties both "Democrat and Republican" then what happened after that is that the people who were designed with the task of correcting the problem were the people who caused the problem. That’s the reason why we have high unemployment and we have a continued recession that is affecting primarily the middle class and the lower class.
Press TV: We have seen eight years of the republicans rule under Bush and now dissatisfied with the Republicans, Democrats were preferred with Obama’s elections. The cycle seems to be continuing with these mid-term elections. What does this say for the US Democratic system as a whole?
Gravel: It calls into question and I personally feel that the representative government is broken. There is no way it’s going to be fixed within the context of representative government. That’s the reason why I’ve spent most of my recent life working for direct democracy so that the people can become lawmakers and set their own policies. And they won’t be bothered about my "special interests," believe me.
Press TV: So much dissatisfaction with the two major political parties, why don’t we see voters in the US vote and support independent alternatives in greater numbers?
Gravel:Because both parties monopolize the field. They are supported by tax dollars, they are supported by laws, and so a third party finds it very difficult to get a foothold. So it’s a continuation. And yet if any 3rd party rose to the level of a democrat or republican party, they would be equally corrupted.
Press TV:Some point to the rise of Tea party movement as an "alternative" for voters who are fed up with the usual republicans or democrats bickering with each other. Would you even consider Tea party movement as an alternative?
Gravel: Not at all. Tea party movement is just the tip of the iceberg of the frustration that exists out there. Tea party is not at all constructive, in my mind, in trying to address these problems in an intelligence fashion. It’s a protest moving … so to speak over the dissatisfaction that exists, they have no platform, they have no cohesion to speak of and I don’t think you will see them perform that well this November.
Press TV:Alright, we are going to have to leave it there. That was former US Senator Mike Gravel speaking to us from Washington.
NM/PKH