Mike Gravel Presidential Campaign, 2008 - Announcement

Announcement

On April 17, 2006, Gravel became the first candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2008 election, announcing his run in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Short on campaign cash, he took public transportation to get to his announcement.

Gravel had spoken out against the war in Iraq since before the invasion of that country began in March 2003. In his announcement he called for immediate cessation of US military involvement in Iraq via his own-drafted U.S. Armed Forces Withdrawal From Iraq Act, and offered a strategy he claimed would get it passed. He unequivocally denounced any possible war with Iran. His announced campaign platform was centered on systemic changes to the U.S. system. Foremost among these were:

• The National Initiative for Democracy, a Constitutional amendment and proposed federal statute that would recognize a fourth branch of the US federal government in addition to the judicial, executive and legislative branches, namely the people via direct democracy, enabled to directly initiate and pass legislation and to amend the Constitution of the United States on their own.
• A national sales tax that would replace the income tax and the Internal Revenue Service.

Gravel's initial campaign also emphasized his support for a single-payer national health care system, term limits, nuclear disarmament, and same-sex marriage recognition.