Thursday, March 27, 2008

Analysis: Why can't politicians come out and tell us who they really are?

Mike Gravel quits Democratic primary and runs for President as Libertarian



Go to BuzzFlash.com original
Another Democratic presidential candidate has left the Democratic Party. First, we had Joe Lieberman (2004). Now it's Mike Gravel (2008).

Gravel has announced that he is entering the race for the Libertarian Party ticket for president.

Sen. Gravel noted that the Democratic Party "is no longer the party of FDR." But is Gravel really a Libertarian?

"He has some libertarian inclinations, but there's still a lot of issues that he doesn't fall into step that perfectly with the platform on," Andrew Davis, a spokesman for the Libertarian Party, said to The Washington Post. "We're hoping once he can become acquainted and see what the party's all about, he can adjust his views."

Gravel also noted in a letter to supporters that "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."

If that is true, then why did Gravel run as a Democrat?

I wouldn't say Libertarians have all the right answers to the questions, but having them around improves the political discussion. But I always wonder why libertarians aren't always the ones running for the Libertarian Party top spot. Bob Barr, a Republican, is running as a Libertarian. Why? He's not a Libertarian.

Ron Paul, who is a libertarian in many ways, runs as a Republican in Congress and ran in the Republican primary for president. Paul has recently once again denied any interest in running in the Libertarian Party this fall.

If Gravel really is a Libertarian, then by all means let him run. But using a party's process as a publicity stunt cheapens the political process.

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