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Home , Andrew Yang, Mike Gravel, National initiative, Pamela Anderson, Tulsi Gabbard

Campaign Plan for Sen.

Prepared by David E. Oks and Henry T. Williams

I. Rationale. Over the last ten years, the Democratic Party has migrated toward views ​ that Sen. Gravel has long held: a desire to end America’s “forever wars,” a recognition of the need for fundamental political reform, a respect for civil liberties (including support for gay marriage and drug legalization/decriminalization), a focus on climate change, and a recognition that a small elite rules politics. Sen. Gravel’s unique brand of left-wing is designed to resonate in today’s political climate. Perhaps just as powerful is Sen. Gravel’s personal . In a field lacking in figures with inspiring backgrounds (and many with questionable pasts, like Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Sen. ), Gravel is unique. He is a and a hero of American history, forever remembered for risking expulsion from the Senate by reading the into the record.

The goal of a Gravel 2020 campaign would not be to win, but instead to draw attention to the central issues that Sen. Gravel has focused on over the previous decades, especially the National . This is possible for Sen. Gravel in a way it is not for Rep. , due to the negative media attention surrounding her and her own ineffective campaigning.1 The ultimate goal would be to gain media attention and then endorse either Rep. Gabbard or Sen. before the .

II. Assessment of the Democratic Field. There are almost 20 Democratic ​ candidates running or considering running for president of the . This has two very important ramifications, discussed in greater detail below:

1. The primary field is unusually fluid. 2. Even candidates with relatively low support can attract significant attention to their ideas.

The unusual fluidity of the primary field is highly important. Most voters, presented with such a wide range of options, will have markedly more difficulty making their decision than they did in 2016 or 2008. Particularly important is the lack of consensus options:

1 The universally negative media attention surrounding Rep. Gabbard, even from left-of-center outlets, has meant her message is unable to be received properly: see here, here, and here. Her own campaigning has ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ been ineffective. Furthermore, her past anti-gay comments and her ties to Hindu extremists mean that ​ ​ Democratic voters will be skeptical of her; it is unclear that she will be able to survive this barrage of negative media coverage. These limitations mean that, for all of the virtues of her platform, Rep. Gabbard is not the ideal messenger for Sen. Gravel’s pro-peace message. By contrast, Sen. Gravel was an effective ​ and pioneering campaigner who attracted a significant online following that has so far eluded Rep. ​ Gabbard. Among [the 56 percent of] Democrats who didn’t offer a candidate of choice, 43 percent indicated they had no opinion on who the nominee should be. Seven percent answered the open-ended question with “no one,” while 5 percent said “anyone” would do.2

This means that a candidate who consciously seeks to disrupt the status quo, as Sen. Gravel did in 2008, could attract a surge of attention, especially among the significant contingent of Democrats who are highly dissatisfied with the Democratic Party and with “The Establishment” in general.

Marquee candidates, like Sen. and Sen. Cory Booker, are polling in the 1-3 percent range, not far from where Sen. Gravel polled in 2008, and attracting significant attention.3 Perhaps most notably, , a minor venture capitalist with no experience in elected office, who often polls at 0 percent, has been the subject of several major media profiles and features, with his central idea (of a ) attracting much attention. The Yang strategy is the ideal one for a Gravel 2020 campaign: it would aim not to win, but instead to spread a vital set of ideas (with the at the center) in the hopes that candidates like Sen. Sanders and Rep. Gabbard will pick them up.

Sen. Gravel would also be uniquely able to point out the flaws of many of the major Democratic candidates. Below are brief outlines for how Sen. Gravel could outline how several major candidates betray true Democratic ideals:

Sen. : tough-on-crime policies contributed to over-incarceration; ​ flip-flopped on marijuana; deferential to the rich during tenure as Atty. General of ; beholden to

Sen. Cory Booker: hawkish on ; supportive of major hawk Bob ​ Menendez; beholden to Israel; beholden to the pharmaceutical lobby; lied about drug dealer friend

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: hawkish on Iran; supported disastrous intervention in ​ Libya; generally pro-intervention; voted to extend the Patriot Act

Vice President Joseph Biden: voted to invade in 2003; voted for the Patriot ​ Act; voted for several tough-on-crime bills that led to over-incarceration; opposes marijuana legalization

2 See “Poll shows trouble for Trump, Dem voters undecided on early 2020 field,” from : link here. ​ ​ ​ ​ 3 See “Latest Polls,” from FiveThirtyEight: link here. ​ ​ ​ ​ III. Plan. The campaign would be entirely digital, with a strong focus on making Sen. ​ Gravel go “viral” (in a way similar to candidates like Sen. Sanders and Yang).4 Sen. Gravel’s ideas and no-nonsense approach have a strong appeal to the younger generation of Democratic voters. Sen. Gravel would not have to be personally involved on a day-to-day basis, and would be as involved as he wishes to be. Of course, he would approve the platform and, if he wishes, help produce content (particularly video and writing); all major decisions will be run through him. But the fundamental campaign will focus on , , , and other online outlets that are the center of Sen. Gravel’s appeal, as they were in 2008. The campaign would communicate clearly that it does not aim to win, but rather to spread Sen. Gravel’s message, especially surrounding the National Initiative, and if possible to qualify Sen. Gravel for the Democratic debate. The campaign would also spread Sen. Gravel’s message by publicizing his forthcoming book.

IV. Platform. The issues that Sen. Gravel has always called attention to—mass ​ surveillance, the military-industrial complex, the , universal healthcare, and civil liberties—are highly visible in the current political climate. But the central issue is that which Sen. Gravel has focused on for many years: political reform. The country needs a strong voice arguing for .

If Sen. Gravel is open to the possibility, we’d like to update the platform for the information age by including a few new policies, like breaking up the large technology companies; making a state; doubling funding for the National Institutes of Health; levying taxes on ; establishing a national postal banking system; putting in place term limits for Supreme Court justices; capping all prison terms at 30 years; and perhaps instituting a universal basic income, styled after Sen. George McGovern’s “demogrant.”

V. Possible Endorsements. We expect that we’d be able to secure endorsements from a ​ cadre of prominent figures; targets could include , , Tom Atlee, , Pamela Anderson (newly pro-Wikileaks), and . After the campaign, those endorses could be rerouted either to Rep. Gabbard or Sen. Sanders.

4 This can be accomplished at a low cost; we are more than willing to offer our own money to get the campaign off the ground, and are confident that donations will fill in once a base is reached.