Citizen Power

Last updated
Citizen Power: A Mandate for Change
Citizen Power.jpg
Author Mike Gravel
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Politics
Publisher Authorhouse
Publication date
January 23, 2008
Media type Paperback
Pages256
ISBN 978-1-4343-4315-4
OCLC 192170621
320.60973 22
LC Class JK271 .G728 2008

Citizen Power: A Mandate for Change is a 2008 book on American politics by 2008 United States presidential candidate Mike Gravel, published by Authorhouse. [1] It describes the numerous efforts that Gravel has experienced throughout his political career as an Alaska state legislator and United States Senator from the 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s. His blueprint for a ballot initiative within the Federal government of the United States, known as the National Initiative, is also detailed greatly. Ralph Nader introduces the former senator in a foreword.

Cover of the 1972 edition. CitizenPowerAPeoplesPlatform.jpg
Cover of the 1972 edition.

The book is a reissue and revision of Citizen Power: A People's Platform, which was authored by Gravel and published in 1972 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston (284 pages, ISBN   0-03-091465-5). [2] The original edition was published at the height of Gravel's national visibility following his actions against the Nixon administration regarding the Pentagon papers and the Vietnam War. [3] It discussed not just Nixon and Vietnam, but also issues such as the environment, energy policy, taxation policy, governmental reform, and health care and other socio-economic matters, and Gravel's proposed solutions to them. [3] [4] The book's focus was on the benefits that would come with greater citizen participation in government, and its proposal for a constitutional amendment to permit enactment of federal laws by public referendum would presage much of Gravel's future political efforting. [4]

The 2008 edition also expands on ideas that he has been able to realize when he was off the scene of American politics for more than two decades. Gravel also points out that some of his views on issues from the 1970s are still relevant in the 21st century, and still play a part in modern society. He also on some issues points out that his opinion was naïve, and expands on what he currently believes the actual answer should be. Finally, he describes the process Americans can undertake to become empowered as lawmakers in partnership with their elected legislators. [1]

Gravel explicitly used his 2008 presidential campaign to promote the release of the book, even after switching from the Democratic Party to Libertarian Party in March 2008. [5]

Related Research Articles

1952 United States presidential election American election

The 1952 United States presidential election was the 42nd quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1952. Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower won a landslide victory over Democrat Adlai Stevenson, ending a string of Democratic Party wins that stretched back to 1932.

1968 United States presidential election 46th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1968 United States presidential election was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, Alabama Governor George Wallace. Analysts have argued the election of 1968 was a major realigning election as it permanently disrupted the New Deal coalition that had dominated presidential politics since 1932.

1972 United States presidential election 47th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1972 United States presidential election was the 47th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon from California defeated Democratic U.S. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. Until the 1984 election, this was the largest margin of victory in the Electoral College for a Republican in a U.S. presidential election. It was the first time when California had more electoral votes than New York.

Hubert Humphrey 38th Vice President of the United States

Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 1949 to 1964 and 1971 to 1978. As a senator he was a major leader of modern liberalism in the United States. As President Lyndon Johnson's vice president, he supported the controversial Vietnam War. An intensely divided Democratic Party nominated him in the 1968 presidential election. He lost the election to Republican nominee Richard Nixon.

<i>Pentagon Papers</i> U.S. Dept. of Defense report on the history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam from 1945-67

The Pentagon Papers, officially titled Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force, is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. The papers were released by Daniel Ellsberg, who had worked on the study; they were first brought to the attention of the public on the front page of The New York Times in 1971. A 1996 article in The New York Times said that the Pentagon Papers had demonstrated, among other things, that the Johnson Administration had "systematically lied, not only to the public but also to Congress."

Mike Gravel American politician

Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party and who ran for presidential nomination of that party in 2008 and 2020.

An election promise or campaign promise is a promise or guarantee made to the public by a candidate or political party that is trying to win an election.

1972 Democratic National Convention

The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, on July 10–13, 1972. Lawrence F. O'Brien served as permanent chairman of the convention, while Yvonne Braithwaite Burke served as vice-chair, becoming the first African American and the first woman of color to hold that position. On the last day of the convention, Lawrence F. O'Brien departed and Burke was left to preside for about fourteen hours.

Speech or Debate Clause

The Speech or Debate Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution. The clause states that members of both Houses of Congress

...shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their attendance at the Session of their Respective Houses, and in going to and from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

National initiative Organization

National initiative is a proposed process to petition an initiative at the federal level in the United States via a national vote on the national ballot measure. While some U.S. states allow direct or indirect initiatives, there are currently no national initiatives in the United States.

The 2008 presidential campaign of Mike Gravel, former Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives and United States Senator from Alaska began on April 17, 2006 when he declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2008 election, in a speech to the National Press Club.

Gravel v. United States, 408 U.S. 606 (1972), was a case regarding the protections offered by the Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution. In the case, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the privileges and immunities of the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause enjoyed by members of Congress also extend to Congressional aides, but not to activity outside the legislative process.

In American politics, a libertarian Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with political views that are relatively libertarian compared to the views of the national party.

<i>The Imperial Presidency</i> 1973 non-fiction book by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

The Imperial Presidency, by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., is a book published in 1973 by Houghton Mifflin. This book details the history of the Presidency of the United States from its conception by the Founding Fathers through the latter half of the 20th century. Schlesinger wrote the book out of two concerns: first, that the US Presidency was out of control and second, that the Presidency had exceeded its constitutional limits.

Presidency of Richard Nixon U.S. presidential administration from 1969 to 1974

Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office, the only U.S. president ever to do so. He was succeeded by Gerald Ford, whom he had appointed vice president after Spiro Agnew became embroiled in a separate corruption scandal and was forced to resign. A prominent member of the Republican Party from California, Nixon took office after the 1968 presidential election, in which he defeated incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Although he had built his reputation as a very active Republican campaigner, Nixon downplayed partisanship in his 1972 landslide reelection.

1980 United States Senate election in Alaska

The 1980 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic United States Senator Mike Gravel ran for a third term in the United States Senate, but lost in the Democratic primary to Clark Gruening, a former state representative who was the grandson of Ernest Gruening, whom Gravel had defeated twelve years prior in an election for the same seat. Gruening later went on to lose the general election to Republican nominee Frank Murkowski, a banker.

1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries

The 1972 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1972 U.S. presidential election. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections, caucuses, and state party conventions, culminating in the 1972 Democratic National Convention held from July 10 to July 13, 1972, in Miami, Florida.

Richard Nixon 1968 presidential campaign

The 1968 presidential campaign of Richard Nixon, the 36th Vice President of the United States, began when Nixon, the Republican nominee of 1960, formally announced his candidacy, following a year's preparation and five years' political reorganization after defeats in the 1960 presidential election and the 1962 California gubernatorial election.

George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign

The George McGovern presidential campaign of 1972 began when United States Senator George McGovern from South Dakota launched his second candidacy for the Presidency of the United States in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to win the 1972 presidential election, winning only in the District of Columbia and the state of Massachusetts. McGovern vied to become the first South Dakota native to become president.

The 2020 presidential campaign of Mike Gravel, former U.S. senator from Alaska, began on March 19, 2019 with the formation of an exploratory committee, followed on April 2, 2019 with his campaign filing with the Federal Elections Commission to officially run for the presidency. Gravel's initial intention was not to win the nomination, but rather to inject his platform into the conversation so that his ideas become part of the mainstream, though he announced that he was "running to win" on April 29, possibly after realizing that a sham candidacy might disqualify Gravel from the primary debates.

References

  1. 1 2 "Citizen Power: A Mandate for Change (Paperback)". Amazon.com . Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  2. "Citizen Power: A People's Platform (Hardcover)". Amazon.com . Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  3. 1 2 Jesse Gordon (May 2007). "Book Review: Citizen Power: A People's Platform, by Mike Gravel (published 1972)". OnTheIssues.org . Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  4. 1 2 Alex Koppelman (2007-10-18). "All the candidates' books: "Citizen Power" by Mike Gravel". Salon . Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  5. Sarah Elkins (2008-03-31). "Maverick Mike". Newsweek . Archived from the original on 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-04-01.