Gatto: That’s exactly what’s happening, exactly. That was my next question, fear, but we already just discussed the politics of fear. I have some questions of my own. If you are elected President, what kind of changes would we see in regard to foreign policy?
Senator Gravel: With regards to foreign policy?
Gatto: Yes
Senator Gravel: Oh… Radical change! First off, I don’t believe in sanctions, all sanctions do is punish the innocent in trying to get at the guilty and you don’t even get at the guilty. Two, if you can then drop the sanctions like in Iran, North Korea, other areas you can begin to negotiate with these people, treat them as equals. We Americans are so arrogant! We think we’re better than anyone else in the world and we act that way. But we’re not better than anyone else, and we’ve used our superpower status to intimidate people rather than use our power to bring people along and try to negotiate and bring out peaceful solutions. And integrate the global economy so that we can protect the working person both in the countries on one end and ourselves at the other end. All of our trade agreements need to be reexamined, not to be done away with, but re-examined, make sure that the beneficiaries are the working people in the countries involved. Not just the management and the investors of the corporations, it needs to be broader than that. The kind of foreign policy that I would bring forth… it would be based on and using our military capabilities, that wherever there is a natural disaster in the world or a human disaster that we would be there… “Johnny on the spot” to help people get through the crisis that they’re suffering in that way we are doing what I think is an empathetic for lack of a better word, a charitable act that would inure to our benefit, as people in the world, as inure as well to the people we are helping.
Gatto: It would do more to help get people on our side than threatening them and sending aircraft carriers off their coast.
Senator Gravel: Exactly right.
Gatto: If you show significant support among Democrats, but fail to capture the Democratic nomination, and that nomination goes to someone that you believe will not bring the changes we need, will you run as an independent?
Senator Gravel: I think it’s too early to say or to speak to that issue. I think that with the proper campaign, proper financial support, we don’t need the support that Hillary and others are getting. No they are getting that from the Pharmaceuticals, the various industries of the Military Industrial Complex. They don’t give to my campaign, but the average citizen donating to my campaign could well give me enough voice that I could win the Primary. If that’s not the case then obviously I would look for alternatives, but right now I want to focus on winning the Democratic Primary and I think it can be done. Keep in mind, I may be marginal, I may just be coming to peoples notice right now this is very near May coming into June. I won’t have to become the top Tier candidate until November. There is just a lot of work to be done between now and then. A campaign is a linear task. You do your work now and it will pay dividends later on. And that’s what I’m doing. We just received enough money from people so that we can now open up our campaign office, would you believe? I’ve been running this operation with some virtual backers, virtual people and volunteers, from my 300 sq. ft apartment.
Gatto: You’ve certainly done a good job so far. Here’s just one question I have to ask you. Are you familiar with the theory of “Peak Oil” that says we are about to run out of oil in the near future? Are you familiar with the book “Armed Madhouse” by Greg Palast who claims that the threat of running out of oil is a trick by Big Oil and OPEC to drive up the price of oil?
Senator Gravel: Well, I think it’s more complex than that. Ido have a great deal of expertise in that area and there is a whole school of thought on ‘peak oil” and that we may be on the other side of that issue and there’s a school of thought that says we keep making discoveries. What we do know, is that we have to get off of carbon. So I would advocate a carbon tax in the United States when I become President. I would try to set up a global institution; It will be an energy-environmental institution. This organization would invite other countries to put a carbon tax on their people. Now I’m talking about a carbon tax at the source: The barrel of oil, a lump of coal…so that it filters through fairly, through the economy, and that with all of this money that these various countries would raise, would go to an international global organization would take this money to integrate the global engineering community and the global scientific community to get us off of oil, to get us off of carbon within a decade. We can do that. We know that the Chinese are ahead of us on fusion, the French are ahead of us in fission. We have a whole plethora of energy alternatives uh…production devices, that could be implemented if we had the will to do it. This is not a national problem, this is not an American problem, this is a global problem. This problem needs to be gone after with a global point of view. We can provide the leadership, but we are going to have to tax people with a carbon tax, which would then provide the wherewithal to get this job done within a decade.
Gatto: That’s a very good answer. Well Senator, that’s my fifteen minutes, and I really am so pleasedglad that you took the time to address the progressive wing of our nation, and I have to admit, that for me, your candidacy is like a breath of fresh air. You’re like Captain Kirk of “Star Trek”, you go where no candidate has gone before, as far as honest truthful answers, and I salute you for that.
Senator Gravel: I thank you very much, and keep in mind your work here is helping my candidacy more than you realize, and so the more that you can help get the message out, the more you take this questioning forward and the more people are aware of it. That’s what will really make the difference. I would not worry about the polls as they exist today, as I pointed out, it’s a linear campaign, it’s like the hare and the tortoise, I consider myself the tortoise.
Gatto: I think so too. People are fed up with these pat answers, and the “same old, same old”, “cookie cutter” politicians, and like I say…you are a breath of fresh air and people are going to catch on.
Gravel: I think so too, and when that happens, I will become President of the United States, and the most important thing I do will bring about your empowerment as a law maker. There is no reason that the American people cannot make laws on all of the policy issues that affect their lives. I have a plan to do that on my website WWW.NationalInituative.us or on my national website that will take you there and that’s WWW.Gravel08.us. The future lies in the hands of its people and not their leaders.
Gatto: Well Sir I want to tell you, it’s been a pleasure, and when you become President, you can make me your National Press Secretary, and I’ll be the best that you ever had.
Senator Gravel: Well if that happens, make sure you come and see me and jerk my chain.
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