Friday, April 27, 2007

Democratic Debate #1

I missed it. But no matter. I'm sure it'll be on YouTube in no time. And let's not forget tomorrow's Daily Show. ;)

If you're interested in some post-mortems (I actually hate that term but can't conjure up another one right now) from various locations who actually have articles rather than open threads, which drive me crazy. Who is really reading through MYDD's 562 comments!?
Reason
For those who like The Tiffany Network:
CBS
And a little something on Mike Gravel, this season's Guy Who No One Knows How He Got On The Stage:
Hardblogger-MSNBC

Gravel for President
Actually, check out his bio which gives this quite cool info:
In 1971, he waged a successful one-man filibuster for five months that forced the Nixon administration to cut a deal, effectively ending the draft in the United States. He is most prominently known for his release of the Pentagon Papers, the secret official study that revealed the lies and manipulations of successive U.S. administrations that misled the country into the Vietnam War. After the New York Times published portions of the leaked study, the Nixon administration moved to block any further publication of information and to punish any newspaper publisher who revealed the contents.

From the floor of the senate, Gravel (a junior senator at the time) insisted that his constituents had a right to know the truth behind the war and proceeded to read 4,100 pages of the 7,000 page document into the senate record. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that Senator Gravel did not have the right and responsibility to share official documents with his constituents.

He then published The Senator Gravel Edition, The Pentagon Papers, Beacon Press (1971). This publication resulted in litigation, Gravel v. U.S., resulting in a landmark Supreme Court decision (No. 71-1017-1026) relative to the Speech and Debate Clause (Article 1, Section 6) of the United States Constitution.

2 comments:

E said...

My bad, Vigilante. I somehow disallowed commenting on this post... I definitely want to hear YOUR thoughts on Gravel! I found him to be a good addition to the debate. Not in the sense that he's going to win the nom but in the sense that he helped mix it up, and in a way provided the opportunity for the other candidates to differentiate themselves. Some say he's running not for President but for AK Senate '08. There's no better way to get your name out there than to be in a debate with HRC, BHO, et. al.

And how funny was Biden?!

Vigilante said...

I didn't get to see it because of a fooking meeting I had to attend. What I'm looking for is a composite You-Tube of the best from Gravel that night. He has less chance than Dennis K., but he does give voice to all of the shitola that has to be said in front of national TV. He's the guy many frustrated Americans are going to give a knowing smile to when he shoots from the hip. He's no potted plant like Hillary is.