Political Frenzy

This is the second post in a team-up with Jeff O’Bryant over at RightNewsAndViews.com. Check out his profile of John McCain!

Name: Mike Gravel

Age: 77

Home Town: Springfield, Massachusetts

Political Positions Held: Congressman in Alaskan House of Representatives (1962-1966), Speaker of the Alaskan House of Representatives (1964-1966), United States Senator from Alaska (1969-1981)

Military History: United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps for 3 years

Accomplishments: Initiated electronic voting in Alaska, ended the Vietnam War Draft, put the Pentagon Papers into public record, ended the Cannikin Tests.

Controversies: When giving a lecture sponsored by Barnes Review, BR expected to interview Gravel about the National Initiative. Instead, Gravel turned around and attacked BR about the fact that they are Holocaust Deniers, calling them “nutty as loons”

Fundamental Platform: Gravel has pushed on many angles for the socialization of social security and medical care. He is also vehemently opposed to nuclear testing. He has stated that one should be able to buy marijuana “in the liquor store”, and is pro-legalization for all drugs because he believes it is a medical problem, not a criminal problem. He argues that if drug addicts are thrown in jail all they do is learn how to be better criminals so we will not catch them once they are released.

Nomination Pros: The youth vote might go to him because of his views on drugs, and senior citizens are likely to identify with him because his grandchildren are featured in his campaign.

Nomination Cons: A pro-legalization platform will probably be hard to get past red states, and many will probably accuse him of talking too much about his grandchildren.

Head to head with:
Vs. Giulani - They’re both pretty left of center, but in different areas. They seem to be evenly matched.
Vs. Romney - Mitt Romeny’s got more attackable weak point, as Mike Gavel’s more vulnerable planks are well defended rhetorically
Vs. McCain - McCain wins hands down due to name recognition and more recent political activity.

Welcome to the first installment of the team-up of RightNewsAndViews.com and PoliticalFrenzy.com where we will profile the presidential candidates. RightNewsAndViews.com will cover the Republicans and PoliticalFrenzy.com will cover the Democrats.

Today I will be profiling Chris Dodd.

Jeff O’Bryant has written a profile on Rudy Giuliani, so go check that out!

Name: Chris Dodd

Age: 63

Home Town: Willimantic, Connecticut

Political Positions Held: U.S. Representative for Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District (1975-1981), United States Senator from Connecticut (1981-Present), Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (1995-1997), Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee (2001-2003), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee (2007-Present)

Military History: 7 Years in the US Army Reserve

Accomplishments: Dodd was a successful lawyer before running for office. In Congress he voted for NAFTA, introduced a Federal Shield Bill (to protect journalists’ sources), the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2007, and the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007; proposed a Carbon Tax, and has been fighting to enact the Family and Medical Leave Act for ten years.

Controversies: He is the only 2008 Presidential Candidate to co-sponsor the anti-war bill which would entirely cut funding. He also received more money from Enron’s Arthur Andersen than any other Democrat, giving credibility to the “Golden Leash Award” he was awarded from Public Campaign.org, who claimed Dodd has close ties to special interest groups, particularly in Securities, Investment, and Accounting.

Fundamental Platform: Dodd’s most timely plank is being anti-war, but in the past he has been primarily a pro-children activist, having received a 100% rating from Children’s Defense Fund and being the founder of the first Senate Children’s Caucus. He is also highly interested in mending ties with South America. Civil liberties have been a major issue for him as well.

Nomination Pros: Possibly the US Senator most opposed to the war, giving him an immediate appeal to liberals. Most of all, however, he has a natural youth appeal. The “Dodd Pod”, his iPod, has gotten a lot of media attention. His pop appeal also comes from having once dated Mick Jagger’s current wife and having actress Christy Carlson Romano as a niece. Dodd’s youth appeal is parallel only to Bill Clinton.

Nomination Cons: His links to special interests could be hard to overcome. And though he might be running on a primarily anti-war platform, his extremely liberal views on domestic issues and South America could make it impossible for voters with conservative leanings to cast a ballot for him.

Head to head with:
Vs. McCain - Close, but would most likely win due to his youth appeal
Vs. Romney - Nearly impossible to say, but Romney might win because he can at least pretend to be centrist. Dodd cannot.
Vs. Brownback - The inexperienced Kansan would most likely be defeated hands down.