Semi Finals Bracket 1: Gravel vs. Kuncinich

[itsrobert]

Winner will face off in the finals at 8 am Eastern Time against bracket 2 winner of Edwards vs. Biden.

[demnan]

1. What is this?

Could you explain in more detail?

[itsrobert]

2. Tournament Polling

Gravel beat Clinton and Dennis beat Obama.

[question everything]

36. Oh, really

Gravel beats Clinton?

Only on DU.

[DutchLiberal]

3. I like Gravel, but not nearly as much as I like Dennis!

[itsrobert]

4. I had to be honest

I voted for Dennis.

[Alexander]

5. Mr. Flat Tax? No thanks. Dennis all the way.

Though I do like Gravel's call to legalize the ganj.

[cascadiance]

6. Hmm... It will be interesting to see who wins between Kucinich and Edwards...

... which I suspect it will wind up to be.

I pick Edwards currently because I consider him to be more "electable" to win the nomination. But if it were to be down to those two, I'd have to nitpick a lot on who I liked better as they are my top two of the announced candidates.

[bigwillq]

7. DK!

:bounce:

[itsrobert]

8. Please rec to get this to the Greatest Page

Where more members will see it and better voter turnout.

[skipos]

9. I don't think either would make very good presidents

though I agree with them on many issues. Kucinich more than Gravel though.

[gateley]

10. Gravel. I'm pro legalizing pot. nt

[John Q. Citizen]

14. Kucinich is pro decriminalization of pot. I don't think the Feds should legalize, that should be

up to the states, but for them to do it, it needs to be decriminalized at the Federal level first.

I don't see a mechanism for the Feds to legalize it. Much like alchohol, they can end prohibition, but the states would do any legalization.

[gateley]

19. I seem to use the two words interchangeably. Thanks for clearing it up for me. nt

[John Q. Citizen]

27. legalization supposes a legalized and presumably taxed and regulated scheme

for distribution.

But I doubt the Feds would want to set that up for states or counties that wanted to be "smoke Free" (as in dry counties) so to speak.

[Alexander]

24. The President can legalize for medicinal use.

He can order the Attorney General to remove marijuana from the Schedule I class of substances, which means that it has an "acceptable medical use" and physicians can prescribe it.

It would also, in effect, decriminalize weed, because most of the harsh sentencing laws are due to the scheduling of herb.

[John Q. Citizen]

28. If the Feds remove prohibition, then states can decide to

tax and regulate, keep illegal, or do whatever they want to do. Both with medical as well as recreational use of pot.

[Oldenuff]

34. Keep it illegal............

How the heck are the smugglers and big time dealers supposed to make a living?

well...maybe as long as we don't go doing anything stupid like legalizing all drugs....What the heck would a real criminal have to do then...become a Politician?

[John Q. Citizen]

35. Well, since they say Hill is leading, I don't think there is anything for the establishment

to worry about.

[itsrobert]

11. Bracket 2 link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3685055&mesg_id=3685055

[lumberjack_jeff]

12. Doesn't the #1 seed face the #8 seed?

I'm not liking the match ups so far.

[itsrobert]

13. The #1 seed already lost to the #8 seed

Sorry, you must of missed it. Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3683403

[Basileus Basileon]

30. Thus cementing the fact that DU may not be used as a weathervane for anything ever

:D

[LoZoccolo]

15. Gravel.

Dennis Kucinich said he saw a UFO.

[Ken Burch]

32. Gravel coulda said he'd PILOTED a UFO and you'd still bash Dennis.

Basically, you have it in for the progressive wing of the party. Why, we aren't really to blame for much of any of the party's problems, is a bonafide mystery.

[Bluebear]

16. Does "Gravel" not have a first name?

[JeffR]

20. I think this is actually DK versus gravel

the road construction material.

[Bluebear]

21. That's not necessarily true, be fair

[JeffR]

22. !

:rofl:

[RebelSansCause]

17. this is just going to be an edwards v kucinich battle

didnt you see the poll that had over 1000 votes?

[itsrobert]

23. Poll ends at 8 AM Monday, Edwards fans

better get busy. (note: I'm one of them)

[Ken Burch]

18. As an Alaskan and a student of Alaska politics, I could NEVER back Gravel

Some things you need to know:

1)In the mid-1960's, Mike Gravel singlehandedly destroyed a possible Democratic organization in the state legislature by breaking his verbal commitment(which was anathema in Alaska politics at the time),

2)In 1968, Mike Gravel challenged, with Republican and corporate support, one of the great heroes of Alaska politics, Senator Ernest Gruening. Gruening, who was a long-time territorial governor and statehood advocate, was one of only TWO members of the U.S. Senate, along with Wayne Morse from my home state of Oregon, to vote against the Gulf of Tonkin resolution in 1964, the resolution that Lyndon Johnson used to justify his escalation of the Vietnam War. Gravel was LBJ's instrument of revenge in the 1968 Alaska Democratic primary, beating Gruening with heavy support from Republican crossover votes(the primary was open back then). This makes Gravel's later presentation of himself as an antiwar hero hollow, to say the least.

3)In the late 1970's, as a second term senator, Gravel sabotauged the ORIGINAL Alaska Lands Act that was carefully negotiated between President Carter and our senior senator, Ted Stevens(or "Senator for life or until 2008, whichever comes first" as we NOW call him.) In response to Gravel's treachery, Carter introduced a much more sweeping lands act passed over Stevens' opposition that the Republicans later used to wipe Alaska Democrats off the political map in this state(we are just NOW recovering from this, and only slowly).

Mike Gravel is a man no one should trust with their primary vote.

[Alexander]

25. This is very interesting info. Anything else we should know?

Not like I was going to trust Gravel with my vote anyway.

[John Q. Citizen]

29. I like Gravel's moxie, but I can't stand his flat tax. It's a regressive idea.

[Ken Burch]

31. I didn' t really WANT to mention this but...

At one point, while he was senator, Gravel proposed to put a large area of the state (I believe it was most of the Anchorage area) under a DOME.

As in, like a really, really, really, really, really, really large Astrodome. But without sports.

[Froward69]

26. Gravel may be getting senile

But Kuncinich is just plain Crazy.

[itsrobert]

33. Poll is closed.

It's Dennis Kucinich in a landslide victory. Next up the finals.