#2008 dems

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson dies at 75

(NewsNation) — Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, 75, died in his sleep at home on Friday night. The Richardson Center for Global Engag

Stephanie Whiteside at NewsNation Now:

(NewsNation) — Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, 75, died in his sleep at home on Friday night. The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded, said in a statement Saturday that he died in his sleep at his home in Chatham, Massachusetts. “He lived his entire life in the service of others — including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” said Mickey Bergman, the vice president of the Richardson Center.

Richardson was elected as New Mexico’s 30th governor in 2003, holding the office through 2011. Prior to his role as the state’s chief executive, Richardson served as a federal lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 1983 through February 1997, representing Northern New Mexico in the state’s 3rd Congressional District. Following his stint in Congress, Richardson later went on to serve as a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President Bill Clinton. He then headed up the U.S. Department of Energy between 1998 and 2001 through the end of Clinton’s second term. [...] Through his work with the center, Richardson worked to free Americans held abroad, including hostages from Iran and North Korea. His work included working on efforts to secure the release of WNBA Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia.

Former New Mexico Governor and 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Richardson died at 75.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel Dies At 91

Gravel read into the Congressional Record 4,100 pages of the 7,000-page leaked document known as the Pentagon Papers.

AP, via HuffPost:

SEASIDE, Calif. (AP) — Mike Gravel, a former U.S. senator from Alaska who read the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record and confronted Barack Obama about nuclear weapons during a later presidential run, has died. He was 91.

Gravel, who represented Alaska as a Democrat in the Senate from 1969 to 1981, died Saturday, according to his daughter, Lynne Mosier. Gravel had been living in Seaside, California, and was in failing health, said Theodore W. Johnson, a former aide.

Gravel’s two terms came during tumultuous years for Alaska when construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline was authorized and when Congress was deciding how to settle Alaska Native land claims and whether to classify enormous amounts of federal land as parks, preserves and monuments.

He had the unenviable position of being an Alaska Democrat when some residents were burning President Jimmy Carter in effigy for his measures to place large sections of public lands in the state under protection from development.

Gravel feuded with Alaska’s other senator, Republican Ted Stevens, on the land matter, preferring to fight Carter’s actions and rejecting Stevens’ advocacy for a compromise.

In the end, Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, a compromise that set aside millions of acres for national parks, wildlife refuges and other protected areas. It was one of the last bills Carter signed before leaving office.

Gravel’s Senate tenure also was notable for his anti-war activity. In 1971, he led a one-man filibuster to protest the Vietnam-era draft and he read into the Congressional Record 4,100 pages of the 7,000-page leaked document known as the Pentagon Papers, the Defense Department’s history of the country’s early involvement in Vietnam.

Gravel reentered national politics decades after his time in the Senate to twice run for president. Gravel, then 75, and his wife, Whitney, took public transportation in 2006 to announce he was running for president as a Democrat in the 2008 election ultimately won by Obama.

He launched his quest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination as a critic of the Iraq war.

[...]

In an email to supporters, he said the Democratic Party “no longer represents my vision for our great country.” “It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism — all of which I find anathema to my views,” he said.

He failed to get the Libertarian nomination.

Gravel briefly ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. He again criticized American wars and vowed to slash military spending. His last campaign was notable in that both his campaign manager and chief of staff were just 18 at the time of his short-lived candidacy.

“There was never any ... plan that he would do anything more than participate in the debates. He didn’t plan to campaign, but he wanted to get his ideas before a larger audience,” Johnson said.

Gravel failed to qualify for the debates. He endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the contest eventually won by now-President Joe Biden.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

10 years ago tonight, the moment that changed the 2008 Democratic Party primary happened in Iowa

10 years ago tonight, the moment that arguably changed the trajectory of the 2008 Democratic Primary happened in the #IowaCaucus. It was then-Senator Barack Obama winning the #IACaucus, who later won the nomination and 2 terms as President.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Four Years Ago, I casted my first vote ever.

Four years ago at this time, I voted for #ObamaBiden and the Dem ticket as my 1st ever election that I was eligible to vote. #Election2008

— Justin Gibson (@JGibsonDem) November 6, 2012

2008 Primary:

Had I been eligible to vote in the #2008DemocraticPrimary, then #Obama would've been my 1st choice. Kucinich or Biden were my 2nd choices.

— Justin Gibson (@JGibsonDem) November 6, 2012