submit your questions for Mike Gravel on Reddit

[emazur]

For those of you who don't know, Gravel was a Democrat Senator from Alaska who entered the Pentagon Papers into record, and he also run for Prez in '08 first as a Democrat and then as Libertarian though receiving the nomination from neither party.
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/es69z/i_am_a_former_united_states_senator_who_ran_for/

EDIT 2: Mike loves this! We just spoke on the phone and he said he'll answer every question he can; if we get a lot of posts I'll send those with the most upvotes to him!

I bit the bullet and signed up for reddit (very easy - no email or verification needed) to submit my questions:
Mike, as a libertarian I appreciate your views on the 2 parties, Wall St., the Fed, Ron Paul, and IRS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5oKq0AczAU

1) You advocate direct democracy to some degree - how is direct democracy any different from the tyranny of the majority? I want neither a dictator nor 51% of the population to rule over me, and I am reminded of a quote from de Tocqueville: "The omnipotence of the majority appears to me such a great peril for the American republics that the dangerous means used to limit it seem to me even a good" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp-L7ILlieM

2) How has your experience been in the Libertarian Party? Have you still been active in it since the 2008 election ended? If you run again in 2012, will you opt for Democrat or Libertarian?

[Brett85]

1) How can you be a socialist and a libertarian at the same time?

[emazur]

He finally responded:

From Mike:

"Tocqueville’s observations where of a time when we had no direct democracy at all and literacy was not as extensive as today. He actually is referring to peer pressure, which is the most powerful control factor in any group. If you have concerns over the tyranny of the majority then look to the Congress, not the people. The best example is the Patriot Act.

The majority in society is protected by its numbers; the minority by laws. I paraphrase Jefferson. Not every society is mature enough for direct democracy. If you choose to remain in society, you are ruled by the majority or you are ruled by a minority. The latter is the case with representative government throughout the world today.

I enjoyed being a Libertarian and am not at all unhappy that I was not their nominee. I have always been a libertarian/democrat. I have little use for the party system of representative government."