Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel joins Libertarian Party

Believes Democrats are out of touch with American citizens

Washington, D.C. - Mike Gravel, a former Alaskan Senator and Democratic candidate for president, has joined the Libertarian Party.

"I'm joining the Libertarian Party because it is a party that combines a commitment to freedom and peace that can't be found in the two major parties that control the government and politics of America," says Gravel. "My libertarian views, as well as my strong stance against war, the military industrial complex and American imperialism, seem not to be tolerated by Democratic Party elites who are out of touch with the average American; elites that reject the empowerment of American citizens I offered to the Democratic Party at the beginning of this presidential campaign with the National Initiative for Democracy."

Here's what Bob Barr had to say:

"It is a distinct honor to have another former member of Congress within the Libertarian Party," says Barr. "Just as Senator Gravel believes Democrats have lost touch with the American public, I too concluded Republicans had lost their core principles, and could no longer associate myself with the GOP. While coming from opposite sides of the aisle, Senator Gravel and I definitely agree on the fundamental need for systemic change in our political system, and that the only way we have of effecting that change is by supporting and working in the Libertarian Party, which is the only political party in America that consistently works in word and deed to maximize individual liberty and minimize government power."

Official Website of the Libertarian National Committee