http://www.politics1.com/ Former US Senator Mike Gravel spent the past year campaigning for the Democratic Presidential nomination -- but this week he joined the Libertarian Party. A few weeks ago, Gravel endorsed Jesse Johnson for the Green Party's Presidential nomination. However, it quickly became apparent the endorsement was simply meant as a snub of Ralph Nader. Gravel was allegedly upset over a perceived slight by Nader against Gravel at an earlier event during this campaign season. Now, sounding like a potential candidate for the Libertarian nomination, Gravel issued a written statemnent on Tuesday explaining his latest actions. "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. 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," he wrote. Now, here is where it gets really interesting. Former GOP Congressman Bob Barr quickly issued a statement welcoming Gravel to the LP: "It is a distinct honor to have another former member of Congress within the Libertarian Party. 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." Is this the launch of a Barr/Gravel or Gravel/Barr national ticket for the Libertarian Party?