The Democrats’ Draft Deception

by John Hawkins | June 23, 2006 3:52 pm

One of the wacky tricks that the left used in the 2004 elections was to suggest a draft themselves and then use the buzz that created as evidence that the Republicans would actually have a military draft if Bush was reelected.

That sounds completely nonsensical, but it’s exactly what they did, and because their pals in the MSM published some silly, scaremongering stories about the possibility of a draft, it seemed to have an impact.

Bush, Rumsfeld, the military, and almost the entire Republican Party adamantly said over and over, in the strongest terms, that they didn’t want a draft. Meanwhile, some Democrats, like Charles Rangel came out in favor of a draft. The reaction? Democrats screamed Republicans want a draft! Republicans want a draft! Republicans want a draft! It was completely ridiculous and many, myself included[1], said so.

Well yesterday, Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi[2] came out in favor of a draft. Here’s some of what Joan had to say:

“REINSTATE THE military draft and see how quickly the United States ends its war in Iraq.

Imagine if all our sons and daughters were at risk for deployment to the desert. Imagine if all our children faced the Al Qaeda-style butchery that took the lives of two American soldiers, Private First Class Thomas L. Tucker of Madras, Ore., and Private First Class Kristian Menchaca of Houston.

If we feared our children were next up to be gutted like fish, we might be less likely to shake our heads at crazy antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan. If turning 18 meant your kid’s boots on the ground, a resolution to pull troops out of Iraq by a certain date might grab more than six votes in the US Senate.

…The country has not had a military draft since 1973, when the United States converted to an all-volunteer military. The registration requirement was suspended in 1975, but resumed again in 1980 under President Carter in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

During the Vietnam conflict, the draft sent hundreds of thousands of protesters to the streets. When war is not an abstraction but a personal, involuntary destination, the blanket rationale of war — defending liberty — receives tougher scrutiny. Then, politicians have to answer to every American family, not only to those whose loved ones volunteered for military service.

Either this war is worth every citizen’s effort, or it’s not worth any soldier’s life.”

A lot of people just have trouble wrapping their minds around this. Conservatives are hawkish and pro-military, yet they strongly oppose a draft. On the other hand, liberals are dovish, protest military recruiting, and raged against the draft in the sixties. Now, they’re the ones calling for a draft. How can that be?

Actually, it makes perfect sense.

By and large, Conservatives oppose a draft because we believe it will reduce the quality of our forces, cut into public support for using the military, and will generally make our military less effective.

On the other hand, the liberals who support a draft do so because they believe it will reduce the quality of our forces, cut into public support for using the military, and will generally make our military less effective.

If the Democrats want to pick up the ball and run with a draft that liberals like Vennochi and Charles Rangel are suggesting, that’s fine. But, this time around, Americans should be aware that it’s the Republicans who oppose a draft and that almost everybody who supports it is a Democrat.

You don’t want a draft? Well, don’t worry because it’s too politically unpopular and just isn’t going to happen. But, if you don’t believe that and are determined to vote against anyone who might implement a draft, vote against the Democrats.

Endnotes:
  1. myself included: https://rightwingnews1.wpenginepowered.com/archives/week_2005_07_10.PHP#004124
  2. Joan Vennochi: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/06/22/a_military_draft_might_awaken_us/

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