Reinstating the draft? It makes sense.

[Pragmatic Pilgrim]

"The logic is inescapable," I tell folks when I'm canvassing.

"With a tough election looming, Bush has been desperately patching the military together. He has extended duty-tours until our troops are sick of it. He has lowered enlistment standards to the point where Special Ed kids can qualify. He has redoubled his high school recruitment efforts. The other day, he even reactivated a 56-year-old woman to go to Iraq! He's scraping the bottom of the barrel. And yet, his generals keep crying for more 'boots on the ground.'

"Where will the additional troops come from to help him hang onto the tail of that tiger he grabbed with his Iraq invasion? And how can he possibly consider a war with the much bigger & tougher nation of Iran unless he can find a lot more troops?

"Doesn't it seem logical that once the election is behind him, he'll have to reinstate the draft?"

* * * * *
Nothing I've ever said to potential voters has ever drawn the response that this argument has. People whose eyes had told me they were just looking for a way to close the door are suddenly paying close attention. It isn't about politics any more, it's suddenly about the future of their kids...and whether those kids might arrive home in a body-bag.

One woman, who had tried to brush me off at the door with a smiling "Oh, I don't even vote," stopped in her tracks when I began discussing a possible draft...then invited me in so she could fill out a Voter Registration Form! She had never voted before! She even tried to hand me her driver's license and a utility bill she had dug out of a drawer, begging me to take them to be photocopied so she could attach them to the form! (I assured her she could submit the form by mail and then present the ID at the polls.) That's when I noticed a young boy--maybe 14 or 15--standing in an adjacent room, listening to every word.

Yeah, folks, I think Bush would be nuts to reinstate the draft. We all know that if he did, the public would turn into an "insurgency" like nothing he's seen in Iraq. And we all know he's suddenly ratcheting-down his "Stay the course" rhetoric, either for the election or to put himself into a more tenable position to accept the Baker Commission recommendations that will be announced after the election (but which he's doubtless already seen).

Still, Bush has taken plenty of breathtakingly bullheaded stances in the past. And if he hangs onto a Republican Congress, God knows what he'll do with what he'll probably call a "mandate."

Which is why I say to the voters of my region that it's a perfectly logical extrapolation of the only FACTS we have at hand.

I suggest you test it for yourself, as you speak with fence-sitting voters these last few days before the election. I think many of them may prefer to visit the ballot-box than risk having to visit a different kind of box--one with a flag draped over it.

[BOSSHOG]

1. The best side effect of the draft

is that the republican base would evaporate the second it was proposed. All the brave flag waving young republicans would shit their pants at the thought of actually having to serve their country.

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. Yes indeed.

I got into it at my last job with a seemingly half intelligent co-worker (she had to write technical documents for a living, so she wasn't STUPID, just fucking BLIND to this administration).

I even brought up the fact that she had THREE draft age sons. Didn't bother her at all. In her words, "That's what mothers just come to expect when they have sons."

Nothing I said was going to have any efect. But I have also discovered that it tends to make people pay attention when nothing else will.

Good work!

[BlueIris]

22. ...yeah.

Although I don't support this crazy idea at all--because the only way we're going to see another draft is if Bush and/or ReplacementBush (Condi?) can justify it in the aftermath of another "terrorist attack" and once we've had that happen...I doubt civilization could be restored--I would enjoy watching the hypocritical reactions the freepers, evangelicals, and sad little white male "conservative Christians" would instantly back-peddle into. I can just hear their whiny little squeals, now..."Hey. Nobody ASKED ME if I wanted to join the military!!! Mommy! Mommy! Where's Mexico? Can't I go to Mexico?? Well, what about Canada? What do you mean we aren't rich enough for me to go to Canada?!"

[Hippo_Tron]

24. They all got deferments during Vietnam

Why does everyone assume that there won't be exceptions this time?

[charlyvi]

2. When a country goes to war, I think there should be a draft.

I realize this isn't a popular position, but until everyone has a stake in fighting a war, they will be far too easy to declare. The Vietnam War was protested so much because of the draft--the whole populace had a stake in it. Even though the draft was unfair to a large extent, with deferments given right and left, it still affected the nation as a whole. When everyone knows their children stand a chance of being called up, they are much more seriously minded about letting their government start and conduct the act of war. Also, a class of professional soldiers scares me to death.

[Finder]

4. Agree. n/t

[Bucky]

8. I'm with you on this too. So were the Founding Fathers.

Actually Wes Clark has written eloquently of the state of America's 'citizen soldier' and how they reinforce, rather than threaten, our democracy. Most professional soldiers in today's military support the all volunteer army specifically because they end up with more motivated troops who train, learn, and perform better. But the other side of the draft question is that when you institute a draft, you bring in people from all over the country, from all walks of life, from all economic classes. The impact on the citizenry is substantial. A generation of business leaders in the 1950s and 1960s would never have dreamed of exporting American manufacturing jobs in part because most of them had served in the army together and knew the labor men they'd be firing for their greed.

[loyalsister]

25. Definitely

And, if this war had been approach with any honesty, a draft would have been instituted as soon as the IWR was passed.
The were making plans for war, and they knew that it would take more troops.

[onehandle]

3. Send vans into red-state millionaire neighborhoods.

Start collecting males between the ages of 18 and 28.

Stop when you've hit the number that Generals are begging for.

Train them, equip them, and send them to Iraq.



Repeat as needed.

[Pragmatic Pilgrim]

11. Hee hee, send those vans to the State Capitols, too!

And send Michael Moore along to record the results!

[rocktivity]

6. It's what Bush should have done in the first place

if the war on terror was that urgent, and especially since he was told in no uncertain terms that he'd need to double his troop strength at least to "do" Iraq properly. And though it pains me say it, I think I could have found a way to respect him for it!

But I'm talking about a fair draft, of course. I like Charles Rangel's idea--pick an age range and NO EXCEPTIONS. Not for marriage, not for parenthood, not for schooling, not for money or political connections. Empty the out the rock bands, the pro sports teams, the colleges--yeah, that's the ticket! It's all about sacrifice, as Bush says: he should be willing to sacrifice his own political future regardless of how unpopular a draft would be.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Kolesar]

7. Special Ed kids can qualify (?)

Are you serious? BTW, welcome to the Democratic Underground! :hi:

[Bucky]

9. Let's define "special education" right here.

mentally retarded 18 year olds and those who are severly cognitively impaired cannot enlist. But a graduated student with a mild learning disability that's been corrected for can serve just as competently as any other soldier. A slight attention deficit won't impair performance in a foxhole.

[Kolesar]

15. Noted. eom

[Pragmatic Pilgrim]

19. Very serious--about winning!

I guess I WAS serious about Special Ed kids, based on the posts below, but I'm a professional persuader so I sometimes use a bit of hyperbole. That's what I thought my reference to Special Ed was...until an apparent expert confirmed it, sorta.

Oh, and thanks for the welcome! (Hee hee, don't bother to say "You're welcome for the thanks for my welcome!" We've got an election to win!)

[Union Thug]

10. I'll support a progressive draft, based on income and wealth...

The higher the income or the greater the wealth - the greater your chances of getting pulled for service.
The lower the income/wealth, the less likely you are to be drawn.

It only makes sense. The rich enjoy a greater share of the wealth and benefits of this country, therefore, they are much more invested in maintaining the system.

Otherwise, I will never support a draft and I would fight to my death to keep my kids from fighting the wars of the elite.

[Pragmatic Pilgrim]

18. Yo, I wasn't suggesting policy, just persuasion!

Note the first half of my screen-name. Maybe I was too subtle.

Here's the rationale: So long as people aren't risking the lives of their own kids, they treat the war as pretty much of a distant intangible. By showing them the facts about how Bush is desperately keeping the military patched together, reminding them that the generals are still screaming for more troops, and extrapolating that to its logical conclusion, you suddenly make it very tangible for them. And pointing out that he couldn't reinstate the draft with a Democratic Congress helps them to see some immediate action they can take. We win.

Does that make it more clear?

Hell, if there were a draft, parents would march to the White House with pikes and torches, like in Frankenstein. They'd probably want to impeach Bush, but in any case, the war would be over in no time. My goal is not to let it come to that. Instead, we should help people to see the simple Nov. 7 solution.

[MikeNearMcChord]

12. First eliminate or decrease the War Powers Act for the President

and force the declaration of wars back to the House of Reps where it belongs. Then during peacetime
have a volunteer military, but once war is declared or an military operation lasting longer than six months, institute the draft. The key is to stop these stupid overseas miltary operations, we cannot afford to be Rome anymore

[Kolesar]

14. Curtail the War Powers, begin withdrawl, & then draft to reestablish the military

...as a means of fixing the Army that bush* nearly destroyed.

[lcordero2]

13. nope

It will give anybody in office license to make war on a whim.

[Ninja Jordan]

20. Actually, the argument is that it would do the opposite.

That is, with a draft, American voters (and their representatives) would be less likely to support military action, as their sons and daughters may be drafted. Thus, a president would be less likely to "make war on a whim" because he or she becomes more accountable to voters. That being said, pushing for the draft would be political suicide. Barring a nuclear attack on the US or a similar event, I do not see the draft ever returning.

[Mojekearthe]

16. Draft talk is NONSENSE...it only perpetuates the need for the military!

I'll be honest, the draft card (pardon the bad pun) is NOT the ticket to having people agree with our side. What SHOULD be discussed is a sincere, IMPORTANT talk about downsizing our OWN Stormtrooper-sized force, with open, above-board discussions with international organizations, such as the UN, about deferring all military command to that of an INTERNATIONAL consortium, NOT a unilateralist, criminal republicanist despotic regime. I would MUCH RATHER a WORLD military force that would devolve into a socialistically pure, unadulterated proffer of GOOD intentions, not murderous ones that currently are the norm in this criminal republican regime. Reestablishing the draft will only PLAY into the republicanist mindset, NOT defeat it!

Of course, before we can do that, we need to sterilize the criminal republican party before we can get our majorital perogative to transfer the military power to that of peace, and not of war.

[Pragmatic Pilgrim]

17. Um, yeah, but first you gotta get elected!

And with such a complex set of policies as you've stated, you'd never get any voters to listen.

People are far more likely to think twice when you suggest that their kids might be IED'd into smithereens than when you talk about international consortiums and world military forces, don'tcha agree?

[Mojekearthe]

23. I never said it would be easy!

Of course, we need to ensure that we have enough votes to offset the criminal republican party's attempt to steal the votes using their Diebold machines. We HAVE to make sure we have enough documentation to ensure that we can counter the Repug switched votes.

But you miss the point about transfering the military to an international consortium. We need military action that is dependent upon a UNIFIED command, NOT a republicanist unilateral deployment. It is FAR BETTER for our KIDS to be part of such a force, if they choose, RATHER than the current Stormtrooper brigades that are part and parcel of the criminal republican regime now underway.

CONTEXT folks....CONTEXT!!

[TheBaldyMan]

21. Draft the RW bloggers and Yellow Elephants first n/t