The Draft as a political boogeyman. Again. Meh.
So, I'm starting to hear people talking about the Draft again. That old Boogeyman. People I'm bumping into in political fora are telling stories, to scare the rest of us about the possibility if McCain gets into office. As sick as some of them are of the infighting between Clinton and Obama, maybe they think this will be an effective tactic to realize a common enemy?
Except that, if I read my history books correctly, every instance of the Draft in the last 100 years has been when a Democrat was presiding in the Oval Office. World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Oh, and let's not forget the lame bill which Democrats sponsored in 2004, and then killed, as a tactic to try to convince the People that Bush was going to send us all to Iraq. It really didn't prop Kerry up, all that much.
One of the most grand ironies of the Draft is that the New Democrats, which came into power during the Cultural Revolution of the 60s, turned around and called soldiers who were sent to Vietnam, even involuntarily, "BABY KILLERS". I still had that horrible epithet used against myself, during my military service in the '90s and '00s.
It seems, however, that maybe the New Democrats are becoming more wise... Maybe they have realized that criticizing a large portion of your voting base for serving their country -- at least, to their faces -- is a political no-no. Still though, while they criticized the vehicles and materiel we are supplying our troops in Iraq and Afthanistan, if you look back at spending bills, you won't see them supporting funding for the Military when it was proposed. They are as much or more to blame for the ill-preparedness of any of our troops.
Another such irony is that the Draft was basically ended by two Republicans, in an attempt to convert us to an "all volunteer army." Those would be Nixon and Reagan. You may still technically have to register for Selective Service, but the government doesn't even enforce that anymore. They decided it was simply counterproductive.
As far as our current Presidential Candidates? McCain wouldn't do it. As a man who was a POW in Vietnam for years, he knows very well what it means to be someplace you haven't chosen to be. The US Miltary is barely recovering from the negative side-effects of the Draft, as our Vietnam vets are dying off or sliding into retirement.
And Hillary and Obama... well, they just want out of Iraq, ASAP. (And that's a whole other debate there)
So, the Draft? It just ain't going to happen. Let's move on to other, more important issues to talk about. Okay? Anyone for Health Care?
[Standard disclaimer: I am not a Democrat or a Republican, but I generally find more to criticize in the tactics and rhetoric of the Left than the Right. In truth, I probably fall into the political spectrum as a Conservative Libertarian. Sorry if that offends anyone.]
Except that, if I read my history books correctly, every instance of the Draft in the last 100 years has been when a Democrat was presiding in the Oval Office. World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Oh, and let's not forget the lame bill which Democrats sponsored in 2004, and then killed, as a tactic to try to convince the People that Bush was going to send us all to Iraq. It really didn't prop Kerry up, all that much.
One of the most grand ironies of the Draft is that the New Democrats, which came into power during the Cultural Revolution of the 60s, turned around and called soldiers who were sent to Vietnam, even involuntarily, "BABY KILLERS". I still had that horrible epithet used against myself, during my military service in the '90s and '00s.
It seems, however, that maybe the New Democrats are becoming more wise... Maybe they have realized that criticizing a large portion of your voting base for serving their country -- at least, to their faces -- is a political no-no. Still though, while they criticized the vehicles and materiel we are supplying our troops in Iraq and Afthanistan, if you look back at spending bills, you won't see them supporting funding for the Military when it was proposed. They are as much or more to blame for the ill-preparedness of any of our troops.
Another such irony is that the Draft was basically ended by two Republicans, in an attempt to convert us to an "all volunteer army." Those would be Nixon and Reagan. You may still technically have to register for Selective Service, but the government doesn't even enforce that anymore. They decided it was simply counterproductive.
As far as our current Presidential Candidates? McCain wouldn't do it. As a man who was a POW in Vietnam for years, he knows very well what it means to be someplace you haven't chosen to be. The US Miltary is barely recovering from the negative side-effects of the Draft, as our Vietnam vets are dying off or sliding into retirement.
And Hillary and Obama... well, they just want out of Iraq, ASAP. (And that's a whole other debate there)
So, the Draft? It just ain't going to happen. Let's move on to other, more important issues to talk about. Okay? Anyone for Health Care?
[Standard disclaimer: I am not a Democrat or a Republican, but I generally find more to criticize in the tactics and rhetoric of the Left than the Right. In truth, I probably fall into the political spectrum as a Conservative Libertarian. Sorry if that offends anyone.]