The politics of fear
John Kerry claimed in a rally that there is a "great potential" for a military draft if President Bush is re-elected. This, in spite of the fact that President Bush stated unequivocally during the debates that there would be no draft.
Looking at the recent history of the Selective Service System and the draft, one wonders how the Democrats can in good conscience make this claim. The Selective Service System was re-established in 1980, under President Carter, a Democrat. Last year, two bills were introduced in Congress to re-authorize a draft -- H.R. 163, introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Charles Rangel, a Democrat, and S. 89, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Fritz Hollings, a Democrat.
John Kerry has promised to increase the size of the military by 40,000 troops. He has not indicated how he would come up with these troops, and, to be fair, he has stated opposition to a draft. I do not mean to suggest that Kerry would re-institute the draft as president, but he has not been asked, nor has he answered the question of where these troops would come from. So before the hysteria (including this from the "non-partisan" Rock the Vote) gets out of hand, these questions should be asked of and answered by the senator.
UPDATE: The Bush camp is not going to caught back on its heels on this issue, with the president declaring, "The best way to avoid the draft is to vote for me," and stating that "the person talking about a draft is my opponent."
It also appears that Kerry aides are being forced into damage control over the remark.
Looking at the recent history of the Selective Service System and the draft, one wonders how the Democrats can in good conscience make this claim. The Selective Service System was re-established in 1980, under President Carter, a Democrat. Last year, two bills were introduced in Congress to re-authorize a draft -- H.R. 163, introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Charles Rangel, a Democrat, and S. 89, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Fritz Hollings, a Democrat.
John Kerry has promised to increase the size of the military by 40,000 troops. He has not indicated how he would come up with these troops, and, to be fair, he has stated opposition to a draft. I do not mean to suggest that Kerry would re-institute the draft as president, but he has not been asked, nor has he answered the question of where these troops would come from. So before the hysteria (including this from the "non-partisan" Rock the Vote) gets out of hand, these questions should be asked of and answered by the senator.
UPDATE: The Bush camp is not going to caught back on its heels on this issue, with the president declaring, "The best way to avoid the draft is to vote for me," and stating that "the person talking about a draft is my opponent."
It also appears that Kerry aides are being forced into damage control over the remark.
posted by Hal | 1:48 PM
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