Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Why the Democrats Would Be More Likely to Bring Back the Draft
Obviously nobody wants the draft to return. That would be political death for whoever signs the bill, and very quite literally death for a good number of however many young Americans get sucked up into that all-devouring black hole. I don’t think fears of a second Bush term resuscitating the draft are entirely justified, though. The Republicans would never do that, because they know that if they do they will lose power. If it happens before 2006, they can kiss control of Congress goodbye, and if before 2008, then Jeb and/or Rudy (and/or Mitt) would stand no chance to become President. And since power, control, and reelection matters more to this ultra-conservative, far-right GOP than everything except gays and abortion, we won’t be seeing any draft under their watch anytime soon (unless it’s a draft that only applies to homosexuals, abortion doctors, liberals, and the poor, which is probably what they’ll do, now that I think about it).
But there’s a very real chance that we might need to bring the draft back. The military is already overextended as is. If something happens that would force action against Iran or North Korea or whoever else, a reinstituted draft might become a necessity. And although I don’t trust or respect Kerry anymore than I do the average politician, I would definitely trust his administration to do what needs to be done more than I would that of a reelected Bush. The Bush people have proven that politics are more important to them than anything, and can not be trusted to do what’s best for America. If the situation arises where a draft is required to protect our country, it’s clear that a Kerry administration, or probably any administration led by responsible adults, would be more likely to make that politically suicidal choice than the Bush people. Let’s hope that never has to happen, of course.
Obviously nobody wants the draft to return. That would be political death for whoever signs the bill, and very quite literally death for a good number of however many young Americans get sucked up into that all-devouring black hole. I don’t think fears of a second Bush term resuscitating the draft are entirely justified, though. The Republicans would never do that, because they know that if they do they will lose power. If it happens before 2006, they can kiss control of Congress goodbye, and if before 2008, then Jeb and/or Rudy (and/or Mitt) would stand no chance to become President. And since power, control, and reelection matters more to this ultra-conservative, far-right GOP than everything except gays and abortion, we won’t be seeing any draft under their watch anytime soon (unless it’s a draft that only applies to homosexuals, abortion doctors, liberals, and the poor, which is probably what they’ll do, now that I think about it).
But there’s a very real chance that we might need to bring the draft back. The military is already overextended as is. If something happens that would force action against Iran or North Korea or whoever else, a reinstituted draft might become a necessity. And although I don’t trust or respect Kerry anymore than I do the average politician, I would definitely trust his administration to do what needs to be done more than I would that of a reelected Bush. The Bush people have proven that politics are more important to them than anything, and can not be trusted to do what’s best for America. If the situation arises where a draft is required to protect our country, it’s clear that a Kerry administration, or probably any administration led by responsible adults, would be more likely to make that politically suicidal choice than the Bush people. Let’s hope that never has to happen, of course.
