Top Democrat: Bring back the draft

[durcam]

ASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans would have to sign up for a new military draft after turning 18 if the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has his way.

New York Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel said Sunday he sees his idea as a way to deter politicians from launching wars. He believes a draft would bolster U.S. troop levels that are currently insufficient to cover potential future action in Iran, North Korea and Iraq.

"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft, and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way," Rangel said.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/19/rangel.draft.ap/index.html

I hope to God it happens , just to see a lot of these well-off 'chicken-hawks' become 'peace-niks' cause it's their kids and friends kids being sacrificed instead of some poor kid who signed up to get some edujamacation and end up being blown to bits.

Wait , the rich don't get drafted in a war , ask the prez , they get deferred and do a lotta drinking and then become "heroes" WTF? by starting wars , and the beat goes on.............:065:

[Jiff]

there'd be a whole lot of do0ds makin their way up here to Canada if somethin like this were to happen... luckily we have more than enuf beer and maple syrup for everyone :D

[darklighter1]

Actually I think this is a great idea too. I think Rangel is a genius for coming up with this. One of my biggest regrets in life is I didn't join the military in some form when I was younger. I think 2 years in the military woulda straightened me right out and would make most of the disaffected youth in America more appreciative of what they have in this country compared to what others go through in the world.

[gotti911]

oh oh, I accidently apply for selective service 2 years ago at the DPS, I didn't know what it was when I signed up

[babyblues]

That's ridiculous. A draft is only going to provide them with means to launch any invasion they want. There will be even less restrictions as far as man power now then there was before. And if you think that it's the "neocon-hawks" that are the only ones playing dirty politics with questionable foreign policies...um, think again. :043:

[durcam]

Politicians play politics , it is what it is , I understand war is inevitable , hey we're humans :012: , but , the irony does not escape me that the biggest war-mongers are those who 'chickened out' when it was their turn , and are so willing to send others , mostly the poor , to the slaughter .

Maybe this war is "justified" , history will tell ...........

[Junkboxy]

Rangel's statement is garden-variety political thrust-and-parry AFAIC. Anything to poke Bush in the eye.

Who's kids doing the fighting had nothing to do with Bush's decision.
(A) He wanted to it (go into Iraq).
(B) He didn't have the time to wait for the right time (Afganistan fully on the right track; Global allies with leaders who would actually be in alliance; etc.)

Rangel is just making some noise. A whole lot of "top Democrats" are going to be making some noise, because they want to step-up their national profile. Media pundits are talking too much about La Clinton, and that is pissing off a lot of Dems who have been in elective politics a lot longer than she has. I would like to see Lieberman or Obama take the D nomination. Er, scratch Lieberman, the liberals ran his moderate ass out of party. I forgot. Democratic party is a real mess the way I see it.

[durcam]

Lieberman ? ? bleh !! , Obama ? Too inexperienced ( and you know , too Bl--- :065: , aint come that far yet , sorry to say :012: ) Hillary Clinton like her husband is a republican , only he's much more charming and a better liar.........

[Junkboxy]

I had two mention two guys on the left I like/respect. There aren't too many on the left that I like. Inexperienced or not, Obama is a shmoozworthy dude, and that trait helped get the last two Presidents elected. The black thing is really a complex subject that requires at-length expounding. Did you know that he beat Alan Keyes in a black-dude-vs-black-dude race? Keyes tried to make a point that he was more African-American since his ancestry tied in back to the slave era in this country, . . . as opposed to Obama, whose blackness comes courtesy of an immigrant father. So what Alan? Keyes came off as dry and humorless when talking about his background, whereas Obama comes off as warm and engaging.

I recall something Vivica Fox said (I'm pretty sure it was Vivica ) about Will Smith: she called him "colorless." She was saying that WS could be cast in any role, not just roles specifically script-written as 'black-parts.' I think Obama is like Will.

Hillary Clinton like her husband is a republican , only he's much more charming and a better liar.........

Wrong, right, right. Hillary is 'positioning.' She can't run on charm, so she has to be a moderate. That is , she has to be PERCEIVED as a moderate. P'shaw! She ain't no Republican. She thinks my ass and your ass are dumb asses, and that she needs to break out socialist medicare for us. Durcam my dude, don't be FOOLED now:068:

Sorry Mr. Rangel, this thread was about you originally, but it got to be more fun talking about other people.

[durcam]

Valid points . Wanna hear sumn' weird ? I consider myself a "Republican" WTF ? I do not consider these ' Fake Jesus freaks/neo con-men' "Republicans" , they are frauds who twisted 'conservative' to suit their evil plans and fake 'morality' ( they're mostly in the closet homos ) . to get rich and gain power by fermenting the dark side of the human condition , aka 'divide and rule'.

The original 'Founding Fathers" ( Slave owners/drunken pervs/intellectual hypocrites that they were , but they at least tried to share the 'freedom' , gotta credit them for that , I think :065: ) were mostly "Diety/ists" who would never force this religious crap upon us , , all this God stuff was added late in the last century to enforce segregation and to keep the "sheep' in line .

The democrats are not my cup o' tea , but the lesser of 2 evils I say .........

[gotti911]

I don't know much about politics but i thought Democrats wanted to bring back our troops.

[durcam]

I don't know much about politics but i thought Democrats wanted to bring back our troops.

Aint hapn' anytime soon , too much of a "Cluster-fuck" plus with all those permanent bases , even if they wanted or had the power , they couldn't
quickly , gonna take years , "logistical night-mare"..........

[Junkboxy]

The democrats are not my cup o' tea , but the lesser of 2 evils I say .........
...well, the pendulum always has to swing over the other side eventually, right? I became "tuned in" to politics-and-stuff during the '90's, and therefore was pretty much anti-left. So at that time, I considered the Republicans the lesser of two evils.
Now, the roles be reversed, with the GOP slumping at the wheel and the Democrats getting a bump in the latest election. Lets see what they can do. Their (mostly-) unified rebel yell has been about pulling out of Iraq. I don't know if thats the best thing to do ATM. The solution to something you shouldn't have done isn't always to reverse course part-way.