Rangel Renews Call For Military Draft

[Jcrowley]

If someone has already put this up in GD please let me know. I looked and was surprised to not have seen this but sometimes we miss things.

Senior Democrat renews call for military draft
Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:41pm ET
By Jackie Frank

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An influential Democratic lawmaker on Sunday called for reinstatement of the draft as a way to boost U.S. troop levels and draw a broader section of the population into the military or public service.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, the incoming chairman of the House of Representatives' tax-writing committee, said he would introduce legislation to reinstate the draft as soon as the new, Democratic-controlled Congress convenes in January.

Asked on CBS' "Face the Nation" if he was still serious about the proposal for a universal draft he raised a couple of years ago, he said, "You bet your life. Underscore serious."


"If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we can't do that without a draft," he said.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2006-11-19T174004Z_01_N19349552_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-POLITICS-DRAFT.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

[jwirr]

1. I think the operative words are "IF we are going to challenge Iran

and Korea"

[Greeby]

2. Last time this came up, only Murtha and Pete Stark voted for it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HR_163

Even Rangel himself votes against the draft bills he introduces

[aquart]

3. Charlie just tossed Georgie a live grenade.

If George wants his wider wars, and he wants them sooooooooooo bad, he has to consider the draft. We know he wants it. His people have already done the prep. We know that.

Of course, we're still not facing the fact that we can't afford wider wars. We can't afford the ones we've got. Unless the rich pay their fair share. Unless ....well, the selfish won't get unselfish, not for wars against nations that don't threaten us.

Very nice opening guns, Charlie. And congratulations on Ways and Means.

BTW, N. Korea is China's problem, not ours.

[bobbie]

16. Good assessment aquart; I agree

He's backing Dim Son into a corner.

Rangel seems to work closely with Pelosi, so I doubt he's working at odds with her on this, the biggest issue.

[bobbolink]

4. Rangel is one smart representative!

Thanks for posting this--it's a mistake my generation made by working to abolish the draft, and we need to fix that now.

Go, Charlie!

[lovuian]

10. No he is a stupid IDIOT

A draft is playing into Republican hands!!!

[bobbolink]

20. And name-calling, especially of other Dems, is NOT

"playing into Republican hands"????

How......lovely....

[dmosh42]

5. Sending a message

I believe Rangel is sending a message to the country, just in case we falter in our resolve to leave Iraq. In case the country drags out this Iraq war, the volunteers are not there, so the country will need to spread the responsibility to the citizens across the board. Hopefully, no exemptions for anything except mental or physical disabilities.

[sandyd921]

13. Bingo!

Seems like quite a few on this thread don't get it.

[The Gunslinger]

17. Yea the question is who doesn't get it.

Forcing the draft will cause more deaths than save . Plus you know that whole freedom thing that this country is supposed to be all about.

[sandyd921]

18. Through this proposal Rangel is trying to point

up the unequal burden to those segments of our society who serve in the military and Iraq. He's saying that if a draft had been in place to begin with and if all young people, the wealthy and upper middle class as well as the poor and working class kids, had an equal chance of being drafted, the Bushies would never have started this war. Think about it. He doesn't want a draft, he just wants to slap a little sense into the administration and Congress so that solutions will be found to this whole sorry mess and no more of our service people will be killed or maimed. In fact the first time he proposed it he didn't even vote for it.

[still_one]

6. rangel is an idiot, you don't play games with people's lives

No one understand nuance, and if you don't believe that, look at what happened in 2004

Purpose how to end the war, not to make some symbolic point, that may actually pass if they don't watch it

[lcordero2]

7. FUCK THAT SHIT

And Rangel is a moron. As soon as the bill gets signed into law, shrub is going to enforce it the way that he sees fit.

[xchrom]

8. i have to agree with rangel on this.

too few of americans children were at jeopardy for bushco's madness.

our troops would be home or would never have gone if there had been a draft.

the has to be an investment on the part of a significant portion of society to the armed forces or it's peaceful equivalent.

and they need to close the loopholes.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. But as you can read many folks completely miss it

and I mean COMPLETELY

[xchrom]

12. yes -- and i was viet nam war protestor.

so i am surprised by my turn around.

but there must be an investment of all classes in the military IF we are going to stop needlessly wasting lives.

hpefully more see it as a matter of investment and class equity.

[The Gunslinger]

15. Well I want my kids to have the freedom to choose....

I dare a bastard to make my kid fight in a war. Screw a draft. The madmen in power dont need any more toy soldiers to play with. The notion that if the rich people's kids get drafted, people would be against theese wars is just silly. There will still be war. Bush don't care about human lives. and as far as the rich klids serving, they will find a way out.

[lovuian]

9. After all Americans said they want out of Iran and Dems

say they want a draft!!!

Why don't they just say they work for Bush & Cheney

Its obvious Bush will be kissing Rangel on the cheek next after Carville!!!

[The Gunslinger]

14. A Freakin Draft!!!!

I thought the Democrats won the elections. They are sounding like Republicans mare and more. I dont think a draft was the mandate from the people from the mid term elections. Theese "Democrats" are starting to scare me.

[Jcrowley]

19. A progressive position

I propose a 50% cut in the US military budget. We use those monies to begin a massive restructuring of our economy. As part of that we will have a 'Green Economy' in which numerous jobs will be created. Federal work programs will be a large part of this and in this way those at an economic disadvantage will not be forced to serve their country but will be allowed to be full participants in the renewal of our national economy.

We use those monies to provide housing options and universal health care so that the economically desperate do not fall into the endless vortex of debt and see their only way out as cannon fodder for the Corporate War Machine.

We DO NOT need a draft we need to bring our troops home from Iraq and other parts of the globe so as to employ them in a full scale program of infrastructure renewal in the transportation and agricultural parts of our economy.

What we need is a REDUCTION in the number of troops and a shrinking of the US Military Budget and massive spending in social programs and educational programs.