8.24.2004
Despicable election tactics
We all know the majority of young folks cringe at the thought of the draft. Fear. Plain pure and simple. Once, I was captive to that primal emotion. As the months to my 18th birthday drew near...I watched the nightly news more closely than I ever had. The Paris Peace Talks were in full swing...and I sincerely hoped for a resolution to the Vietnamese conflict. I was young -- I'd seen one too many nightly casualty reports on TV... In my heart of hearts, I did not want to go! I did not want to be placed upon the precipice: Go with the law or flee north. I knew I would comply, heartwrenching as it may have been. I wasn't raised to flee in the face of fear. Too many brave hearts and souls, stuck to the American ideal of freedom stood in my way -- even if my young mind did not fully comprehend the blessings which enfolded me.
So, today, we have the Democratic Party playing on those same old fears:
Dems Use Draft Rumor to Scare Young People
One important story that has flown under the major-media radar is the peddling by Democrats of the claim that the Bush administration has a secret plan to re-institute the military draft.
That rumor is being spread to try to scare young voters into supporting John Kerry.
The Democrats' draft-rumor effort has now gone mainstream; the South Carolina Democratic Party has sent out a mailing that claims young voters are faced with induction if they don't vote for John Kerry:
The first page of the mailing shows a draft notice with orders to report to a military induction center. The next shows a helicopter with troops in the foreground beneath a headline that says "Officials in Washington are calling for more troops in Iraq." Below, the mailing asks "Which form would you rather fill out?"
It is hard to think of a more despicable campaign tactic. It hardly needs to be said that neither the Bush administration nor any other foreseeable administration has the slightest desire to re-institute the draft. The thought sends shudders down the spines of professional military men; America's all-volunteer army is without a doubt the best military force ever assembled. No one I know of supports the draft, except for Fritz Hollings, the Democratic Senator from--ironically enough--South Carolina. He introduced a bill to that effect. Not only did the Hollings proposal go nowhere; he couldn't even find a co-sponsor.
Democrats sometimes get upset when we say that they prey on ignorance. But this contemptible tactic is a perfect example of what we mean.
Posted by Hindrocket at 03:33 PM
Catch the above on Powerline.com.
So, today, we have the Democratic Party playing on those same old fears:
Dems Use Draft Rumor to Scare Young People
One important story that has flown under the major-media radar is the peddling by Democrats of the claim that the Bush administration has a secret plan to re-institute the military draft.
That rumor is being spread to try to scare young voters into supporting John Kerry.
The Democrats' draft-rumor effort has now gone mainstream; the South Carolina Democratic Party has sent out a mailing that claims young voters are faced with induction if they don't vote for John Kerry:
The first page of the mailing shows a draft notice with orders to report to a military induction center. The next shows a helicopter with troops in the foreground beneath a headline that says "Officials in Washington are calling for more troops in Iraq." Below, the mailing asks "Which form would you rather fill out?"
It is hard to think of a more despicable campaign tactic. It hardly needs to be said that neither the Bush administration nor any other foreseeable administration has the slightest desire to re-institute the draft. The thought sends shudders down the spines of professional military men; America's all-volunteer army is without a doubt the best military force ever assembled. No one I know of supports the draft, except for Fritz Hollings, the Democratic Senator from--ironically enough--South Carolina. He introduced a bill to that effect. Not only did the Hollings proposal go nowhere; he couldn't even find a co-sponsor.
Democrats sometimes get upset when we say that they prey on ignorance. But this contemptible tactic is a perfect example of what we mean.
Posted by Hindrocket at 03:33 PM
Catch the above on Powerline.com.
// posted by HunterByrd @ 6:40 PM 
