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Originally Posted by kcchief19
It has nothing to do with Bush and very little to do with the Iraq war. Charlie Rangel and others in his camp have been pushing for a draft for years.
Why? Since the end of the draft, the makeup of the U.S. armed forces is disproportionately poor and minority. The argument has been for many years that "the elite" (read: rich politicians of both political parties) would take a different approach to military decisions and actions if their kids were doing the fighting. These bills aren't that aren't that hardcore. They call for young people to be drafted into two years of national service, which is also an old idea. It was a national debate topic when I was in high school back in the '80s.
I'm not a fan of the idea, but I see their point. That said, there is no political will to ever make this happen.
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The only problem is, well, the numbers don't bear it out. At least in combat positions, our military is overwhelmingly rural, white Southerners/Midwesterners. But I wouldn't expect Rangel to bother trying to research and see whether the facts match his perception.