The Great Republican Draft Hoax....

Mekugi · Nov 4, 2004

This was brought up on another thread, which was closed down.

Just so you all know, the "secret draft plans" or the re-vamped "technical draft" is based on a series of hoax e-mails aimed at discrediting Republicans (who do a fine job on their own, thanks). Most people took this bit of whiz-bang information as "fact" without any type of research; pundits on both sides are guilty as charged without even a quick glance at the legislation in question. TYPICAL

The fact of the matter is, the article question is named "HR163" and was sponsored by Democrats in Congress before the Iraq ordeal. The names on the list of support include:

Charles Rangel (D) NY - 15th dist.
Neil Abercrombie (D) HI 1st dist.
Donna Christensen (D) VI (virgin islands)
John Conyers (D) MI - 14th dist.
Alcee Hastings (D) FL - 23rd dist.
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D) TX - 18th dist.
Jim McDermott (D) WA - 7th dist.
Fortney Pete Stark (D) CA - 13th dist.
Corrine Brown (D) FL - 3rd dist.
Wm. Lacy Clay (D) MO - 1st dist.
Elijah Cummings (D) MD - 7th dist.
Jesse Jackson,Jr. (D) IL - 2nd dist.
John Lewis (D) GA - 5th dist.
James Moran (D) VA - 8th dist.
Nydia Velazquez (D) NY - 12th dist.

Notice that there are no Republicans on this list. What gives?

Ohio's John Boehner of the 8th Congressional District recently spoke out against this rumor:

The Great Military Draft Hoax of 2004

John Boehner, October 8, 2004 S

A while back, one of our neighbors in the Eighth District forwarded me an e-mail they received, which told them of a "secret plan" to bring back the military draft. I answered their e-mail, explaining there was no such plan. Over the next several weeks, more of these e-mails poured into my inbox, all of which contained the same message about this "secret plan." It turns out these e-mails are part of a larger campaign based on, sadly...a hoax. This elaborate rumor mill was further strengthened by a cable television network using the military draft as an issue in a voter education advertising campaign. And a broadcast network even included this rumor in an evening news report -- not exposing it as a hoax, but instead reporting it as fact.

In the interest of setting the records straight, here痴 the whole story.

In January 2003 -- months BEFORE the war in Iraq even began -- Democrat Congressman Charles Rangel of New York introduced H.R. 163, the Universal National Service Act. This legislation called for all young U.S. citizens - including women -- to perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service related to national defense or homeland security. In other words, it would reinstitute a form of the draft. Five of the most liberal Members of the House joined him as co-sponsors of the measure.

From the moment this legislation was introduced, no one in Congress took it seriously. They knew Mr. Rangel wrote the bill solely for political reasons, and even he acknowledged it had no chance at all to be passed by the House. He was right.

For nearly two years, this bill sat - as do most other politically-inspired pieces of legislation -- completely idle. Neither credible Democrats nor Republicans had any intention of demanding a vote on it. No one in Congress, at the White House, at the Pentagon, or on the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan had called for the establishment of a draft to increase troop levels in the War on Terrorism. And so the matter seemed to have gone

away.However, as this year痴 election drew closer, a whisper campaign started. The e-mail campaign followed. And the rumor of a "secret plan" gained steam. However, these rumors did not include the facts about the bill痴 prospects. Instead, they implied that President Bush, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and the Republican leadership of Congress were behind the revival of the draft.

Sometimes, hardball politics like this could be silenced only by more hardball politics in return. And that痴 just what has happened. To the surprise of many -- including Congressman Rangel, the bill痴 author -- the House recently brought the legislation to a vote. The House leadership, who made the decision to bring it to a vote, knew it would fail -- and fail miserably.

They were correct. It was defeated soundly, by a vote of 2 to 402. Even more interesting than the measure痴 margin of defeat was the fact that Congressman Rangel himself voted NO on it. That痴 right: the man who wrote it didn稚 even give it his vote!

The fact is the new challenges of the 21st Century require us to have the type of highly trained forces you can only find in a volunteer-based military. Currently, all the services are meeting or exceeding their recruitment and retention goals. President Bush opposes the draft. So does Senator Kerry. And now, in a simple, straightforward up or down vote, the House has put this rumor to rest. It痴 sad that so much energy has been devoted to scaring the American people about this very sensitive issue. And, in another unfortunate reality of the Internet age, it痴 also sad that an e-mail hoax can take on a life of its own.

Congressman John Boehner, a Republican, represents Ohio's Eighth Congressional District, which includes Miami, Butler, Preble, Darke, and Mercer Counties.
Click to expand...

Saz · Nov 4, 2004

Mekugi said:

This was brought up on another thread, which was closed down.
Click to expand...

And it would have been closed for a reason... and I'm guessing it wasn't so someone could start it up in another thread.

Enough with the politic threads already!

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The Great Republican Draft Hoax....

Mekugi Valued Member

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The Great Republican Draft Hoax....

Mekugi Valued Member

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