On the threat of an impending military draft!

Oh, fuck no! I would be protesting that so fucking quickly. Please god, I know we don't get along very well but get Bush Jr. out of office next month!

From a friend's LJ post:
Heh.... Campaigning in an area heavily dependent on the military, Bush said, "We will not have an all-volunteer army" before correcting himself. "Let me restate that," he continued. "We will not have a draft ... . The best way to avoid a draft is to vote for me."

From a Rock the Vote email:
Take Action on the Draft!

Dear Manny,

We just received an outrageous letter from the Chairman of the Republican Party,
demanding that we stop talking about the issue of the military draft.

He said that the draft issue is just an "urban myth" and Rock the Vote's
effort is being conducted with "reckless disregard for the truth."

The truth is that we still haven't received acceptable answers from the candidates
to real questions affecting our lives. The possibility of a draft is not a hoax.
It's a real issue that deserves real answers.

An attempt to silence us by any politician-Democrat, Republican, Whatever-is
unacceptable. This is one of the most important issues affecting our generation. And
that's why we need to stand up and make our voices heard right away.

Below is the letter that Rock the Vote sent back to the Chairman. Please read it.

http://action.rockthevote.org/ctt.asp?u=843295&l=5014 responds to RNC.pdf
(PDF)

If you like what we are saying, sign our petition to the Chairmen of both
the Republican and Democratic parties asking them to answer some key questions that
we have about the draft:

http://action.rockthevote.org/ctt.asp?u=843295&l=5015

We're not going to stop talking about the issue of a draft simply because it makes
the politicians squirm. We're not going to let Congress think that a phony vote
against the draft settles the matter.

By sending thousands of email draft cards and talking to your friends about the
possibility of a draft, you ignited a national dialogue. If you have any doubt, just
look at the last two presidential debates-both of which included questions for both
candidates on the draft.

Click here to tell both parties that we need answers to some fundamental questions
affecting our lives:

http://action.rockthevote.org/ctt.asp?u=843295&l=5016

Sincerely,
Jehmu Greene
President


PS. And please support our effort to keep the heat on the politicians. Donate to our
campaign today.

http://action.rockthevote.org/ctt.asp?u=843295&l=5017


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Rock the Vote Responds to the RNC


October 14, 2004

Mr. Ed Gillespie, Chairman
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003

VIA FASCIMILE: (202) 863-8774

Dear Chairman Gillespie,

The letter I received from you yesterday was quite a surprise. It struck us as just
the sort of "malicious political deception" that is likely to increase voter
cynicism and decrease the youth vote. In fact, it is a textbook case of attempted
censorship, very much in line with those that triggered our organization's founding
some fifteen years ago.

I am stunned that you would say that the issue of the military draft is an "urban
myth" that has been "thoroughly debunked by no less than the President of the United
States."

I have some news for you. Just because President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and
Secretary Rumsfeld, and for that matter Senator Kerry, say that there is not going
to be a draft does not make it so. Just because Congress holds a transparently phony
vote against the draft does not mean there isn't going to be one. Anyone who thinks
that the youth of America are going to take a politician's word on this topic is
living on another planet.

By your logic, there should be no debate about anything that you disagree with.
There's a place for that kind of sentiment (and your threats), but its not here in
our country. There are questions that the politicians are running away from. How
long can we keep 138,000 U.S. troops or more on the ground in Iraq? What if
full-scale civil war erupts there, as the CIA has warned is a realistic possibility?
Would the next President be faced with a choice of pulling out of Iraq rather than
institute a draft? Would women be drafted? What exactly would the draft-age be?

According to the Pentagon's own internal assessment, there are "inadequate total
numbers" of troops to meet U.S. security interests. The current issue of Time
magazine reports that, "General John Keane, who retired last year as the Army's No.
2 officer, says the continued success of the all-volunteer military is not
guaranteed... Keane has told Congress that adding more than 50,000 troops to the
Army would require thinking about a return to the draft."

But you want young people to believe that the draft is just an "urban myth." I was
expecting that you were going to present some facts to back up your assertion. But,
instead, you have demanded that we stop talking about it.

Although the draft may not be a discussion topic for someone of your age, we have
found that young people - Republicans, Democrats and Independents - are very
interested in this issue. We believe in the capacity of young Americans to make
their own judgments when fairly presented with the facts. That is why we are
actively promoting an informed, educated dialogue. I urge you to review the
"Debunking the Myths" section on our website where we address misperceptions about
the draft.

Mr. Gillespie, this is a generational issue. Nothing cuts closer to the core of the
very reason Rock the Vote exists. We think young people deserve to know where the
politicians stand on this issue-and that a generation that could be called to
service deserves more than the phony debate they are getting. We believe that it is
only by asking questions-not by censoring debate-that our democracy can remain
strong and vital.

Issues such as jobs, health care, Iraq, taxes, and education have energized the
electorate, and the draft issue deserves the same serious treatment and candor.
Blanket denials do not square with the facts and do not level with the electorate.
As far as the possibility that Rock the Vote's efforts might "decrease the youth
vote," we are feeling very confident at this point that the opposite is true. More
than 1.1 million people have used our website to fill out voter registration forms
this election cycle. Our street teams and ground partners have registered hundreds
of thousands more. Young voters are going to surge at the polls on Election Day and
make the difference for whichever candidate does thebest job reaching out to them.

Despite the strong and often strident tone of your letter, I would hope that we
could both agree that honest and open debate is the surest guarantor of our
democracy and liberty.

Sincerely,
Jehmu S. Greene
President



CC:
Randel A. Falco, NBC Universal Television Networks Groups
Judy McGrath, MTV Networks
Jonathan Miller, AOL
Vincent K. McMahon, Chairman, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
Richard D. Parsons, Chairman and CEO, Time Warner Inc.
Jon Stewart, The Daily Show
David Letterman, The Late Show
Conan O'Brien, Late Night
Jay Leno, The Tonight Show

--

The Draft

Please view below the draft public service announcement.
The Draft PSA

http://action.rockthevote.org/ctt.asp?u=843295&l=5018

--

The Draft Blog

Check out the current dialogue on the Draft on our Blog!
http://action.rockthevote.org/ctt.asp?u=843295&l=5019

--

Volunteer!

Volunteer with Rock the Vote in our Get Out the Vote and Election Protection efforts!

Click here to Volunteer
http://action.rockthevote.org/ctt.asp?u=843295&l=5020