Controversial U.S. Military Draft is Denied 402 to 2

On October 5, 2004, Republicans requested to vote on the controversial reinstating of the military draft. The Democrats originally proposed the idea, but the vote resulted in 402 to two against the drafting of citizens.

The draft has been a persisting issue since the Vietnam War, which was the last drafting period. Now, many people see it as a very important campaign issue that has not been discussed enough. In the October 6 issue of New York Times, Democratic Representative Jim McDermott expressed that he feels the draft issue will continue to be persistent. The article read "Bush's re-election could mean a return of the draft, because the administration is already calling back reservists and halting the discharge of military personnel." Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, has referred to such moves as a "backdoor draft."

The intentions of the Democratic Party when proposing the draft were not pure. The proposal was a way of demonstrating opposition against President Bush by striking alarm and instilling fear in college students and parents that the draft may be put back into action by Bush after the November elections.

Democrats, however, argue that it was not a ploy against Bush, but a way to protest the war. The idea was originally presented at the beginning of last year. The Democratic Party was attempting to demonstrate the effects of being drafted on the lower to middle class American Citizens, who are most likely to be drafted.

Junior Heather Dowd, Smith Hall CA, was worried that women will be drafted as well. She said, "there has been talk that if a new draft is passed, it will include women too, and that it will also target men and women age 20 to 25 even if you are in college. If they drafted me, I would a) get pregnant or b) try to leave the country. I would feel horrible; I have no business being in the military."

Senior Casey Crouch adds, "In regards to history [of the United States], our country has been one of the best to ever to be a part of. Sure it needs work, and if my country really really needs me to fight a just war, you can count me in."

The possibility of a draft seems to increase with the events in Iraq. MTV's Rock the Vote recently put out an article on its Website, which states, " there is mounting evidence that the military is stretched to its breaking point." The article also says that the Army National Guard missed it's recruiting goal for this year by 10 percent, and that the active Army has to dip into its "delayed entry pool" to reach its goal for this year.

Sophomore Christian Wyatt has strong feelings on the possibility of being drafted. "I was born in this country and I am thankful for it, however I don't feel that because I was born within some border that I should have to defend it because some Washington fat cat who is completely detached from the actual reality of living in the United States decides to wage war. I would hope that the draft would not be instated ever again because number one, we have millions of soldiers on reserve that would drop whatever they are doing to go fight as red, white, and blue vengeance pumps through their veins. Number two people are still appalled by the course of Vietnam, which as we know was when the last draft was utilized. I think if Bush is re-elected he will most definitely pull some strings to have it reinstated."