Charlie and the Conscription Factory
“Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on Friday said he plans to introduce legislation that would bring back the military draft and extend it to women for the first time,” The Hill reports today.
But when isn’t Charlie calling for the draft to be reinstated? If they ever make a sequel to Groundhog Day and Bill Murray balks at reprising his film about eternal recurrence, perhaps Rangel could nab the role:
● “Charlie Rangel Renews Call For Military Draft On Pearl Harbor Day 2011″ — The Huffington Post, 12/7/2011.
● “This week marks the 8th anniversary of the War in Iraq, and Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel commemorated the occasion by asking Congress to reinstitute the military draft.” — the New York Observer, March 7, 2011.
● “Rangel eyes draft return” — the New York Post, July 8th, 2010.
● “Rangel to reintroduce military draft measure” — the Hill, January 14th, 2009.
● “Amid Uproar Over War, Rangel Renews Call for Draft” — the Washington Post, November 20th, 2006.
● “Rangel introduces bill to reinstate draft” — CNN, January 8th, 2003.
Linking to video of Rangel dropping Obama’s favorite TV show as part of Charlie’s latest desperate attempt for PR, Allahpundit writes:
The real hook here is his idea for an alternative to the draft: Instead of being forced to serve your country militarily, you’d have the choice of being forced to serve your country in some other “public interest” capacity instead. Involuntary servitude in the form of conscription used to be justified as warranted only in urgent matters of national defense, but the master planners of tomorrow like Charlie Rangel and Scarborough and a palpably enthusiastic Carl Bernstein see a lot of compulsory nation-building here at home that can be done by America’s 18-year-olds. Bernstein specifically mentions infrastructure work as a possibility and goes so far as to suggest using currently inoperative military bases as … barracks to house the public-service conscripts, I guess? Not sure. (Reason’s Matt Welch once described the idea of mandatory national service as a “militaristic conception of citizenship.” He didn’t know the half of it.) But if you’re a high-school senior who’s thinking about premed or whatever, good news — you might get to spend two years jackhammering bridges as part of some sort of stimulus plan before getting on to that. For all the heat our side produces about infringements on liberty from gun control, the casualness with which the idea of forced youth labor for the greater good is kicked around here strikes me as much creepier.
Ah, the Moral Equivalent of War — a staple of the “Progressive” worldview that’s even older than Charlie himself, as the president is wont to remind us.
Too bad they don’t draft congressmen and ship ‘em off to a remote listening post in Greenland.
(I’d suggest Guam, but it might capsize with Rangel’s added weight. Greenland’s bigger. It can float more.)
Rangel’s plan is like indentured servitude: everyone who turns 18 owes society $60,000 that can be repaid ONLY through two years of military service or national service.
Sure, the public sector and construction unions are gonna let conscripts do work that they’d like to get paid (or overpaid) for, right? Just like they’re all aglow over the prospect of welfare people picking up trash in the streets in return for benefits (just a joke – they’re not.) Or maybe the unions would be on board with it as long as all the conscripts build their bridges as union members.
Either way, nearly broke state and city budgets will get that much closer to total brokeness and few actual pieces of infrastructure will be built.
On my friday afternoon drive home, DJ on Florida 0970 AM radio makes a case this latest call by the Honorable Comgressman Rangel of NY (to include his offshore properties) reminded him (DJ) of a solution to surplus labor espoused by the Nazis.
Do the girls know about this? They will be drafted, too.
On the bright side, this will dramatically weaken the military and create an unreliable force. The odds of the coming revolt succeeding are going uo. Thank you, Carlie.
This is meant to serve the ‘hood. Like cash for clunker’s it is a newer version of making the government the employer of last resort.
It is like cash for clunkers. Pay off the Peeps.
What will the program look like? First there will have to be an army (ouch) of administrators and supervisors, not just to manage the kids, but to ‘allocate’ them to where ever needed. Then the kids have to be trained (indoctrinated)…more overhead. And what will they be taught?
Who will discipline them and how will it be done?
What happens to the rich or infirm? What happens to the pregnant?
Can favored ‘crony’ firms get folks assigned as cheap labor under phony ‘apprenticeships’?
Will anyone do farm labor to minimize illegal immigration?
As usual, the raaaaaciiisst Charlie Rangel strikes an ill-concieved and poorly though out plan.
Since he is a D and supports O he will get heard…