Parties try to tiptoe past draft

Congress shook its head at bills proposing the start of a military draft last week, but politicians say partisan bickering might be dodging the real issues at hand.

Republicans called for a vote Oct. 5 on a Democratic proposal for a draft in order to show their opposition to the idea, said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

He said Democrats were using the bill to support the theory that Republicans would institute a draft if President Bush were to be voted back into office Nov. 2.

"We took a look around and found that the only plan to bring back the military draft -- secret or not - was the Democrats'," DeLay said at the time. "So we'll vote on it this week and see just who supports the volunteer military and see who is practicing the dishonest politics of fear."

The issue has become key on the campaign trail, with Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry suggesting that Bush would reinstitute the draft if he were elected to a second term.

But it was Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York who put forth the draft bill early last year to encourage civic duty in middle- and upper-class Americans. The nation's poor, who are predominantly minorities, take on most of the military burden.

Rangel said he only wanted to make a statement and never expected or wanted the bill to pass.

The bill was co-sponsored by 14 Democrats - at least 11 of them minorities, including Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.

Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., simultaneously proposed a similar bill in the Senate, where there are fewer minorities and no African Americans.

Both proposals were rejected by wide margins, but the issue is still a hot one on college campuses.

At UNC on Wednesday, Pit demonstrator Kevin Sellers burned a flag stationed at the College Republicans' table to make a similar statement. He said a draft forcing the more affluent to fight alongside the poor would lead to U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

Also Wednesday, UNC hosted a debate about minority issues. Stella Adams, founding president of the African-American Caucus of the N.C. Democratic Party, and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Cobey, both touted the military as a way for minorities and the poor to get a leg up in society.

It was such speculation, DeLay said, that prompted the Republican legislative leadership to call for a vote on a bill that has been on the table since 2003.

"For two months, especially on college campuses, the Democrats have used the draft as a fear tactic," he said. "We've had enough of that, and we're going to call them on it. We are going to bring it out there and put a nail in that coffin."

Bush reaffirmed during Friday's presidential debate that he would never allow a draft. But Kerry, in an attempt to undercut that claim, pointed to what he calls a "backdoor draft" already in place.

On the stump, Kerry specifically points to a Pentagon program started in June that forces soldiers to extend their tours of duty. Under the program, if a solider's unit is scheduled to deploy to the Middle East or Central Asia within 90 days, he is obligated to stay until 90 days after the unit's duty is done.

By the end of those three months of post-duty, a soldier's unit might be scheduled to deploy again - and he would be required to stay.

Adams, furthermore, said new movements within the Selective Service system are indicative of a planned draft. "The Democrats are pointing out the machinery being put in place that would make a draft possible," she said. "The administration's intent is clear by their actions."

The Selective Service system, which was created in 1980 to manage a draft, signaled in September its intent to search for local board members in about 2,000 districts.

These members are to compose panels responsible for determining which citizens would be forced to fight in the event of a draft.

DeLay did not call for a vote on a bill proposing to remove the system, though the proposal has bipartisan support and seven co-sponsors.

Cobey said the motives were more political. He said the vote was a trap for Democrats.

If any voted for it, their vote could be used to label them as supporters for an unpopular draft bill. And if they didn't, the bill would weaken the public's perception of party unity.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.