Thursday, 17 of May of 2012

American Glob

Print

Why is MSNBC Pushing For a Military Draft?

Last Monday for some reason I was watching MSNBC’s Morning Joe, which I never do.  I was working away and not looking at the TV screen but my ears pointed up when I heard Joe Scarborough call for a military draft for the wars in the middle east. I actually wondered if I had misheard him.

Then I saw that DaTechGuy, who I know watches Morning Joe, noticed the same thing and actually blogged about it.

Today, NewsBusters noted that MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan called for a military draft. What’s going on over there?

I sincerely hope all the 18 to 25 year-olds who voted for Obama are paying close attention, because they are exactly who would get the call if a military draft was instated.

Then again, some of America’s young “activists” seem fond of warfare.

Oh, just one more thing. Do you think anyone besides me would be talking about this if FOX News was actively calling for a new military draft?

Update: Instapundit links, thanks!

---

Leave a comment

Comments RSS TrackBack 36 comments

• 
  Reply

  Monte

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 12:34

  The implicit logic behind this proposal is that he wants the war to end and beleives that the death or injury of several thousand young Americans ought to do the trick.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Robert Arvanitis

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 12:36

  Transparent ploy by the left.

  The draft is what energized the pacifists against winning in Vietnam.

  Make a direct connection between the goal and the costs, and the coddled West will fold.

  Rather the opposite of the left’s strategy with social engineering. There they seek to HIDE the costs, through indirect taxes, deferred taxes (borrowing) and unfair pseudo-insurance schemes.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Don51

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 12:37

  Slaves are cheaper than free men. When you run a enforced monopoly you set the wages you want. Big paper savings. Unfortunately, for the historically illiterate, an effective military is composed of veterans who compose the middle ranks and the good ones don’t stay around when you gut the funding and pay as was done in the late 70s.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Joseph Ferry

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 12:41

  It must have been a topic on JournoList.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  anonymous

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:02

  I wonder if any of these loggerheads were even available for the last draft? And if they were; were they dodgers or draftees?

  Considering the morals week pass/fail for the USMC, etc., I’d be very afraid of any conscripted military right now. Since most would flunk any traditional American history course and are clueless as to right and wrong – what kind of brown shirt army is being nurtured?

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Martin L. Shoemaker

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:06

  Don’t worry. By November, somehow they’ll twist this into “Republicans want a draft! If you don’t want to get drafted, get out and vote Democrat!” They’ve done something like this in every election since 2004, at least. Since the youths they’re targeting weren’t paying attention back then, the demagogues hope they’ll fall for it. Again.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  kcom

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:11

  It’s probably the new meme on JournoList 2.0.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  MarkD

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:12

  This is not a good idea. I served with some of the last draftees in the Marine Corps. Almost all of them did a great job, but it only takes a few malcontents to cause a lot of problems. Do not go there.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  setnaffa

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:14

  Democrats want to start another Vietnam…

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Beth Donovan

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:18

  I bet they want a military draft so they can pay the draftees next to nothing. It’s a way to decrease the Defense Department budget – they would no longer have to pay bonuses for signing up or re-enlisting.

  It will force the Armed Services to take the gang bangers that they would now reject.
  That is why the leftists want a draft.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  blaster

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:24

  The LEFT has always been for the draft, and for the most cynical of reasons – to get young voters and their parents to oppose wars.

  Charlie Rangel anyone?

  ---

• 
  Reply

  mishu

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:37

  Leftist want a draft so it wouldn’t be used for anything real. It would just be one big social program like the armies in Europe.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Legion

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:42

  Obama has to drop that unemployment by whatever means necessary to help his fragile ego.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Leifmeister

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:43

  The Left cannot fully rely upon the current national defense establishment in the event of civil strife. Accordingly, they want to dilute the conservative bias of the all-volunteer military. They hope that this leavening can be achieved by forcing young liberals into the ranks.

  Such desperation is a telling measure of the crisis of the Left brought about by the total (indeed, existential) failure of the Obama administration.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Rob Crawford

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:46

  Read Goldberg’s “Liberal Fascism” for some hints as to the “progressives” love of organizing society along military lines, and throw in the cult of “mandatory volunteerism” and you get lefties demanding a return to the draft.

  ---

• Reply

  Musings from Brian J. Noggle » Blog Archive » Can Mr. Ratigan or Mr. Obama Have Alex?

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 13:47

  [...] links to this bit about an MSNBC personality advocating the draft, [...]

  ---

• 
  Reply

  KenB

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 14:05

  There are two possible reasons to call for a draft: (1) because you believe we need a draft to raise manpower to fight a war and (2) because you want to generate the kind of youth-based opposition to a war such as we experienced with Vietnam. This is clearly in the latter category, and it is despicable.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Rick

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 14:06

  My opinion? It was the existence of the draft that was one of the key ingredients of the movement against the Vietnam war. Speaking as a guy who was up-and-coming draft bait during the early 1970s, I can’t deny that a lot of my anti-war sentiment…and that of a lot of people around me…was motivated in large part by the thought that in a couple of years I might be sent to a colorful Southeast Asian local.

  Nowadays? If you don’t want to go to war, just don’ enlist. Nobody is going to get a “Greetings” letter in the mail. And, interestingly…anti-war sentiment just has never quite caught fire like it did 40 years ago.

  Is there a connection? I don’t know, but I think a lot of people on the left think there is a connection. So, getting a draft instituted would be the first step towards igniting a larger anti-war attitude.

  There is just one flaw in this theory: even without a draft, the military seems to be meeting all its recruitment goals. You only institute a draft when the number of warm bodies needed exceeds the number of people walking into recruitment centers. Right now, it’s the other way around.

  I could be wrong, but that’s how I see it.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Charles Collins

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 14:19

  But people actually watch Fox, so they would know about it.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Knucklehead

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 14:20

  This is a recurring theme among leftists. One of the key differences between the anti-war movement of the Vietnam era and the anti-war movement of today is that the left (of which MSNBC is proud member) cannot generate widespread public angst and anger because the military doing the fighting and dying are volunteers. A draft would pull the unwilling into service and help generate more widespread anger and angst.

  Rangel tried this nonsense a few years back with the secondary meme that the fighting and dying is being done disproportionately by poor people of color. The facts didn’t agree and it never go much support and he’s got other concerns at the moment.

  Now that the left has one of their own in the White House perhaps they figure they can make another run at this. What dopes.
  Sin

  ---

• 
  Reply

  richard40

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 14:37

  Leftist figures have been pushing for a draft for a long time. A few yesrs ago it was Charles Rangel. The left has realized that the all volunteer they once favored, has turned out to actually be better for the military. It has produced good quality soldiers. Conservatives have realized this, which is why you no longer hear calls for a draft from them. But more importantly, without the threat of the draft hanging over their heads, the left has much more trouble attracting anti war demonstrators. And also, the left can no longer complain about young people being forced to go to war.

  It is obviously the height of cynicism for the left to try to reinstate the draft, and if successful, then complain about how our young people are forced to go to war.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Austin

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 14:50

  Its called unemployment. They want to sop up all those disaffected kids.

  ---

• Reply

  Morning Joe talks a draft « DaTechguy's Blog

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 14:55

  [...] American Glob » Blog Archive » Why is MSNBC Pushing For a Military Draft? Says: July 1, 2010 at 11:10 pm [...]

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Corky Boyd

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 14:58

  All of the anti-war booomers want to relive their memories of the 1960s anti-war movement. And it isn’t happening.

  At least Ratigan is being honest. He isn’t promoting the draft to increase our military strength. He isn’t making a case that poor blacks and other minorities are bearing an inordinate burden (they aren’t), he simply wants to rekindle the glory days of Abbe Hoffman, the Weather Underground and all the other crazies.

  Today’s all volunteer fighting forces are far better trained in techinical issues and far better disciplined than the Viet Nam era conscript druggies. And they are far better motivated, often serving multiple tours in Iraq and now Afghanistan.

  Sorry Dylan, those who want to prevail on the battlefield don’t want the draft. Those who are comfortable with losing, do.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  RebeccaH

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 15:03

  It’s simple enough. If the draft were restored, that would ignite an anti-war movement like the heady days of Vietnam. Ratings, people.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Roger Sweeny

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 15:13

  1. A military draft saves money. If you’re looking at large deficits but you also believe in big government, it’s a way to keep the government from shrinking.

  2. Many people (on both the left and right) believe that all young people should “serve.” A military draft would make a two or three year requirement of civilian service seem fair. Everyone has to serve and everyone gets the same low level of pay–and everyone then gets a “G.I. BIll” of tuition assistance, etc.

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Bob

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 16:06

  you know what’s going to happen:
  1. Don’t ask don’t tell will be outlawed.
  2. One of our cities will be nuked or similar
  3. Everybody under 25 will be drafted, including the guys in Pelosi’s district who
  will be holding up a forefinger saying “Hey, wait a min…”

  ---

• Reply

  Cassy Fiano

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 17:36

  [...] American Glob Why is MSNBC pushing for a military draft? [...]

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Shelgeyr

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 20:07

  I’m a patriot. But… Any country, including our own, that can’t survive through its own citizens funding its own volunteer military deserves to perish. No slave armies.

  ---

• Reply

  Two nasty thoughts… « DaTechguy's Blog

  in July 2nd, 2010 @ 20:20

  [...] Nasty Thought #1: All this draft nonsense: [...]

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Georgiaboy61

  in July 3rd, 2010 @ 10:48

  The AVF has been a success on many levels, but has at least one serious flaw – it has allowed a widening gulf between the civilian and military worlds to such a degree that the armed forces now exist as a subculture within America. The consequence is that while our military is at war, America is not. The “professionalization” of the military also means that it has become less-accountable to the American people, because fewer of us have a stake in it, or what it does/does not do. Draftees may have caused problems within the ranks in some cases, but we won World Wars I and II with draftees, quite well, thank you. And when those conscripts re-entered American society after the war, they were militarily-literate, and thus able to vote more intelligently. Draftees, because they are not in the military by choice, have absolutely no incentive to hide the flaws of the services, as AVF members do now.

  That said, it is indeed worrisome when/if a nation cannot raise enough troops voluntarily, to defend itself. If a nation is worth living in, it is worth defending, as Shelgeyr stated so well.

  ---

• Reply

  Your Saturday Linkzilla! « The Daley Gator

  in July 3rd, 2010 @ 21:20

  [...] American Glob: What is MSNBS doing? [...]

  ---

• Reply

  Why is MSNBC Pushing For a Military Draft? « Gheorghe47

  in July 10th, 2010 @ 18:42

  [...] http://americanglob.com/2010/07/02/why-is-msnbc-pushing-for-a-military-draft/ [...]

  ---

• Reply

  Shot in the Dark » Blog Archive » Signing Up The Greatest Generation

  in September 16th, 2010 @ 22:06

  [...] the birthday of our last draft.  Some would bring it back; they’d do it for reasons that would have resonated with Franklin D [...]

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Lee

  in September 25th, 2011 @ 09:09

  4 the Draft

  ---

• 
  Reply

  Lee

  in September 25th, 2011 @ 09:11

  4 The Draft — Details

  1. I support people that do not want to become soldiers / killing machines…
  2. But it is a bad thing for this country to have a volunteer army.

  The first is true because I believe in individual freedom. I understand the ethics and morale implications of the issue at an individual level.

  The second is true because I am aware of the following that are bad for the US and the world and I am a patriot in 2 senses. I am a good citizen of my country and want it to be among the best in the world. I am a good citizen of the world and feel that the US has a lot that it can do to make the world a better place to live in for every one and as it does this the world becomes a better place for Americans to live in as well.

  1. A volunteer army requires that soldiers become professionals

  Professionals act differently. When they would like to oppose “management” they have more at risk and are less likely to do the right thing (for the world) as opposed to the right thing (for themselves). There is a much higher likelihood that systemic cultural problems will not be countered. This leads to a military whose members do not represent the citizens. One of the greatest strengths of a democracy is a citizen army, whose members represent the grass roots. It is how Napoleon conquered Europe.

  1. The volunteers for the army are less and less the best possible people.

  More and more I read about how, in order to attract volunteers, the army is doing things that are questionable. They recruit in ways that may be unethical at the least. They accept applicants whose morale and ethical foundations are lacking. There are, more and more people that are racists or religeous fundamentalists. These kinds of people can do (and do actually do) things in the uniform, representing you and I, that are highly objectionable. The torture incidents are just the most visible. They also have caused the deaths of or actually murdered innocents.

  1. Without a draft, people do not see wars as personally dangerous.

  It is such a terrible thing that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not been opposed by the general populous. They would have been opposed if the sons of the upper classes would have been at risk, instead of the current pool that consists of military families and recruits from the lower classesof people with no other possible futures. I live near no fewer than military bases and I see these young guys in the fancy cars they purchased with their signing bonuses racing down the freeways. Then, because I also work at a VA hospital I see many who return from the battle field as less than whole men, with physical and mental disabilities that we will be paying for for the rest of our and their lives.

  ---

American Glob uses WordPress as content manager.