Feeling a draft?

(Another great Texan headline.)

As we all know, the source of any conscription talk is Charles Rangel, the Harlem Democrat. What people may not consider is the incredibly craven and ghoulish logic Rangel, and draft co-sponsor Jim McDermott, employ when promoting the reinstitution of the draft. Here's a breakdown of Rangel's logical sequence:

Rangel didn't support the war in Iraq. Rangel doesn't support it now. McDermott, the person who with Rangel co-sponsored legislation to reinact the draft, said he did it simply to "stimulate discussion." Rangel said he doesn't like the current state of the military because it disproportionately involves minorities (fair enough, but did Rangel ever seriously consider what it means to have an all-volunteer armed forces?). So why did Rangel promote this legislation - because he certainly wouldn't have voted for it. Two possibilities (post others if you can think of them):

-Rangel figures that Republicans might come around to his perspective only if some conservatives' kids get offed as a result of a draft. As a side note, this isn't so different than the logic Hamas employs when it blows up busses of kids or sends suicide bombers into Discos filled with young people: Maybe if we can kill our opponents children, their parents will come around to our point of view. Morally bankrupt.

-Politically, he knows that a draft is radioactive and has a good chance of scaring the mothers and grandmothers.

Either way, Rangel is pushing for something he doesn't believe in to cause mischief or to cause death (to make a point, presumably).

And one more thing - In the same Bloomberg article which quotes Kerry saying a draft is a possibility under Bush, Kerry denounces the draft. Kerry and Bush are saying the same things - why believe one and not the other? Straw man.