RANGEL TO THE RESCUE

Are the Democrats determined to give the House back to the Republicans in 2008?  It sure seems that way with Nancy "The Shrew" Pelosi's petty vindictiveness on such national display that already there's Democrat talk of replacing her as Speaker.

And now right on the heels of her Jack Murtha/Steny Hoyer, Jane Harman/Alcee Hastings debacles comes Charlie Rangel riding to the Republicans' rescue by advocating a return to the military draft.

The extreme hate-America left-wing Democrat from Harlem will be Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in the 110^th Congress, a position of extraordinary influence and power.   His is one of the key public faces of the new Dem Majority.

And he has handed the GOP Minority a diamond-studded opportunity to explain to every young voter in America the Democrat threat to their personal liberty.

Only those who hate the military can advocate a draft today.  America has the smartest and best-trained military the world has ever seen because it is composed of people who want to be there, who voluntarily made a commitment to risk their lives defending their country.

To drag youngsters into it against their will is not only an amazing waste of money (train them for two years then they're gone) but amazingly counter-productive as it destroys cohesion and morale.  Probably that's what Rangel wants to achieve.  It hasn't dawned on him that the draft will make young voters hate Democrats.

As an example how foolish a draft is, I'd like to tell you a story.  It's about To The Point's very own Dennis "The Wizard" Turner.  The story takes place in 1968.

They don't make people more anti-Communist than Dennis, so he thought fighting Communists in Vietnam was a great idea.  He considered joining the military but he was vastly overweight and had a trick knee besides.  Then he realized that the war was being conducted to not win on purpose.  Thousands of American lives were being lost in a war the government waging it had no intention of winning.  Dennis decided to not be one of them.

So it made Dennis very unhappy when he got his Selective Service draft card in the mail with the classification 1-A.  He was being drafted.

Dennis studied the card for a while, then put a piece of paper in his typewriter and wrote a letter to his Draft Board.  "My 1-A draft card states on the back that it is the law that I must carry this card upon my person at all times," he wrote.  "This letter is to inform you that in my endeavor to obey this law, I unavoidably damaged my card in the shower today.  Since I take two showers a day, please send me 730 copies of my draft card so that I may obey this law – for I will obey it to the letter."

Dennis received a reply from his Draft Board stating, "Dear Mr. Turner.  Please find one (1) copy of your draft card enclosed to replace the one you damaged.  While we appreciate your sincerity in attempting to obey the law that you must carry it ‘upon your person at all times,' this law should not be interpreted so literally.  We mean all reasonable times such that you need not carry it with you in the shower and other such places."

This made Dennis more unhappy.  He stared at the letter for a while, then put a piece of paper in his typewriter, and wrote a letter to the Attorney General of the United States, with copies to his Senator, Congressman, and the Director of the Selective Service Commission.

After explaining the matter, he wrote, "Today I received a reply to my request from my Draft Board stating that ‘this law should not be interpreted so literally.'  Since only the Supreme Court of the United States has the Constitutional authority to interpret the laws that Congress passes, my Draft Board, in claiming it has such authority, is attempting to usurp the Constitutional authority of the Supreme Court.  I therefore demand that the members of my Draft Board be indicted for treason."

Dennis told me this story years later.  When I asked him what happened, he replied, "I never heard from anyone ever again."

It is not smart to force smart people to risk their lives when they don't want to.  The image of Charlie Rangel is going to be implanted in the mind of every college student and young voter in America as the face of Democrat Fascism.  Republicans on Capitol Hill are now greeting him in the halls of Congress with a cheery, "Thanks, Charlie!"