Slaves to “Equality”

“This will light up the right.” 

So Rollcall, the Capitol Hill newspaper, quoted an unnamed Republican aide.

At issue? Last week’s Senate Armed Services Committee vote to force young women to register for the military draft. That provision is contained in the gargantuan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). 

Only five senators voted against mandating draft registration for women — all Republicans. 

Two hawks, Senators Tom Cotton (R‑Ark.) and Josh Hawley (R‑Mo.), so opposed the change that they joined the beer-​swilling Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D‑Mass.) in voting against the overall NDAA.

“Our military has welcomed women for decades and are stronger for it,” Cotton explained on Friday. “But America’s daughters shouldn’t be drafted against their will.”

“It’s one thing to allow American women to choose this service, but it’s quite another to force it upon our daughters, sisters, and wives,” said Sen. Hawley, adding “compelling women to fight our wars is wrong.”

As is conscripting men.

This Wednesday, the issue will come before the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Jackie Speier (D‑Calif.). “I actually think if we want equality in this country …” Speier has argued, “we should be willing to support a universal conscription.”

Speier’s empty homage to “equality” does nothing for women, of course … or national defense.

“It’s time to end military draft registration altogether,” tweeted Rep. Peter DeFazio (D‑Ore.), “not extend it.” He joined a bipartisan group — Rep. Rodney Davis (R‑Ill.) and Sens. Rand Paul (R‑Ky.) and Ron Wyden (D‑Ore.) — in a letter calling draft registration “expensive, wasteful, outdated, punitive, and unnecessary” and urging support for their legislation to end it. 

Finally, some common sense. 

I’m Paul Jacob.

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More on the Draft and Registration:

1 — Draft the Congress and Leave My Kids Alone (December 28, 2003)

2 — Americans Gung-​Ho to Draft Congress (January 4, 2004)

3 — Public Comment at the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service (April 25, 2019)

Overview — https://​thisiscommonsense​.org/​2​0​1​9​/​0​1​/​0​1​/​p​a​u​l​-​j​a​c​o​b​-​o​n​-​t​h​e​-draft/