October 26th, 2004 | 
Author: This is the one. This is the issue that finally pushed me off the fence into the Bush camp. Mainly because I actually fell for it for a bit. Actually, its more of a ‘final straw’ than a single compelling issue. The draft issue is nothing more than fear mongering from the Democrats. MTV (and the ‘Vote or Die’ drive) has jumped on the bandwagon trying to convince its viewers that Bush is going to send them to war, even though Kerry is the one who has promised two new full active duty divisions during the debates. Not to mention the fact that a pair of bills introduced in the House and Senate last year that called for a draft of both men and women were introduced by democrats. Rep. Charles Rangel (D—N.Y.) and Sen. Ernest Hollings (D—S.C.).
This Cox and Forkum entry has a fairly comprehensive collection of links detailing Kerry’s proposal which, oddly enough, can no longer be found on his web site. Links to archived versions of the Kerry page and original press release can be found in the C&F link. Below is an excerpt of the story.
Source: Cox & Forkum
Charles Johnson and other bloggers have tried to call attention to a contradiction in John Kerry’s presidential campaign. Though Kerry and other Democrats keep raising the fake spectre of a Bush military draft, it is Kerry who has promised a plan for mandatory national service in the form of a community service requirement for high school students.
His proposal was touted during the Democrat primaries, but you will no longer find evidence of it on Kerry’s web site. In Kerry’s Vanished Draft Proposal, Johnson provides links to a deleted Kerry web page and its replacement. The former said (all emphasis below has been added):
As part of his 100 day plan to change America, John Kerry will propose a comprehensive service plan that includes requiring mandatory service for high school students and four years of college tuition in exchange for two years of national service.
John Kerry and some of his supporters continue attempts to scare up votes by saying that Bush will institute a military draft, even though Bush has unequivocally rejected conscription as an option, and even though a recent Democrat draft proposal was overwhelmingly defeated in Congress (2 votes for, 402 against).
The truth is that John Kerry has publicly promised a special draft of his own, and it now appears he wants to hide it. The immorality of a draft does not arise from the fact that it is military service. A draft is immoral because it is involuntary service, and involuntary servitude is a violation of individual rights whether it occurs in fox hole or a soup line. And it is exactly involuntary servitude that Kerry has planned for high school students.
John Kerry’s use of a trumped-up draft scare is sleazy enough as it is. Turns out it’s hypocritical, too.
