] Yesterday, Rock the Vote received a very startling letter
] from Ed Gillespie, Chairman of the Republican National
] Committee. He demanded that we stop talking about the
] issue of the military draft.
]
]
] The letter leaked out on the Internet and a lot of people
] wondered whether it was even real. Yes, it is real.
]
]
] The letter from Chairman Gillespie is here. Our response
] is here and below.

[ Pretty unbelievable. Gillespe acts like the draft issue is some kind of demeaning whisper campaign without a shred of merit. Thanks, Ed, but really, that's a Rove tactic, not Rock the Vote's. Really, it's not so much that Gillespe is dismissive of the draft issue, but the way in which he does so.... From the RTV response :

"I am stunned that you would say that the issue of the military draft is an "urban myth"that has been "thoroughly debunked by no less than the President of the United States."

I have some news for you. Just because President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary Rumsfeld, and for that matter Senator Kerry, say that there is not going to be a draft does not make it so. Just because Congress holds a transparently phony vote against the draft does not mean there isn't going to be one. Anyone who thinks that the youth of America are going to take a politician's word on this topic is living on another planet.

By your logic, there should be no debate about anything that you disagree with. There's a place for that kind of sentiment (and your threats), but its not here in our country. "

Hear fucking hear. The rest of the letter is equally cogent. Few would argue that RTV is likely to benefit Bush over Kerry, but truly, getting people to the polls is fundamental, and the fear of a draft is unquestionably a motivating factor for young people. I remember distinctly the day I signed my Selective Service registration card, and thinking about what I would do if it ever came to be used, and how I better start paying attention to the world and voting if I wanted to prevent it. It's no urban myth. -k]