From: eisimps@cie.uoregon.edu (Eileen Simpson)
Subject: Re: SC rally: "We don't want a draft dodger for president!"
Summary: Get Real.
Organization: University of Oregon Campus Information Exchange
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 04:52:59 GMT

I am responding entirely to the subject in this header.

I will be 40 in November.  I was the second woman in Air Force ROTC.  I am
a Republican Precinct Committee Woman.

I am NOT voting for George Bush, and the abortion issue is one of the
lesser reasons.  But enough of that, let's get back to the "draft" issue.

I remember the Vietnam War.  I remember graduating from high school while
the draft was in full operation.  The lottery came in while I was in
college.

This "draft dodger" stuff is a bunch of Bull ****.

EVERY male in my high school class of 1970 was occupied in staying out of
the draft.  If they could do it with college, it was college.  If they
needed to be in ROTC, they did it.  If they could get a medical out (like
our hero, Pat B.) they took that.*  If all else failed, they enlisted in
the Air Force or Navy--assuming the Coast Guard didn't take them.

What I remember is that, by the time I graduated from high school it was
clear the Vietnam War had been bungled, and that it was a damage control
operation while we declared a victory and got out.  NO ONE, hawk or dove,
wanted any part of it.  Parents didn't want their sons in it.  People were
dieing, and even those who said we couldn't just pack up and go away did
not want their loved ones to lose their lives in the closing game.

I am sick of the draft non-issue.  I want to know why the Republican party
solution to family needs is "cut your standard of living."  It seems to be
the suggestion for everything!  I see no economic policy, no social policy,
and no vision at all.

Bush has done nothing in 3+ years.  He talks a good game now, but hasn't
performed so far, and I see no reason to believe he will be different as a
lame duck in a second term--a time when even strong presidents become less
successful.

More to the point, the "Bushees" one the net should hear what Republicans
say about Bush.  I cannot name names, but I have talked to many elected
Republican officials about Bush.  Off-the-record, they describe him as
"Brain-dead."  They admit he has no domestic vision.  They are holding onto
the Bush presidency in the hopes that someone competent will take over from
him next time.  They fear Clinton-Gore will start a dynasty.

They do not dislike Clinton-Gore that much on policy.  They just don't want
to lose power to them since they could lose it for a long time.  They will
do anything to keep that power, and that is why I am against them.  The
country needs leadership, and they are telling me that Bush cannot lead.
He can respond to events in the international arena, but he cannot lead at
home or abroad.  

Let's stop wasting time on Draft-Dodger junk and deal with the present.
The closing years of the Vietnam War were not the equivalent of WW II.  I
am not going to vote as if they are.

* Anyone who thinks that Pat B. really couldn't get into the service if he
had wanted to, should see me about some land I have for sale...
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