I think there ought to be a law that, when congress authorizes us to go to war, there has to be a draft of congresspersons as soon as war is declared. And they should serve at the front. No cushy deskjobs, no comedians for USO shows, no Texas Air National Guard.
About ten percent of ’em should be fine. Could include a provision that they or a member of their immediate family can serve, just so long as someone from their families is on the line, too. It’s just disgusting to listen to windbags squeal about how important it is for us to fight and to send other people’s kids to the front but not so important to put their own sweet asses on the line.
Every district that sends a congressperson to the front has a benchwarmer election to send someone to congress in the new warrior’s stead. When their tour of duty is over they get their seat back.
I know, it would never happen. First, Congress would have to pass the law, and they’d ban all ham, bacon, and pork products in the congressional cafeteria before that happens.
Plus there would be a hew and cry about some infirm old member who gets drafted, or some long-time politician whose loss to the community would be so much worse than that of an 20-year-old kid, who only has his or her whole life ahead.
When something like 9/11 happens, I think a lot of Congresspeople would have responded patriotically and felt that the need to take the battle back to al Qaeda was imperative enough to muster their own courage. Conversely, maybe a few Republicans would have asked more questions during that whole ghastly Iraq war fervor in the winter of 2002 and 2003, one of the most shameful periods in our history, and maybe the Democrats would have exercised more spine.
And really, it isn’t just Congress I wish had compulsory service. It’s the families of Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Bush, too. With them, I’d send all of them except the elected oficials, so if the Prez, Veep, and former secretary wanted to visit their loved ones, they’d have to go see how their policies were being implemented, up front and personal.
That’ll happen about as soon as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Osama bin Laden all link hands and sing “all we are saying, is give peace a chance.”
agreed, put their own lives on the line. Serve your country.
ggw
“I think there ought to be a law that, when congress authorizes us to go to war, there has to be a draft of congresspersons as soon as war is declared.”
Hear, hear!
I watch the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer often. The soldier’s obituary photos they run at the end of the program are so sad, and it’s so tragic their lives were lost due to this posing and sabre-rattling in Iraq, rather than taking the fight to al Qaeda.
It’s amazing to me that we could go so wrong so very fast after 9/11.