John Kerry's "National Service" Plan for College Students

Many college students have been visiting for this post on the 'Mandatory Draft 2005' hoax being spread by the Democratic Party. Some new information has come to light and deserves wider attention.

This is no longer part of the Kerry stump speech - especially on college campuses - but it is a key part of his "first 100 days" proposal if elected president:

Kerry Calls for Record Expansion in National Service

"Service to this nation was the defining moment in my own life, and I believe service can define the lives of your generation," Kerry said. "There is so much work to do in America, and young Americans are looking for ways to serve. We're not going to do what George Bush has done. We're going to expand service opportunities, and we're going to engage 500,000 more Americans in service." Kerry said his "Service for College" initiative will involve over 200,000 Americans and his program for college students will involve over 300,000 students within a decade.

Though he has attempted to bury the following notice by removing the link from his Web site, Kerry's touted plan to require mandatory "National Service" is spelled out in an archived copy of the page:

Creating a New Army of Patriots

Many Americans do full time service. John Kerry believes that in these times, we need to bolster these efforts with a nationwide commitment to national service. Whether it is a Summer of Service for our teenagers, helping young people serve their country in return for college, or the Older Americans in Service program, John Kerry's plan will call on every American of every age and every background to serve. John Kerry will set a goal of one million Americans a year in national service within the next decade.

Additional background on the Kerry-Edwards plan is here:

500,000 in National Service Within a Decade

America is built on simple principles: Everyone should have the same opportunity to get ahead, and everyone has a responsibility to give something back. The men and women who serve in our military take the greatest risks and make the ultimate sacrifices. John Kerry and John Edwards honor their service, and they believe that Americans who are not in the military and want to serve ought to have opportunities to do so.

Sounds voluntary, right? This is what's known as the "bait and switch." Lure students to vote Democratic with one promise, then spring the truth later:

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...

Yes, this only references the mandatory obligation for high-schoolers, but it doesn't require much reading between the lines to see that Kerry does not view his expansive proposals for service as electives.

So what does "service" mean to John Kerry? This is from the Democratic Leadership Council's Online Community:

If John Kerry wins the presidency, he plans to expand the cornerstone New Democrat idea of national service to a truly national scale. Building on the beachhead that was established through the creation of AmeriCorps in the 1990s, Kerry would dramatically increase both the opportunities and the incentives for service. While scaling up support for service in America's communities, the Kerry plan also recognizes that no obligation is more fundamental to citizenship than that of preserving our free institutions by serving in the military. To encourage more citizens to share that burden, Kerry would bring an additional 40,000 Americans into the regular Army, recruit a more representative officer corps by returning the ROTC program to every college and university that receives federal funds, and modernize the GI Bill to increase the educational opportunities of those who serve.

Finally, to assist our overburdened Armed Forces and support the spread of freedom and democracy abroad, Kerry proposes the creation of a Civilian Stability Corps, which would bring civilian volunteers into post-conflict environments overseas, helping to restore roads, renovate schools, open hospitals, and build police forces. [emphasis added]

In other words, "National Service" means American civilian 'volunteers' working to rebuild Iraq. I am not suggesting that rebuilding Iraq is not important, but Kerry has not been up front about this plan which seems to assume participation beyond the purely voluntary. If he intends to require service on this project, he should say so unequivocally.

None of this is out of character for the Democrats. As we've already established here, the Kerry team has spent the past two months fomenting anxiety among college students by spreading false rumors about a revival of the draft if President Bush is re-elected. In fact, the Democratic-sponsored draft bill was roundly defeated last week when the Republicans forced it to a vote:

The House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly rejected a Democrat-sponsored bill to revive a military draft in a last-minute vote scheduled by its Republican leadership to squelch rumors that the Bush administration is planning to reinstitute mandatory military service. "For two months — especially on college campuses — they've used the draft as a fear tactic to get people to vote against George W. Bush," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican, said of Democrats...

Yesterday's draft bill — sponsored by Rep. Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat — was defeated 402-2, with even Mr. Rangel voting against the proposal that called for reinstituting the practice abandoned in 1973 when the military converted to an all-volunteer force.

Rep. John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, and Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat, voted for the measure.

Granted, John Kerry has been silent about his "National Service" initiative in the closing months of the campaign. He probably has not uttered the word "mandatory" in reference to his own program since last spring. Of course, it would be political suicide to do so. But actions speak louder than words. A central theme of liberal ideology is that the government knows best, and if you don't agree with them they will use the power of the state to compel you.

You may remember this little episode, which took place the last time we had a Democratic president:

The dozens of kids in this story did not fare as well:

Now, nobody is saying John Kerry's plan is to put kids to death. It's not even being argued that Kerry does not believe in good faith that his National Service plan is a noble program. He believes in it - although he is baldly lying when he tells you it's really President Bush's plan.

The problem is the Democratic tendency to try to force everyone else to share their values and goals. Just this week, we have another case of kids being forced into service for the Democratic Party:

Hundreds of public schoolchildren, some as young as 11, are taking time out of regular classes to canvass neighborhoods in Milwaukee, Madison and Racine in a get-out-the-vote effort organized by Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund - a group whose umbrella organization has endorsed John Kerry for president.

The coalition says the effort is non-partisan, but because the group is targeting minority neighborhoods and those with historically low voter turnout - overwhelmingly Democratic areas - Republican operatives are crying foul amid the highly charged political atmosphere in the state.

Kerry and George Bush are virtually tied in recent polls; in 2000, the state's 10 electoral votes went to the Democrats by 5,708 votes - a margin of two-tenths of one percent of all votes cast.

"They are exploiting schoolchildren on the taxpayers' dime to conduct what is clearly a Democratic, partisan get-out-the-vote effort," said Chris Lato, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin. "To spend this time on a clearly partisan effort when these kids should be in school learning is shocking. It's a disgraceful use of taxpayer money."

MPS spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin said the school administration approves of the program as long as children or teachers are not conducting partisan politics on school time and that the curriculum meets the state standards for teaching. The program involves 33 schools in Milwaukee, three high schools in Madison and one high school in Racine.

Thanks to Ann Althouse for the above link. Ann notes:

I firmly believe that once the state compels young people to attend school, deprives them of their freedom, it owes the highest duty to them to use their time only in ways that benefit them. To see them as a source of free labor or to exploit them for any purpose that is not itself a good reason for depriving the young of their freedom is a great wrong.

John Kerry may be keeping mum about it now, but his underlying philosophy is that he knows what's good for you better than you do, and he wants mandatory National Service. If you are comfortable with that, and you enjoy having someone else make the big decisions in your life, then by all means vote for the Kerry-Edwards ticket.

If you think you're smart enough to make your own decisions, and if John Kerry's lies about the draft have you concerned about what other surprises he may have in store for you, then be sure to vote for President Bush. And tell your friends.

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