The Senate will not reconvene for another two weeks after adjourning on Thursday, so, the matter of women’s drafting will remain unresolved until the July 4 recess.
That is significant, at least in the larger American context. D.C. operates normally and provides clear explanations. On Friday, June 14, the House of Representatives enacted a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that does not require women to register for the Selective Service, which is a system used for draft registration. Subsequently, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved a version of the measure that included provisions for drafting women. The legislation now heads “to conference,” when House and Senate staff members and committees will resolve any disagreements.
No matter their party or region, voters don’t like this.
A particularly incompetent New York Post writer reported on Thursday that the action “has raised some hackles among members of the far-right,” but it seems the Democrats’ peculiar compulsion to draft women is causing discomfort on a broader scale.
It’s a Democratic project, too. Blaze News has found that several Senate Democrats have already presented the notion in committee along political lines without receiving backing from the GOP, despite the committee procedure being confidential.
When reporters caught up with them, their Democratic colleagues running for reelection outside the committee sounded less enthusiastic. Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of Ohio both asserted that they were not aware of the idea. In an unusually close contest against Republican Tim Sheehy, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) told the Washington Examiner he would “have to take a look at it.”
Blaze News quoted Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) as saying, “It’s basic human instinct.” “As long as there are physically fit males willing to fight, you do not send women to battle. It’s an essential idea. It’s a survival concern, so you don’t even need to address a moral one. When it comes to survival, this is the last thing that people want to do.
Additionally, it passed out of the Senate Armed Services Committee 22-3, with the Democratic chairman being one of the dissenting votes. Despite this, no Republicans on the committee were allegedly “in favor.” Members can express their voting preferences and opinions whenever they wish to gain political points, but the markup is confidential.
Lee stated to Blaze News, “You have a number of Republicans who are against this, but some of those Republicans who have voiced their opposition still voted to get it out of committee, so the question is, how much resistance will you see from them before it gets to the floor?”
Furthermore, not every Republican is against the proposal. According to Tennessee senator Marsha Blackburn, drafting women is about “opportunity.”
“Combat is not the focus of this,” she informed reporters. “It concerns their chance to be of service.”
Although the United States hasn’t had a draft since the Vietnam War, and reintroducing one would require a new act of Congress, supporters of the system argue that it isn’t technically a draft. However, this is only valid until the US decides it’s time to start drafting citizens once more. Then the vows against drafting women turn into pledges against assigning women to combat positions, which turns into the act of assigning women to combat roles itself. It’s establishing the foundation for precisely what politicians claim they won’t do. To put it bluntly, it’s unlikely.
According to Lee, we expect to draft women when it’s legally required. The next time we have a draft, it will result in a draft of women.
Republicans will need to decide how strongly they want to oppose a number of contemporary feminist cliches that far too many politicians will blindly embrace after July 4. Conversely, Democrats will need to determine the extent to which they support the women’s draft and whether it is worthwhile to place comrades in jeopardy, such as Brown and Tester.
Furthermore, after vacation ends, the summer isn’t too long. Committee staffers will be working nonstop, while the real House and Senate committees will only meet for a total of 11 days before adjourning for the protracted August holiday.
This allows those who oppose the draft of women more time to effectively communicate their viewpoints. “After it receives public notice, people realize that the juice isn’t worth the squeeze when people are outraged,” Lee said, according to Blaze News. No matter their party or region, voters don’t like this.
A little more direct was Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who spearheaded the opposition three years prior, when Congress had considered drafting women. “I will devote every fiber of my being to ruining the remnants of the Republican Party if they even consider drafting women,” he stated to Blaze News.