Here's a message from Larry Boocker…
I can't help adding something to your recent views on the debate about the military draft. I was also of draftable age when the political debate was fought over whether to extend the draft. Naturally, I paid close attention. In my opinion, that debate was the high point for political discourse during my lifetime. As you said, draft supporters tended to be conservative and Republican while draft opponents tended to be liberal and Democrat. But to everybody's amazement, the leader of the fight against the draft was Barry Goldwater, the most conservative politician in Washington. The fight for the draft was led by Ted Kennedy, the extreme leftist. Each of these guys was willing to go against their constituents, their friends and their image because they believed in certain principles. Goldwater's conservatism was based on individual freedom which was in conflict with the draft. He believed that if young Americans were unwilling to fight for their country, we didn't deserve to continue as a nation. Kennedy's liberalism was based on egalitarianism. He believed that a volunteer army would consist mostly of the poor and disenfranchised. A draft was most likely to treat people equally. Nowadays, when politicians march in lockstep and never surprise us with independent thinking, it's hard to believe that courage and principle were once seen in Washington. It's been about 30 years and we may never see them again.
Barry Goldwater was a pretty amazing guy, at least after he lost the presidency. He was one of the few politicians I saw place principle over partisanship. One night, he went on Johnny Carson's show and launched into a surprising defense of gay rights, essentially saying that conservatives needed to work towards smaller, less obtrusive government and that this was inconsistent with encouraging the government to police sexual relations between consenting adults. It was quite a speech and the next day on some TV news talk show — it may have been Crossfire — it was quoted to a number of prominent Republicans for their reaction. They all mouthed respectful words about Goldwater's great past service to his country, then suggested that he had gone senile.
I did not recall Ted Kennedy being on that side of the debate but very little surprises me about Ted Kennedy. I certainly never viewed The Draft as being particularly democratic. If it weren't five in the morning — what the hell am I doing posting on a weblog at this hour? — I'd write about my own experiences in 1970, investigating draft deferments and other means of escape. I found, at least around U.C.L.A. where I was then going to school, that being white (which I was) was some help in avoiding conscription and being from a wealthy family (which I was not) was an even greater help. I am not proud that this was the case and I thought it was a horrible injustice, even though I benefited from it. I'll write more about this when I'm awake…