Draft women?
It’s shortsighted to remain in the rearguard on this issue, for reasons of gender equity as well as military strength.
In all areas of society, women have embraced the principle that equal rights brings with it equal duties. In the workplace and beyond, we share responsibilities with men. Selective Service registration should be no different.
— Ruth Ben-Ghiat
CNN
Ending sex discrimination in this area — whether by including women in draft registration or by abolishing it — should be a no-brainer.
… Why shouldn’t we be as horrified by the prospect of forcibly putting our sons (or brothers and husbands) in close combat? Whether the message is that young men are more expendable or that young women should be more sheltered, it’s ultimately unfair to both.
— Cathy Young
Newsday
The draft ended 43 years ago, and there is close to zero chance it will be revived in the foreseeable future. Neither the military brass nor the average high school senior wants to go back to conscription.
The obvious question, then, is why anyone should have to register.
But if our leaders are not going to scrap the Selective Service System, it’s hard to see why women should be exempt from registering.
— Editorial Board
Chicago Tribune
In the blink of an eye, we’ve gone from opening combat jobs to women to Republican presidential candidates endorsing registering women for a draft.
Hide your daughters — our deluded and cowardly political elites are a clear and present danger to common sense.
— Rich Lowry
New York Post
A better idea than requiring women to register is to do away with Selective Service altogether, for women and men.
When it comes to the draft, or any lingering vestige of it, it’s time for Congress to end it, not mend it.
— Christopher Preble
The Washington Post
Should young women have to register for the draft at 18 just as men do today because the Department of Defense has opened all combat roles to them?
It’s the wrong question. A better question is whether men should have to register. The answer is no.
— Editorial Board
The Denver Post
The Bern
Americans keep telling pollsters they’re unhappy—or worse—with their political leaders, and on Tuesday they proved it in New Hampshire by handing victory to a 74-year-old socialist.
— Editorial Board
The Wall Street Journal
For the first time in American history, a Jewish candidate won a presidential primary election. And America yawned.
I’m talking about Bernie Sanders, of course, who thumped Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire’s Democratic contest. Everyone is aware that Clinton would be our first female president, but most voters don’t seem to know — or care — that Sanders would be our first Jewish one.
— Jonathan Zimmerman
Los Angeles Times
Fervor for Sanders’ combative liberalism combined with doubts about Clinton’s honesty to carry the day. By that measure in isolation, support for the Sanders was at least understandable.
... From far out in left field, Sanders promises that a “political revolution” will enable him to make free-everything-for-everyone plans come true.
... In fact, Sanders’ centerpiece domestic policy plans are dead on arrival.
— Editorial Board
New York Daily News
Sanders is a solid candidate and his integrity and earnestness are admirable, but that can get lost in the noise of advocacy.
Tucked among all this Bernie-splaining by some supporters, it appears to me, is a not-so-subtle, not-so-innocuous savior syndrome and paternalistic patronage that I find so grossly offensive that it boggles the mind.
— Charles M. Blow
The New York Times
We are seeing the embrace of an openly socialist septuagenarian by a generation that, within a decade, will dominate our electorate and outnumber baby boomers as soon as 2020.
Whether you are a Republican, a free-marketer or, even a Democratic-leaning crony capitalist, be afraid — be very afraid.
— Joel Kotkin
Orange County Register
Sanders correctly states that only through a “political revolution” and a groundswell of grassroots activism will we be able to challenge the power of the corporate and banking oligarchy that has seized power in Washington.
... Are you with us or against us?
— Joseph A. Palermo
Huffington Post