Paul made it sound like Newt dodged the draft 5 times. Whats the truth?

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Newt claimed he wasn't elligable. I'm not old enough to know about draft requirements in the 60's. If what Paul said is accurate about Newt intentionally dodging and now wanting the power to send our kids into harms way, I'm going to have to side with Paul.

 

[imbalance]

From Newt's wiki:

Gingrich avoided the Vietnam War draft through deferments because he was a student and then a father. "Given everything I believe in, a large part of me thinks I should have gone over," he said in 1985.

Newt Gingrich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So it's at least two. One as a college student and another as a father.

lol

 

[occupied]

I don't blame anyone for bullshitting their way out of going to nam, too bad it really only worked for kids who's parents had connections.

 

[rdean]

Newt claimed he had a wife and child. Paul had a wife and two children and still served when called.

I'm for the draft. I don't believe it ever should have ended. People are much less willing to go to war unless it's only the children of the poor and minorities. Then it's easy.

 

[occupied]

Newt claimed he had a wife and child. Paul had a wife and two children and still served when called.

I'm for the draft. I don't believe it ever should have ended. People are much less willing to go to war unless it's only the children of the poor and minorities. Then it's easy.

It was that way during the draft also, the south was so heavily conscripted that it was clear the lottery was fixed.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Newt claimed he had a wife and child. Paul had a wife and two children and still served when called.

I'm for the draft. I don't believe it ever should have ended. People are much less willing to go to war unless it's only the children of the poor and minorities. Then it's easy.

My grandfather and father were drafted. One in WW2 and the other Nam. Neither were poor. Now our military is voluntary and those serving wish too. How is that a bad thing?

 

[Contumacious]

Newt claimed he wasn't elligable. I'm not old enough to know about draft requirements in the 60's. If what Paul said is accurate about Newt intentionally dodging and now wanting the power to send our kids into harms way, I'm going to have to side with Paul.

Draft Deferment: Vietnam

.

 

[Avorysuds]

I remember something like Newt said he viewed himself as more valuable (or something) staying here at home than going to war.

I'll try and find a link...

 

[Avorysuds]

Anyways I can't find it, been awhile.

 

[tinydancer]

Newt claimed he wasn't elligable. I'm not old enough to know about draft requirements in the 60's. If what Paul said is accurate about Newt intentionally dodging and now wanting the power to send our kids into harms way, I'm going to have to side with Paul.

ETA: I haven't had a chance to check out when Newt was drafted and when he sought deferment. Out of curiousity for myself I want to check that out.

But to apply for and receive deferment was not being a draft dodger. It was legal.

The draft lotteries didn't start until 1969.

Here's a good starter link for you.

Vietnam War Draft Lottery

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Newt claimed he wasn't elligable. I'm not old enough to know about draft requirements in the 60's. If what Paul said is accurate about Newt intentionally dodging and now wanting the power to send our kids into harms way, I'm going to have to side with Paul.

Draft Deferment: Vietnam

.

I was taking your list halfway serious until I saw this....


O. J. Simpson Football 9-Jul-1947 Searching tirelessly for the real killers

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Newt claimed he wasn't elligable. I'm not old enough to know about draft requirements in the 60's.

Ask your boy......

....MITT!!!!!

*

"Taken at the height of the swinging Sixties, Mr Romney holds a sign declaring 'Speak Out, Don't Sit In' as, alongside like-minded individuals, he proclaims his support for Lyndon Johnson's ever-expanding draft."

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Why do you always dig up ignored topics shawoman?

Don't you have a coloring book to finish?

 

[tinydancer]

Newt claimed he wasn't elligable. I'm not old enough to know about draft requirements in the 60's. If what Paul said is accurate about Newt intentionally dodging and now wanting the power to send our kids into harms way, I'm going to have to side with Paul.

As I posted earlier, I was interested in the truth of this as well and I believe I've found the answer.

Check this out. He was never drafted. It was an unfair attack.

Jan 10, 9:27 PM EST

FACT CHECK: Did Gingrich shirk military duty?

By PAULINE JELINEK
Associated Press



WASHINGTON (AP) -- The ghosts of the Vietnam War are stirring again as
GOP presidential candidates fight for position in the primary
elections.

Vietnam veteran Ron Paul has called Newt Gingrich a "chicken hawk,"
asserting in Saturday's GOP candidates debate that Gingrich shirked
military service and so shouldn't have the power to send others to
war.

A review of government records finds no evidence that Gingrich dodged
any legal responsibilities as a draft-aged young man in the 1960s.
Paul was drafted, but Gingrich wasn't, apparently the result of
changing draft regulations.

Here's the testy exchange the two had when the subject came up Saturday:

PAUL: "I think people who don't serve when they could and they get
three or four or even five deferments ... they have no right to send
our kids off to war." He added: "I'm trying to stop the wars, but at
least, you know, I went when they called me up."

GINGRICH: "The fact is, I never asked for deferment. I was married
with a child. It was never a question..."

PAUL: "...When I was drafted, I was married and had two kids, and I went."

THE FACTS: It's true that Paul was a husband and father when he served
as an active-duty Air Force doctor from 1963-1965. He turned 18 in
1953, finished medical school in 1961 and was drafted in 1962 under a
law that said fathers had to serve unless their induction would cause
their dependents extreme hardship.

But the draft was changed the following year, giving all fathers a
pass without having to prove hardship. Gingrich registered for the
draft when he turned 18 in 1961 and was contacted by his draft board
to fill out a general information questionnaire in mid-1963. Upon
reviewing the questionnaire, the board gave him a deferment on the
basis of having a child, Selective Service System officials said
Tuesday after reviewing ledgers from the era.

"I wasn't eligible for the draft," Gingrich said in Saturday's
exchange, repeating for emphasis: "I wasn't eligible for the draft."

Strictly speaking, it's true that fathers were not eligible to be
drafted at that time - just as students got deferments and were not
eligible to be compelled into the armed forces then.

That doesn't mean
Gingrich couldn't serve - he could have joined the military
voluntarily. It only means the government couldn't conscript him.

In a 1985 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Gingrich said:
"Given everything I believe in, a large part of me thinks I should
have gone over." Then, he added: "Part of the question I had to ask
myself was what difference I would have made."

As for Paul's feelings on who should be in a position to send troops
to war, it's hardly a new sentiment. But the number of veterans who
eventually found their way to Congress or the White House or as other
national leaders also has shifted with changing American times.

The reality today is that less than 1 percent of Americans serve in
the all-volunteer armed forces built after the draft was ended. That
has meant a greatly diminished pool of veterans available to run for
political office and far fewer serving in Congress than in the past.
Upcoming budget cuts will shrink the force further.

Over the nation's history, about two-thirds of presidents have served
in the military in some capacity.

---

Online: Selective Service System Selective Service System: Welcome

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