CBS Does It Again / Network Uses Phony Documents to Promote Draft Conspiracy

Daniel Irvin Rather must be a masochist. You'd think that in the midst of the terrible publicity he is currently getting for working closely with a partisan Democrat bent on bringing down President Bush that Dan Rather would have the good sense to lay off the liberal bias for a while. But common sense seems to be in short supply at CBS News these days.

Three weeks after he denounced the internet as being "filled with rumors," the embattled CBS anchor ran a story on his Tuesday "Evening News" program hoping to stir up fear of an impending military draft.

In a story that was a textbook example of slipshod reporting, CBS reporter Richard Schlesinger used debunked internet hoax emails and an unlabeled interest group member to scare elderly "Evening" viewers into believing that the U.S. government is poised to resume the draft.

At the center of Schlesinger's piece was a woman named Beverly Cocco, a Philadelphia woman who is "sick to my stomach" that her two sons might be drafted. In his report, Schlesinger claimed that Cocco was a Republican and portrayed her as an apolitical (even Republican) mom worried about the future.

Schlesinger did not disclose that Cocco is a chapter president of an advocacy group called People Against the Draft (PAD) which, in addition to opposing any federal conscriptions, seeks to establish a "peaceful, rational foreign policy" by bringing all U.S. troops out of Iraq. Like Schlesinger's Cocco, the group portrays itself as "nonpartisan"although its leadership seems to be entirely bereft of any Republicans.

The group's domain is registered to a man named Jacob Levich, a left-wing activist who in a 2001 essay compared the Bush Administration to the totalitarian government portrayed in George Orwell's 1984.

PAD also lists Anita Dutt, a Green Party activist who is also a member of an anti-war group called Bronx Action for Justice and Peace. In a March 3, 2003 New York Times profile of the group reprinted on the organization's web site, Heidi Hynes, one of its leaders, said of her fellow members that "none of us are Republicans."

Also left out of the CBS story was the fact that while there are two bills in Congress that are seeking to reestablish the draft, both of them (S-89 and HR-163) are sponsored exclusively by Democrats and have been pronounced DOA by the Republican leadership.

Much more on this to come but in the mean time, click read more to see the transcript or watch the clip by clicking on the picture to the right.

DAN RATHER: It's no secret: The all- volunteer U.S. Military, especially the Army, Marines and many reserve units, are stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan. So what about bringing back the draft? A lot of Americans are worried about that. Where do the presidential candidates stand? CBS's Richard Schlesinger tells you in the "Eye on America" election series, "What does it mean to you?"

SCHLESINGER: Beverly Cocco has spent most of her life protecting children in Philadelphia.

SCHLESINGER: But as Election Day approaches, it's her own two grown sons who Beverly is most worried about.

BEVERLY COCCO ("Pennsylvania Voter"): I go to bed every night and I pray, and I actually get sick to my stomach. I'm very worried. I'm scared. I'm absolutely scared. I'm petrified.

SCHLESINGER: Beverly is petrified about a military draft, and she's not alone. Mass e-mails are circulating among worried parents. But neither president bush nor john kerry has said he will re- institute the draft. In fact, they both say they will not.

Sen. JOHN KERRY (Democratic presidential candidate): I will give us a foreign policy that absolutely makes it unnecessary to have a draft for this country.

SCHLESINGER: Kerry says he'll try to get allies of the U.S. to send troops that could relieve American soldiers in Iraq. The Bush Administration says that is pure fantasy. The president wants to train more Iraqi troops to take over for the Americans.

Pres. GEORGE W. BUSH: The war on terror will continue. It's going to take a while and no, we don't need a draft.

SCHLESINGER (voiceover): But Beverly's not buying it. She's a Republican, but she's also a single issue voter.

COCCO: Absolutely. I would vote for Howdie Doody if I thought it would keep my boys home and safe.

SCHLESINGER (voiceover): In fact, there are at least three votes in this house riding on the draft: Beverly's and her sons,' Carmen [sic] and Nick.

NICK COCCO (College senior): Yeah. It's the talk. The talk's there. Though people aren't actually coming out and saying it, it's, it's there.

SCHLESINGER: The machinery for a draft is already in place and the acting director of Selective Service believes he could start drafting people quickly.

JACK MARTIN (Selective Service System): I think we could do it in less than six months if we got the call.

SCHLESINGER: This time there would be no long deferments for college students and a lot more people could be eligible for the draft than ever before. Men and women aged 18 to 26 could be called up.

Of course, there hasn't been a draft since 1973. But that's not much comfort to Beverly Cocco. So she is keeping a sharp eye on the political traffic. She's a Bush supporter today, but if she doesn't like what she hears between now and November, Beverly could easily cross over. In Philadelphia, I'm Richard Schlesinger for Eye on America.

Though I agree with most of that, I'm not letting our people off the hook so easily.

Reagan was basically by himself anyway. Dims had the House and Senate, not only then but the prior 40 yrs as well. Reagan had everything against him and he still got the message through and won a lot of people over. But then again, he WAS Ronald Reagan and we can't expect Bush or any other Republican or Republican President to be President Reagan.

Yes, it's been an uphill battle for Conservatives, and will continue to be, but times are changing. Like you referred to in you post, the "new media" gained ground and became a player because of Bill Clinton and the bias in MSM. Maybe Gore wasn't so far off in judging his roll in the invention of the net? hehe But, now we do have a FreeRepublic, we do have a Drudge Report, we do have a Newsmax, we do have a Fox News Channel, but we still have to get better at using them! We have to get much better and that is what my frustration is about.

Yeah, we can all agree that if Monica had been a Bush thing the MSM would have been on it like flys on stink, even now after we've taken up some of the slack in it's reporting. But, do you think we would have had the SeeBS situation 10 years ago? Remember George H. W. Bush and his round with Rather? This is another sign that we have made some ground. I think the fight is even greater now because they're starting to see the dust cloud approaching them from behind, and they've panicked into an all out sprint to keep their power and influence.

We aren't where we need to be yet, but we are closer than we were even as few as 5 years ago. But, when members of our party in Washington refuse to stand up and carry the ball, they allow the dims to come out and make the same false claims they've been making for years. My point is, people like "us" have made a difference and put our people in Washington in a better position to "use" the media, both "new" and MS, to put out their/our agenda! But it's not happening, they keep fumbling in the locker room! At least get it on the freakin' field first so that maybe someone else can jump on it! YES, we ARE the real troops in this and I think we HAVE been making a lot of noise. But, and I can only speak for myself, last I checked I didn't have access to a camera that would blast my message around the nation. I disagree that they can't get a message out. Let us pretend....let us dream.....

Trent Lott walks out on the lawn and says, "I want to make an important announcement about a military draft and what it will mean to our nation and it's youth"....

You really think Fox News wouldn't cover that? CNN would be "forced" to cover it. They have to learn to use what "we" have given them. He doesn't come out and say I want to dispute the dims about the lies and rumors they're spreading of a nonexistent plan for a draft. That probably wouldn't get him anywhere but the Drudge Report. He doesn't lie to them, but he doesn't blow his complete message prior to addressing the issue either. You were talking about "manipulation", that's what I'm talking about!!

Do we really want to risk this election simply because we sat back, did nothing, and let them spread this draft rumor? Yeah, some of us laugh at the desperation we see coming from the left, but there are some 18 year old kids who aren't laughing and just might be believing. Of all the lies they've tossed out there I think this is one we should definitely not underestimate, neglect, or misinterpret, of it's importance or possible damage. We're at war, so it's natural that some of the "misinformed" will believe it and it's extremely plausible that those "misinformed" will be scared voters at the polls. This is one of many lies that needs to be knocked down!

I'm definitely in agreement with your reply. I'm just not letting anyone off the hook. I've watched too many people drop their stones at the city limit signs as they walk into Washington and quite honestly I'm getting sick of it. It's especially frustrating when I look back on what "we", the troops, have accomplished and given them. They wanted the House, we gave it to them. They wanted the Senate, we gave it to them. "We" paved them a freakin' highway, and they keep walking on the sidewalk??? Is this road as wide as it needs to be? No, but it's a nice start! Not using it just allows the grass to grow back over it. Like I said, they should be out defending President Bush like it's their last breath! Do they honestly think they'll get anything accomplished with Kerry? Do they honestly think we can keep them there if they don't accomplish the things they've been sent there to do? I'm not in the business of harping on Conservatives, and I know there are many who are fighting and pushing the envelope. But, there are also many that aren't and they have got to step up! If they don't think they can get a message out on CNN, MAKE it a CAUSE to get a message out on CNN! Manipulate the situation and the media and force it out! We've made huge strides, but that doesn't mean stop marching! Assuming it's a hopeless situation is assuming defeat! It's an age old saying but still true,...You don't wait for opportunity, you create it! "We've" created opportunity for them so I'm not sure what they're waiting on???? This latest crap coming from the dims will amount to "nothing" compared to the attacks that will be coming out in the approaching days. Desperate people don't care how they change their situation, just as long as they do so! Though this President is Rock Solid,...Strength is in numbers, and is not built by leaving one man on his own to fight from the center of a dart board! It's time to do battle! It's time to strap it on! It's time to become Warriors!!! It's NOT time to cower in the corner or become passive! K, I'm done.

Cheers!

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