ROCK THE VOTE, GOP COMMITTEE RELATIONS CHILL OVER DRAFT

Rock the Vote and the Republican National Committee are at odds over an alleged Internet campaign suggesting the military draft is about to be put into effect.

The RNC’s Chairman Ed Gillespie penned a missive to Rock the Vote President Jehmu Greene, charging the organization with "sponsoring and promoting a false and misleading Internet campaign designed to scare America’s youth into believing that they may be drafted to serve in the military."

Gillespie insisted "this urban myth regarding a draft has been thoroughly debunked by no less than the President of the United States, who explicitly stated, ‘We don’t need the draft. Look, the all-volunteer Army is working.'"

Gillespie went on to declare the org’s "Draft Your Friends" campaign "is being conducting [sic] with malicious intent and a recless disregard for the truth."

Greene responded by calling the letter "just the sort of malicious political deception that is likely to increase voter cynicism and decrease the youth vote… a textbook example of attempted censorship, very much in line with those that triggered our organization’s founding some 15 years ago."

Hey, wait until Springsteen and Stipe hear about this.

Greene went on to claim, "Anyone who thinks that the youth of America are going to take a politician’s word on this topic is living on another planet."

Greene also noted that Gillespie had not presented any facts to "back up [his] assertion… but instead [has] demanded that we stop talking about it…

"Issues such as jobs, health care, Iraq, taxes and education have energized the electorate, and the draft issue deserves the same serious treatment and candor. Blanket denials do not square with the facts and do not level with the electorate."

George Dubya’s reaction was to scowl.