Newt Gingrich, who is never above pandering or slandering, claims he now supports a plan akin to the DREAM Act, which died in Congress last year. While the original DREAM Act sought to provide a way for undocumented young immigrants to have a pathway to citizenship, Gingrich supports a faux DREAM Act that would do so by mandating military service.

Serving in the military is one of the highest levels of service a citizen can perform. Friends of mine have served in various branches of the armed forces and all have had similar things to say about it, namely: the life-long lessons they’ve learned in leadership and character helped breed success after the military. But they made a choice. It was voluntary and not since the Vietnam War has there been conscription (a military draft) in the U.S. And for good reason. Doug Bandow, of the Cato Institute,noted in his research that conscription leads to, “increased personnel turnover, more disciplinary problems, an entire force geared to getting out of rather than staying in the military, and unpredictable social turmoil.”