It was a double-edged sword. Conscription was deeply radicalizing, both in terms of domestic discontent and labor militarization.

Once Nixon ended the draft and converted operations to air war/special forces, the domestic opposition to the wars in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia rapidly fizzled out. And by the 1980s, our War on ~~Poor People~~ Crime effectively put the kabash on the kind of neighborhood organizing/defense that kept communities from falling under aggressive police cartels.

I think American politicians don't really want conscription today any more than the people do.