Missouri considers amendment to require photo ID at the voting booth--I'm in favor!

With all of the major national stories going on right now (Obama producing a birth certificate, Osama Bin Laden being killed, Snooki showing up at Wrestlemania and *not* blowing half the locker room), we sometimes overlook some very important and thought-provoking local stories. So I wanted to highlight such a story today--My home state of Missouri (properly pronounced "Missour-uh", for those of you who are not natives of the "Show Me State") is considering a Constitutional amendment which will require photo ID to be presented when voting.

Link to news story: http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Missouri-House-OKs-photo-ID-constitutional-amendment-121144369.html

A bit of background here--back in 2006, a similar law was passed which would have required the photo ID at the voting booth. However, the Missouri Supreme Court struck the law down as being "unconstitutional". Therefore, the State Legislature is going about the business of making such a statute into a Constitutional Amendment, which would keep the State Supreme Court from getting their grubby little hands on it. As of today, the amendment had passed the Senate, passed the House with some changes, and now has to go back to the Senate, and if they pass the amendment in changes, it would appear on the ballot for Missouri voters in 2012.

I'm tremendously encouraged by the prospect of this amendment. Americans are more aware than they've ever been about the possibility of voter fraud--the exposures of ACORN and like-minded organizations has proven that the old phrase, "In Chicago, they say vote early and vote often!" isn't just a joke, it's a reality in many parts of the nation. In addition, we see cases of identity theft each and every day--it seems to me that it wouldn't be a stretch similar politically-motivated thieves could use stolen documentation (presently in Missouri, you can vote with "proof" as insignificant as a utility bill or a bank statement) to "stuff the ballot box". Has it happened in Missouri? Not that I'm specifically aware of--but ACORN and the like have proven that the possibility is out there, and I think it makes sense for a state to take action to prevent such a problem before it occurs. In addition, there is a rising concern within our state regarding Illegal Immigration (Interstate 44 which runs through the state has long been a major artery for trafficking both illegal drugs and Illegal Immigrants, and there are pockets of the state where such Immigrants have settled), so such an amendment may be a necessity to keep these Illegals from wrongly voting in our elections.

The Democrats are opposing this amendment (shocking, ain't it?), arguing that such an amendment would adversely affect minorities and the poor from voting. Now, given how minorities and the poor usually vote, my initial (half-joking/half-serious) reaction to that argument is, "Good". However, in taking the argument on it's own merits, I don't see where it holds water. Driver's Licenses aren't exactly uncommon in Missouri, even among minorities and the poor. Unlike some other places in the country, most people in Missouri--even the poorest of the poor--either have a car or have access to some kind of transportation. It's nearly a necessity to be able to drive in this state, because of the large area that both major cities are laid out over, and the large percentage of the population that live in rural areas. In this state, it's extremely rare to run into someone who doesn't drive (even among the poor and the minorities).

I remember about 12 years back or so, I was doing some work for a marketing firm which had a client who had come to Missouri to do some survey work for an upcoming home equity line of credit project. The clients came from San Francisco, and were shocked to find two things about Missouri--first, that homes (and in some rural areas, some very nice homes) could be purchased for under $100,000, and secondly, that even the poorest people and those with the lowest incomes (including our own employees) owned some form of transportation. The look on their faces when they saw our parking lot filled with the cars of our employees--many of which made $7 or $8 an hour in those days--was amazing to me. And their shock was backed up as they moved forward with the survey work around the state. In San Francisco, where the clients had come from, it was rather common for upwardly mobile people--making well over $100K a year--to never own a car and to take either public transportation or taxis wherever they needed to go. However, Missouri isn't like San Fransisco or New York...it's not nearly as compact, therefore the ability to drive is virtually a necessity for anybody who lives here so that they can hold down a job, get their groceries, and undertake the ordinary tasks of life.

So I've told that long story to make the point that a very low number of the "poor" do not have a Driver's License. And for those few that do not, a State-issued Photo Identification card is not difficult to get. So the "inconvenience" that the poor and the minorities might undergo with such an Amendment is negligible, at best. On the other hand, such an amendment would better insure the integrity of Missouri's elections, and help prevent the fraud that exists (and is even prevalent) in other parts of the nation. When you take the partisan rhetoric out of the equation, I do not see what Missouri could possibly "lose" by enacting such an amendment. The alleged disenfranchisement of the poor and minorities put forth by the Democratic party is a red herring--most of them who are legitimate citizens already have driver's licences, and the few that are left can easily get a photo ID that will be acceptable. The potential risk of voter fraud far outweighs the "risk" of disenfranchised voters in Missouri.

AEG#9: The Trump Card

The Man. The Myth. The Hair. Donald Trump has made noise about running for the Presidency in 2012--and while it remains to be seen whether he's serious or just looking for some publicity or a stroking of the ego, he is at least saying some rather impressive things in recent media appearances. He's talking a good game about how we should deal with the Chinese, how America should re-build itself economically, and how Barack Obama isn't fit to manage a Tastee-Freeze, let alone be the President of the most powerful nation on earth.

But is that enough?

It's one thing to tell people what they want to hear when you appear on television--heck, Obama attained the Presidency by doing little more than this. But is The Donald truly a Conservative? What are his views on issues other than business and the economy? Is simply calling out Obama enough of a qualification to be President?

In the most recent edition of America's Evil Genius, I discuss these issues and analyze Trump's potential to be a good President. In addition, I introduce the "Presidential GPA", which will be the method I use throughout the run-up to 2012 to determine exactly who the best candidate for the Oval Office should be.

America's Evil Genius goes Live!!!

As promised last week, my new political commentary program, "America's Evil Genius" has just debuted on Youtube. The first "episode" is a two-part discussion of what the 212 GOP Presidential nominee should focus on. My thought is that instead of focusing on *whom* the nominee should be, we should instead focus on *what* that nominees should believe in, advocate, and stand for--and allow prospective nominees the opportunity to prove that they can fit into that mold. Both parts of the episode follow:





The video effects are still not where I want them to be--but we'll get that fixed over time. Nevertheless, I'm proud to be providing an uncompromising Conservative viewpoint to the American Public at long last! You can thank me later...