Real ID Passed the Senate 

As I've said several times before... I don't like Real ID. Unfortunately it just passed the Senate as part of an Iraq Supplemental Spending bill, and has already passed the House in the same manner. My first comment is that I think that procedurally this is a terrible, cowardly move by my congressman, Jim Sensenbrenner. This is a significant piece of legislation, that had been blocked in Congress before on it's own. What is his response? He gets it added to a bill that was guaranteed to pass... preventing any real debate on its own merits. This bill, if it deserved to pass, should have been voted on its own merits. Sensenbrenner is quickly losing my confidence. Unfortunately he runs virtually unopposed in my district every election. If I had the money... I'd probably run against him. As it stands... I'll be seriously looking at whoever runs against him next election. Don't get me wrong. He's a nice enough guy, and I agree with many of his views... but this one is a deal breaker for me.

All is not lost however, because the National Governors Association is talking about challenging the law's constitutionality. It's essentially an unfunded mandate that Congress has just pushed on the states. More importantly, it creates a national identity database that is illegal. It very well could make identity theft much easier, and would do very little to actually make us more secure. Instapundit also brings up an excellent point that it may not pass constitutional muster because the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government may not compel states to implement federal regulatory programs, even if its the federal regulation is proper.

I'm reminded of another scene from the Hunt for Red October:

Capt. Vasili Borodin: I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck... maybe even a "recreational vehicle." And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
Captain Ramius: I suppose.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: No papers?
Captain Ramius: No papers, state to state.

Not any more Borodin. Now you need identity papers. We're becoming more like the U.S.S.R every day.

Update: The other reason I think Sensenbrenner has gotten too comfy as my congressman is because of these comments he made a month or so ago about the government's right to censor. Just thought I'd bring it up again in case Jim happened to be reading.