Misdirected Anger

You've heard it before. Sykes goes off about it all the time. So does McIlheran. Even Fischer is getting into the act.

In their inane and barely veiled elitist, bigoted attempts to disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters in Wisconsin, they keep hammering on their desire for Voter ID. They keep asking when, oh when, will Doyle get it, and cave in to their nefarious ways. After all, Doyle passed a law that requires a person to show a picture ID when buying medication that has pseudophedrine in it, right? So why doesn't he do it for voting?

Well, the answer is pretty simple really. Every state has passed a similar law. Why is that, you may ask? Well that is to be in alignment with the federal law passed by the federal government (emphasis mine):

On March 9, 2006, President Bush signed into law the “USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005.” Among that bill’s provisions was the “Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005” (“Combat Meth Act”). The Combat Meth Act seeks to curb the availability of certain chemicals used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. These precursor chemicals – pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine – are common ingredients in many over-the-counter cold, flu, and allergy medications. The Combat Meth Act subjects retailers to new sales restrictions, employee training obligations, and reporting requirements if they wish to continue to sell these over-the-counter medicines.

[...]

Logbook Requirement – Beginning September 30, 2006, retailers must maintain a list of all sales of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine (with the exception of single dose sales). The log may be maintained electronically. The logbook must include the following information:

• Product Name;
• Quantity Sold;
• Name and address of purchaser; and
• Date and time of the sale.

The retailer must require that the customer present, prior to purchase, a photo ID card issued by a state or the Federal Government, a passport or an Alien Registration Receipt Card or Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”). The Customer must also sign the logbook, writing his or her name, address, and the date and time of the sale. The retailer must confirm that the name in the logbook corresponds with the name on the ID and that the date and time are correct. The retailer must then enter into the logbook the name of the product and the quantity sold. Retailers must retain the logbooks for at least two years. Logbooks will be subject to certain privacy protections which will be discussed in regulations promulgated by the Department of Justice.

The time that this law was passed and enacted, the Republicans were definitely in power in the Congress, and last time I checked, Bush was still considered to be a Republican.

So if Syke, Belling, PaddyMac and Fischer want to gripe about having to show their photo ID every time they go to the pharmacy for their Sudafed, whether for allergies or to make the meth they must be smoking, they ought to be remembering the rightful place to put the blame. Themselves and the politicians they support.