Wisconsin's New Photo ID Bill

Yesterday, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a bill requiring people to show a photo ID.

Is this in response to the federal investigation revealing voter fraud in Milwaukee?

No. Governor Doyle promises to veto those bills, something he has already done twice.

He is expected to sign this bill, requiring photo ID to purchase cold medicine.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

...the Legislature passed a bill Tuesday that would limit the sale of over-the-counter cold medicines that include a principal ingredient for making methamphetamine.

If Gov. Jim Doyle signs it as expected, the measure would radically change the way cold medicine is bought and sold in Wisconsin by making it harder to purchase drugs with pseudoephedrine and by limiting the number of products on the shelves.

Under the bill, a person could buy about five boxes of standard caplets in a month but would have to show a photo ID and have the sale documented by a pharmacist, who would be required to keep most cold medications behind the counter.

...Doyle said Tuesday that he would likely sign the bill because it would prevent bulk purchases by those who manufacture methamphetamine.

"It's a very serious problem, and one we cannot allow to catch hold in this state in any greater degree," he said, comparing it to crack cocaine, which in the late 1980s and early 1990s "devastated communities in this state."

..."For the 99.9 percent of consumers who buy this product for legitimate use, it's going to be an inconvenience," Brandon Scholz, president of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, said of the bill that was passed.

The bill to restrict sales of products that include pseudoephedrine would:

• Require products with pseudoephedrine to be sold behind a pharmacist's counter. This includes products in which pseudoephedrine is combined with other ingredients but exempts those in liquid or liquid gel cap form.

• Restrict the amount sold to one person in a 30-day period.

• Require buyers to show a photo ID to purchase the drugs.

• Mandate that pharmacists maintain a log book of sales.

• Prevent retailers from selling products with pseudoephedrine to those younger than 18.

The bill also would stiffen rules about what constitutes possession with intent to manufacture methamphetamine.
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I applaud the Legislature's action to get tough on the manufacturing of meth.

However, I am concerned about the fact that the bill will impact law-abiding citizens. The vast majority of people purchasing cold medicine do so because they have colds. Still, legislators believe that the "minor inconvenience" it is to the good people, the ones that really do have cold or allergy symptoms, is worth blocking criminals from buying the products to produce meth.

Doyle agrees with that, as do the overwhelming majority of state legislators.

That brings us to the photo ID bill requiring voters to show identification at the polls, the one state Democrats have argued against and Doyle has vetoed twice.

In the case of that bill, the Dems insist that the poor and the elderly are being targeted for disenfranchisement by Republicans. Supposedly, they won't be able to vote because they don't have photo IDs.

If that's the case, then what will the poor and the elderly do when they are suffering with cold or allergy symptoms? Following the logic of Doyle and the Dems, they will be kept from seeking relief. Since they have no ID to show at the polls, they wouldn't have ID to buy cold medicine either.

Nonetheless, Doyle supports the cold medicine photo ID bill without dragging out his claim that the poor and the elderly have no photo IDs to present at the polls.

Of course, this makes absolutely no sense.

What it does is reveal the politics of Doyle's decision to twice veto a photo ID bill to ensure the integrity of Wisconsin's elections. Obviously, he must believe the poor and the elderly will have the proper ID to purchase cold medicine. After all, no Dems are crying that these individuals are being targeted by Republicans, keeping medication out of their hands, having them out on the streets sniffling with sore throats.

Nevertheless, when it comes to the polls, Dems insist that these people do not have any photo ID. In the case of voting, showing an ID becomes a method of disenfranchisement rather than the minor inconvenience Dems consider it to be when purchasing cold remedies.

The timing of this legislation couldn't be more ironic, passing on the very day that Steve Biskupic's office released preliminary findings of the voter fraud investigation in Milwaukee.