800,000 New IDs

Wisconsin Democrats are so squeamish when it comes to photo IDs.

The Real ID law and the subsequent need for some people to get their driver's licenses renewed early must be making the Dems ill.

Madison -- About 800,000 Wisconsinites will have to renew their driver's licenses early if they want to use them to board airplanes under a federal anti-terrorism law requiring more secure IDs, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The federal Real ID law requires that the new IDs and licenses be issued by December 2014 to people who have not turned 50 by then, but thousands of already-issued licenses don't expire until after that time. Those drivers will have to come in early to get the federally sanctioned IDs if they want to use them to get on an airplane or enter a federal courthouse.

..."This really is a program that the federal government foisted on the states without any input from the states, just said this is a good idea, you guys go do it," Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday. "There are huge decisions to be made."

I knew Doyle wouldn't like this.

According to Wisconsin Dems, citizens of Wisconsin can't be expected to get a photo ID for the purpose of participating in elections. That's too much to ask.

Now, some people will have to go in early to get the new federally sanctioned ID if they want to use it to board a plane or go into a federal courthouse.

What a disaster!

U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin, helped push the Real ID law through Congress in 2005 to help prevent terrorists and illegal immigrants from getting forged licenses. The law will make the process of getting licenses more arduous because people will have to show their birth certificates, passports or immigration documents to get the new licenses, even if they've held a Wisconsin license for decades.

State officials from around the country have complained about the law, saying it would be costly and create long lines. They've also said the law will create technical headaches because it requires all states to share birth and driving records, as well as other data.

In response, Homeland Security released rules this month that it said would make it easier for states to comply with the law.

This Real ID law is going to be messy for Barack Obama, Jim Doyle's presidential primary candidate.

Obama takes big risk on driver's license issue

Sen. Barack Obama easily won the African American vote in South Carolina, but to woo California Latinos, where he is running 3-to-1 behind rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, he is taking a giant risk: spotlighting his support for the red-hot issue of granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

It's a huge issue for Latinos, who want them. It's also a huge issue for the general electorate, which most vehemently does not. Obama's stand could come back to haunt him not only in a general election, but with other voters in California, where driver's licenses for illegal immigrants helped undo former Gov. Gray Davis.

The Real ID law may be an inconvenience for some citizens but it's going to be an enormous problem for Democrats supporting driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.