Real ID

Last week, the House endorsed Rep. Jim Guest's "crusade" against Real ID-compliant drivers licenses. The debate on the bill was frustrating, infuriating, hilarious and irrational -- all at the same time. And while Republicans fought amongst themselves about the sensibility of legislating against conspiracy theories, they simultaneously undermined one of their key arguments for this week's expected battle on Photo ID legislation.

Lost in the hyperbole and conspiracy theories on Real ID was one point of agreement from all sides: that it is very difficult for some Missourians -- and a hassle for many more  -- to obtain the key documents needed for a driver's license or photo id. Guest described the process for obtaining a driver's license as "very difficult" in a debate with Rep. Mike Talboy (D-Kansas City), and Rep. Ryan Silvey (R-Kansas City) challenged Guest (a fellow Republican) at length about the bureaucratic hassles of obtaining identification.