New national ID argument: Let's support half of one so we don't get the whole thing [priv]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Previous Politech message:
http://www.politechbot.com/2005/01/31/analysis-of-new/
http://www.politechbot.com/2005/02/15/rep-ron-pauls/

Excerpt:
"Once again, libertarian ideologues are objective allies of big 
government, trying to block the limited reforms that are the only way to 
stave off the more sweeping measures favored by the Left."

---

http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/mskoped32205.html

A REAL Solution

The Safe Side of the ID Debate

By Mark Krikorian

National Review Online
March 22, 2005

When Mexican President Vicente Fox visits President Bush's ranch 
Wednesday, he is sure to complain about his host's support for the REAL 
ID Act, which effectively bans driver's licenses for illegal aliens. The 
House appended the measure last week to the supplemental appropriations 
bill for Iraq operations, guaranteeing a Senate debate on the issue. 
It's likely that there will be another showdown between the two houses 
of Congress like the one that took place last fall over the intelligence 
reform bill.

Originally approved by the House in February by a 100-vote margin (with 
only eight Republicans opposed), the REAL ID Act (H.R. 418) would, among 
other things, establish certain minimum standards for states if they 
want their driver's licenses or non-driver IDs to be accepted for 
federally mandated purposes, such as boarding a plane or entering a 
federal facility. The standards include verifying the legal status of 
the applicant, setting the license of a foreign visitor to expire when 
his visa expires, verifying documents presented by applicants, and 
modernizing the technology used in licenses.

Some libertarians have denounced the license requirements as the 
precursor to a national ID card. The Wall Street Journal helpfully 
invoked the Gestapo by decrying the bill's "show-us-your-papers" 
approach. Rep. Ron Paul (R., Tex.), God bless him, called the bill "a 
Soviet-style internal passport system." And the ACLU said it's "laying 
the foundation" for a national ID card.

Eternal vigilance is indeed the price of liberty, so extra sensitivity 
to proposals like the REAL ID Act is all to the good. But after a close 
look, it should be clear there is no national ID card lurking in this 
bill; after all, Phyllis Schlafly sure wouldn't support it if there were.

But there's more. It's not just that the bill wouldn't establish a 
national ID; by making our existing, decentralized identification 
arrangements more secure, the REAL ID Act is the only thing that can 
stop a national ID card.

The need for more security in our existing document system was 
highlighted by the 9/11 Commission: "The federal government should set 
standards for the issuance of birth certificates and sources of 
identification, such as driver's licenses. Fraud in identification 
documents is no longer just a problem of theft. At many entry points to 
vulnerable facilities, including gates for boarding aircraft, sources of 
identification are the last opportunity to ensure that people are who 
they say they are and to check whether they are terrorists." (see 
Chapter 12, p. 390.)

[...]
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