Driving Towards Bethlehem, by Arthur Tebbel – Pop Art #138

July 26, 2011 Arthur Tebbel 0 Comments

Dear Art,
    I have just been getting slammed this week.  My office announced that it was reducing hours at some of our DMV offices and expanding it in others.  These offices are being adjusted so people have a chance to get state ID cards, such as driver’s licenses, that people will need to obtain in order to vote under a new law.  The problem comes from allegations that offices are being closed in Democratic areas and opened in Republican areas.  This was a decision based solely in economics.  Why does no one believe me when I say that?
    -Reggie Newson, Executive Assistant, Wisconsin Transportation Department

Reggie,
No one believes you because the only thing you have more of in Wisconsin than badgers these days is bullshit.  It seems to be all legislative tricks and recall elections.  Your politics have entered full-blown circus mode.  If the Wisconsin government came to my house and ten people came in your car it wouldn’t even cross my mind that it had a big SUV, I would be pretty sure it was a clown car.

It’s hard to answer this question when I basically think the entire premise is bullshit.  Voter ID laws are supposed to combat voter fraud.  Unfortunately, there are basically no reported cases of people impersonating other people for the purposes of voting.  I say unfortunately for the benefit of the idiots who push these laws; it really is fortunate for our democracy.  What is actually unfortunate is that these laws are designed to suppress the communities that are less likely to have driver’s licenses, the poor.  What party usually pushes hard for voter ID laws?  Not the one that gets a lot of votes from poor people.

I don’t actually think this is your fault.  While you do seem to be the representative from your department that has to face the media over this I sincerely doubt that anyone with “assistant” in their title is making a decision like this.  I would even go as far as to suggest that they’re probably grooming you for bigger things by making you face the firing squad on this one.  If these closures are nefarious, and they sure look that way from the outside, there’s no amount of public scrutiny that will make these people back off.  We learned that during the whole collective bargaining dust-up.  These offices will close voter turnout will or will not be affected and life will go on.  When Scott Walker transitions from governor to highly paid lobbyist maybe you can be an executive assistant over there too.