Monday Roundup: Debating the Poll Tax

The Voter ID bills will undergo debate in Austin today, and I am not the only one who thinks there are severe problems with them. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram ponders whether requiring a picture ID to vote and a certified copy of a birth certificate, passport, or proof of citizenship to register is a poll tax, and rightly so — getting those documents costs money that not everyone has.

My wife and I got passports recently, and the real cost was higher than the $85 the Star-Telegram lists. People that are too poor to have a car are likely too poor to have a driver's license, and a personal picture ID also costs money. Every additional requirement this bill seeks to add on costs money, so calling it a poll tax is not unreasonable. Of course, these bills have much more going against them than that. Even Royal Masset hates the idea of the Voter ID bill, explaining at the Quorum Report's R&D that it will "kill his mother's right to vote." Subscribers can see the whole thing, but even the snippet is enlightening.

This is a weird story: Sheryl Crow and Laurie David got in a slapfight with Karl Rove at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, apparently filling in for the lack of entertainment provided by Rich Little. They wanted to talk to Rove about global warming, and he wasn't interested in doing that, so much. My favorite part of the whole story was this, which they related on the Huffington Post:

In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, "Don't touch me." How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow? Unfazed, Sheryl abruptly responded, "You can't speak to us like that, you work for us." Karl then quipped, "I don't work for you, I work for the American people."

That's a wicked burn, Karl. A wicked burn.

We are about to be in the thick of debate season. The Presidential debates will slog through the primaries, one every few weeks, the field of candidates continually whittled down by debate mistakes and lack of money. The O-fficial Battle of the Soundbites has begun, and in light of that, the Politico's Roger Simon reminds us of some of the questions that have broken candidates seeking the Presidency. As for the debates, you would think I wouldn't be surprised by the inexorable march of time towards the primaries, but I still can't get over how soon everything is happening.

To close out today's roundup, I present a National Geographic-style look at the mind of the Texas Independent. If you've ever wondered how independents look at themselves here in our state, I offer this for your consideration:

Nationally, we helped the Democrats take back Congress (for now). And for now, we're helping Barak Obama send a message to the Democratic Party that it must seriously fight the overriding influence of special interests -- or lose the crucial support of independents.

You can probably guess how I feel about that paragraph, and that sentiment. Independents can't be denied their role among the electorate, but I just have a hard time taking any talk of an organized independent movement as a voting bloc seriously. It's like saying you're going to start the Anarchist Party, as soon as you can get the convention together.