25 August, 2008

The Candidates and National IDs

This is the twenty-first post in an ongoing series regarding the major Presidential candidates and their views on civil liberties.

This post is about Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) and Senator Barack Obama's (D-IL) plans regarding the necessity (or lack thereof) for a National ID card.

Libertarians believe that having a National ID card is an invasion of privacy and would allow further government intrusion into our lives. Therefore the correct answer on this issue is "opposed". :)

Unfortunately, both Obama and McCain supported the "REAL ID" act. REAL ID isn't quite a National ID, but the difference is minimal.

So, short and sweet. Grades: F for both.

These are the first F's I've given, but won't be the last. Many of the remaining issues are much more cut and dry than previous ones. There's little room for a middle ground. If' the candidate is on the right side, he's going to get an A+. If he's on the wrong side, he's going to get an F.

Results so far:
  Obama McCain
First Amendment F D-
Second Amendment D- C-
Third Amendment B B
Fourth Amendment D+ D+
Fifth Amendment D+ B-
Sixth Amendment B B
Seventh Amendment C C
Eighth Amendment C B
Eleventh Amendment B+ B-
Thirteenth Amendment D+ B+
Fourteenth Amendment D+ C+
Fifteenth Amendment B B
Nineteenth Amendment B B
Twenty-First Amendment A- A-
Twenty-Third Amendment A- B
Twenty-Fourth Amendment B B
Twenty-Sixth Amendment B B
Taxes D B-
Abortion A+ D
National ID F F

UPDATE: Obama's First Amendment grade lowered to F as documented in this post.

2 comments:

  1. Biden voted for the Real ID Act so I'm not too hopeful for Obama on that front. It's amazing how much Democrats and Republicans fall in line on that issue.

    Please let everyone know about our pre-emptive protest of the National ID act: http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/reject-the-real-id-act

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  2. If I recall correctly, the bill passed the Senate in overwhelming margins, something like 88-0, the first time around and then unanimously passed the conference report from the House, 100-0.

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