When Republicans make the case for new voter ID laws, they invariably argue, “If people have to show ID in order to [fill in the blank], then they should have to show ID in order to vote.”
These arguments tend to fall apart rather quickly, especially given that voter ID laws intend to address a problem that doesn’t exist in any meaningful way.
But GOP partisans keep trying variations on the argument anyway. Take acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, for example.
During his latest appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Donald Trump’s former defense lawyer, who’s launched an unsubtle campaign to persuade the president to nominate him as former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s successor, argued that people should stop talking about Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices gutting the Voting Rights Act and start instead talking about voter ID.
“Every time you walk into a restaurant or a club, you have to show your ID,” the acting attorney general told host Kristen Welker. “How about you have to show your ID to vote? That’s not anything that’s crazy, and that’s what we should be talking about.”
So, a few things.
First, treating the gutting of the Voting Rights Act as an inconvenience to be overlooked is ridiculous.
Second, I’ve been to plenty of restaurants, and I’ve never even heard of one that requires patrons to show identification at the door.
Third, the right to dine out is in no way comparable to the right to vote, as the acting attorney general really ought to understand.
But as important as these elements are, they’re not unfolding in a vacuum. Blanche is in the midst of an unannounced audition, which he’s trying nail through a series of unsubtle moves that include indicting people the president doesn’t like, advocating firing squads as a method of federal execution, releasing absurd reports critical of the Biden administration while gratuitously slamming Joe Biden himself, and intervening in support of Trump’s ballroom crusade.
So while the Republican lawyer’s “ID at restaurants” line was laughable, it wasn’t intended to persuade the public; it was intended to impress the president watching to see whether Blanche would embarrass himself in support of Trump’s agenda.
By all appearances, it’s working as intended. During an event with supporters on Friday afternoon, the president referred to Democratic officials in Minnesota, prompting someone in the crowd to shout, “Lock them up!” Trump added moments later, “Well, stranger things have happened, I’ll tell you. By the way, our attorney general is doing a very good job, isn’t he? Todd Blanche has done a very good job.”
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