Identification...or no identification...of those residing in and seeking entry into the U.S. are impacted by The REAL ID Act of 2005. The Missouri Patriot brings this issue to your attention because we have an election on August 2 and another one on November 8.

Some of our friends have stated the opinion that Roy Blunt, seeking another term as a MO Senator, introduced this legislation. You can track how Blunt voted on various issues by clicking on this: link http://www.ontheissues.org/International/Roy_Blunt_Homeland_Security.htm

We have not done enough research to verify the allegation that he introduced the Real ID Act but and he is a candidate who will be voted upon this coming Tuesday and so it is appropriate to look at what issues he supported in his legislative career and analyze this most far reaching and important piece of legislation. The importance of the legislation is underscored by immigration and especially terrorism that is presently on the front burner.

A complete rundown of the Real ID Act legislation can be obtained at the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REAL_ID_Act. It is a long, complex and detailed account both pro and con of this legislation. We have enclosed some excerpts. For those who have a deep interest in this (and all of us should) we suggest you take the time to read at least the excerpts (the link below this commentary will take you to a pdf file that presents the excerpts).

There are ideas we agree with and some we disagree with relative to this legislation. However, it seems that the time has arrived that we must individually make some important decisions, as terrorism and immigration issues and ability of authorities to deal with the chaos and potentially bankrupting expense generated by a government that "leads from behind" has more impact on our lives. In our view, a government that encourages lawlessness and makes its decisions according to impractical theories, such as political correctness, has caused the downhill slide of our democracy.

Under Obama, attacks on the police are becoming more and more commonplace in the country. That represents a condition that exists in underdeveloped countries and lawless, insecure societies. If we want to live in a modern, secure, civilized society, we must stop this before it gets out of control. Few need to be reminded that increasing chaos and disruption has picked up enormous speed under the past seven years of government policies forced on society by the Obama Administration.

Our view is that we need to decide whether laws, such as the Real ID Act, need revision and which candidate can best address the issues as we see them and in a reasonable time frame...then request our representatives to put forth legislation that most meets our views and the requirements of circumstances and the times. The coming elections are about this!

Security and privacy are most important issues to us. Undoubtedly others will have additional or differing opinions but our representatives need to come to a consensus and act upon it. That won't be easy because, as you can see by reading the few excerpts we have provided in the pdf enclosure (below), these are very complex issues and resolving them accurately and quickly is of the utmost importance. Our expectation is that Donald Trump, if elected president, would immediately address the most critical issues. It is of the utmost importance and contrary to the Obama Administration and Hillary's performance, will expedite the need to uphold the law and will cease defeating the will of the people for political purposes.

Experience in dealing with these matters legislatively will help resolve the urgency and that is primarily why we support Roy Blunt in the coming Primary. Lt. Governor Peter Kinder strongly opposed the privacy provisions of the Act and we support his views in that regard. That's one reason why we also support Kinder for Governor. Please note that we don't see these two points of view as being opposed to the entirety of the Act.

If this commentary is confusing please read the Act and decide for yourself. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE and in order to come to a decision on who to support in the coming elections we all need to inform ourselves of the provisions of this legislation and then decide what is in our best interest and vote accordingly. We hope you take the time to do that prior to the election....or....you can take our word for it and vote for those whom we endorse!

Below are our final endorsements of candidates running in the MO August 2 Primary. There have been some minor revisions to this list since we last published it. (We suggest you print this list out and take it with you when you vote)

The Missouri Patriot ENDORSEMENTS AND BALLOT ISSUES

FEDERAL:
U.S. Senate: Roy Blunt
Cong. Dist. 2: Ann Wagner
Cong. Dist. 3: Open* (No endorsement)

STATE:
Governor: Peter Kinder
Lt. Governor: Bev Randles
Secretary of State: Will Kraus
Treasurer: Eric Schmitt
Attorney General: Kurt Schaefer
Senate, Dist. 23: Open (change from previous, we no longer endorse Eigel)

Representatives:
Dist. 44: Randy Pietzman
Dist. 42: Bart Korman
Dist. 63: Bryan Spencer
Dist. 64: Robert Cronejoe
Dist. 65: Adam Schnelting
Dist. 102: Kurt Bahr
Dist. 103: John Wiemann
Dist. 104: Open
Dist. 105: Mary West
Dist. 107: Nick Schroer
Dist. 108: Justin Hill

St. Charles County Council, Dist. 2: (change from previous)
Joe Brazil

St. Charles County Republican Central Committee:
Brandy Peterson, Spencer Creek, Chairwoman
Kimberly Jumper, Lake St. Louis
Mike Sommer, Muegge
Tony Lovasco, St. Paul

Circuit Court Judges
Circuit 11, Division 2: Grant Gorman
Circuit 11, Division 13, Rebecca McKelvey

Ballot Initiatives:
State Constitution Amendment 1, 1/10 of 1% Sales Tax for 10 Years: - NO
State Constitution Amendment 6, Voter Identification: - YES
St. Charles County Sewer Proposition: - NO
City of O'Fallon Proposition Parks: -  NO
City of St. Peters Proposition Q: -  NO
City of St. Charles Proposition P: - NO
City of Lake St. Louis Proposition Life: - NO
City of Lake St. Louis Proposition Safety: - NO

* "open" means we endorse no candidate running for this office.