Good and bad

This past week marked the best of times and the worst of times on the Missouri political front. OK, so the preceding bit of literary theft has a tad too much hyperbole, so let's just say there was some good news and some bad news -- in my opinion -- for Missourians.

First the bad news. An effort to eliminate many of Missouri's politically correct affirmative action programs fell short on Sunday when supporters of the ballot petition initiative failed to deliver the required signatures to place the issue before voters. I am convinced that, given the chance, Missourians would overturn the affirmative action hysteria that has failed miserably in the past.

But that is not to be. At least not for now. And there's a reason -- or reasons -- the signature drive fell short. First, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan showed her disdain for the measure when she crafted ballot language that would confuse a fifth-grader. Supporters of the anti-affirmative action movement went to court to change Carnahan's language. They won. The eventual ballot language was written by a state judge.

That put the signature drive behind schedule. Then opponents of the measure began to "shadow" those circulating the petitions. They said that move was designed to provide honesty for those being asked to sign. I say it was a subtle form of harassment.

Regardless, the deadline came and went Sunday, and the affirmative action question will not go before Missouri voters this November. But rest assured, it will return.

And one final note to silence those who believe supporters are all racists and bigots and Republicans. The ballot would replace the race-based affirmative action with a measure that would consider the socio-economic status of the individual. In other words, race and financial status and family dynamics would all come into play when considering a candidate for a position and not simply their race.

But as promised, there was some good news.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that states can indeed require voters to produce photo identification in order to vote. The Missouri Supreme Court had ruled earlier that Missouri's voter ID law was unconstitutional. But the U.S. high court turned that ruling on its head.

This common sense approach to voter fraud produced the same laundry list of slanted arguments. Democrats and civil rights groups -- isn't that redundant? -- said the voter ID requirement was an attempt to discourage elderly, poor and minority voters from voting. But the high court rejected those arguments and said states had full rights and obligations to assure that voters were residents who are properly registered.

So now Missouri legislators are busy at work crafting yet another measure to make its way on the Missouri ballot to require the identification of voters. It won't happen overnight, but it will eventually happen.

So there you have the good and the bad. Next week maybe I'll find the ugly. And judging from the headlines, that won't be too difficult.

Michael Jensen is a Southeast Missourian columnist and publisher of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston, Mo.