If you thought that the 2009 Tea Party revivalists who wore tricorn hats and waved Gadsden flags to protest their government and the Middle Ages revivalists who gather in public parks and wave swords and shields at each other have nothing in common, think again.
Both groups of proud Missourians have their own specialty license plates. They are not alone.
There are 143 different versions of specialty license plates in Missouri, including one that celebrates a new athletic rival of the University of Missouri Tigers in the Southeastern Conference. Yes, you can get a University of Arkansas Razorbacks "Go Hogs" license plate in Missouri.
You cannot get a Mizzou Tigers license plate in Arkansas.
The Middle Ages sword-fighting reenactors can sport a plate celebrating the Kingdom of Calontir, which, for the uninitiated, is a five-state regional chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism. (We have paperwork to prove it).
When the Republican leaders of the Missouri House announced their "Blueprint for Missouri" jobs plan before the legislative session, they failed to mention that key to the plan was printing more license plates.
In the first seven weeks of the session, the House has passed 22 bills. Of those, the largest single category, by far, are bills related to license plates. So far, the House has passed four license plate bills, and there are more on the way.
Of particular note is the bill creating the "Don't Tread on Me" plate. Last year, lawmakers sought to honor Tea Party activists by creating a government-sanctioned emblem to help the protesters carry on their anti-government message.
The vehicle, so to speak, was a "Don't Tread on Me" license plate, allowing anti-government protesters to add the freedom-loving slogan to their cars or trucks. Thanks, uh, government.
Lawmakers didn't tread firmly enough, though.
This year, Rep. Chuck Gatschenberger, R-Lake Saint Louis, is back with a stringent rewrite that will make the anti-government plates do a better job of displaying their government antipathy. His new bill defines the size (48-point), lettering (bold, all capital), colors (tiger yellow) and logo position (sitting on green grass that is two and one-quarter inches wide) that must be included in the "Don't Tread on Me" plates.
Now that's anti-government fervor in action.
In their attempts to drive the Missouri economy out of the ditch, Missouri Republicans aren't just limiting themselves to the licensing on the backs of cars, but the licenses in our wallets. They've passed a bill that would require voters to present a drivers license or other similar state photo identification in order to vote. Perhaps that will create election judge jobs, or law enforcement jobs, with all the new cops that will be needed to keep voting scofflaws off the streets.
And on Monday, they gave initial approval to a bill that would eliminate the longstanding and responsible practice of offering drivers tests to legal Missouri immigrants in their native language.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol doesn't support the bill. Neither do insurance companies, who rightly point out it would offer an incentive for new drivers to drive illegally and, thus, make our roads less safe. But never mind reality.
Why, with all the money Missouri will save from dumping bilingual drivers exams, we can print up a few more "I'm Pet Friendly" license plates.
