Big Sky Cairn

As mentioned, due to the efforts of Attorney General McGrath, Montana will be exempted from REAL ID. Governor Schweitzer seeing an opportunity to get his name in the paper, shot a letter off to DHS today saying, yeah I agree with what he said.

Initially I thought that maybe this was a conciliatory effort on behalf of the Governor, sort of a way to clear the air and let bygones be bygones. That was quickly clarified;

The governor’s staff said the letter was not a conciliatory gesture

Now that we have that out of the way, what exactly did the Governor have to say? Well on Friday, Homeland Security asked for clarification that the Governor supports the increased security protocols laid out in Attorney General McGrath’s letter that, while not being undertaken in the name of REAL ID, meet the requirements of REAL ID. Today the Governor responded with;

I recognize the question that some recent press coverage might have raised, but I can assure you I stand behind the Attorney General’s letter in its entirety.

Included in the Attorney General’s letter was the outlining of a plan to enhance security of the Montana drivers license including a new data management system. Of course, none of this information will be shared with the Feds, it is for state use only. Because as the Guv so eloquently stated last year;

“Montanans don’t want the federal agents listening to their phone conversations, rifling through their papers, checking on what books they read and monitoring where they go and when. We think they ought to mind their own business,” Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said in a written statement.

When reached for comment today, Governor Schweitzer said he believes Montanans will be proud to be spied upon by state agents.