Montana bucks Real ID

With a stroke of the pen, Montana has thrown the gauntlet down to the federal government over D.C.'s contentious Real ID requirements. Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed legislation that forbids the state's Department of Motor Vehicles to implement the national rules, which are intended to turn state-issued driver's licenses into de facto national ID cards.

While Montana is the first state to take the plunge, as many as 30 states are considering moves of some sort or another against the Real ID requirements. The more states the merrier, because non-compliant driver's licenses won't be accepted as legitimate ID for transactions with the federal government. The feds will probably let one hold-out state dangle in the breeze, but if a significant percentage of the national population is non-compliant, D.C. will be forced to back down.