Like other states, Arizona has a gazillion different license plates in addition to the usual vanity versions. Plates for veterans, disease prevention, universities, youth programs, professional sports franchises. You name the cause, there's probably a license plate to broadcast your support for it.
In general, license plates should steer clear of political, drug-related, and sexual messaging. Years ago, I taught inmates at a large prison, and I remember the state would test the vanity plates on inmates, because they were clearly in the know when it came to drug, criminal, or sexual innuendos that might get past the state's screeners. They'd hold plates upside down, look at them in mirrors, and write the numbers and letters backwards to see if there were hidden messages. (Hold 3M TA3 up to a mirror.)
That same standard is supposed to apply to special plates; the proceeds of their sales should support non-political, uncontroversial programs, such as a veterans organization or child abuse agency. When the Arizona legislature recently passed Senate Bill 1402 and sent it to Governor Brewer, it included 10 new license plates for causes like hunger and Multiple Sclerosis. It also included a "Don't Tread on Me" plate whose proceeds will benefit Tea Party causes.
Even some of the state's Tea Party leaders don't support it.
Anyone who wants a Gadsden Flag plate would have to pony up $25, $17 of which goes to "promote Tea Party governing principles" because the Tea Party is the organization that came up with the required $32,000 to create the plates. New Times
The bill was introduced by the aptly-named Don Shooter, a Republican Senator from Yuma and co-founder of the Yuma Tea Party. Shooter's design for the plate includes the familiar coiled snake with "Don't Tread on Me" underneath. Because the Tea Party is not an official political party, his bill would create a 13-member Tea Party Committee to oversee the distribution of funds.
That's what has a lot of people on both the left and right upset. Democratic legislators, all of whom voted against the bill, pointed out that Arizona does not sanction license plates that benefit progressive organizations. Why not a plate with Cesar Chavez's likeness that supports migrant workers? Don't hold your breath. But some on the far right are equally ticked off, since creating a new oversight committee and getting the state involved with political messaging is everything the "small-government" faction opposes:
"It's kind of oxymoronical a group that advocates for less government [is] joining in on a scheme to get money through the state," [Republican Senator Ron] Gould said....
"It's against our principles to take government help," said Ron Harders, coordinator of the Southwest Valley Tea Party. That's the shared sentiment of members of the 2012 Project committee, a group of activists promoting certain candidates in next year's elections. Arizona Republic
Yes, it is "oxymoronical." And you gotta love the ironicality of the committee description in the bill. Essentially they're establishing a government committee to support causes that advocate for limited government. A committee ...
... THAT PROMOTES THE TEA PARTY GOVERNING PRINCIPLES OF FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, LIMITED GOVERNMENT AND FREE MARKETS.
The original bill was even worse; it required the state to ante up $32,000 in start-up costs, something that had to be stripped from the legislation before most Republicans would support it. Other states, including Nevada and South Carolina, have proposed Tea Party plates, and Texas (of course) has even passed one, but the proceeds from those plates do not benefit the Tea Party. The Arizona bill's sponsor Senator Don Shooter doesn't know what all the fuss is about.
Shooter said he doesn't think the bill mixes government with the tea party. He equates the tea party with groups such as the Boy Scouts and the American Cancer Society. Arizona Republic
That first sentence is a mind-bender, since that is precisely what the bill does: mixes state and Tea Party. And the stuff about the Scouts? Well, some in the Tea Party do like to dress up in uniforms, but I doubt the Scouts or the American Cancer Society will take the proceeds of their license plate sales and run ads questioning the President's citizenship.
Last week Congressman Gary Ackerman of New York posted his first diary here, outlining his response to the Arizona bill:
It’s an unabashed Tea Party political pay-off. Thanks for campaigning for us, here’s a wad of cash collected by the government just for you....
In response, I will introduce legislation, the License Plate Political Slush Fund Prevention Act, when Congress reconvenes. Under my bill, governors would need to certify that they are not using license plate fees to launder and funnel money to political organizations, or risk losing 15 percent of their federal highway funding.
So, Arizona Tea Partiers ... next time your car's shocks go out after you hit a pot hole, blame that yahoo in front of you with the "Don't Tread on Me" license plate. Here's hoping Governor Brewer is struck with a moment of sanity, like she was last week when she nixed the Birther Bill.