[tomder55]

As you know ;the census is taken every 10 years in the US . (Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution )The next one is scheduled for 2010 . This is normally a straight count the people and record the numbers conducted by the Census Bureau ,a part of the Commerce Dept.

Usually politicians take the numbers from the census and use it to their political advantage ,by redrawing the electoral map ; a process called Gerrymandering .
Gerrymandering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It sucks ;but it is part of the spoils of war that we have come to accept. The count itself has been conducted pretty much straight-up and by law has been in direct control of the Commerce Dept.
US CODE: Title 13,2. Bureau of the Census


Until Now.

President Obama in an effort to have his Lincolnesque "cabinet of rivals " added Conservative Senator Judd Greg as a nominee for the position of Commerce Secretary . But it appears that he doesn't trust Greg to oversee the census taking .

The Capitol Hill publication Congressional Quarterly yesterday reported that the White House, responding to minority groups' concerns about Gregg's commitment to funding the census, has decided to have the director of the Census Bureau report directly to the White House.

Gregg mum on Census Bureau - Manchester- msnbc.com

In their efforts to build a permanent majority they will now put the Census in the hands of the most partisan member of the White House ;Rahm Emanuel . This Chavez-like power pusch appears to be both a violation of the Constitution and Federal Law as laid out in the US Code. .


Before the 2000 census, the Dems fought for census sampling to replace the traditional straight count. SCOTUS rejected the idea . Since at least the 1990 census, the Democrats have pushed to have the Census Bureau report its numbers based on statistical estimates even though the Constitution clearly requires them to “count” the population. This would give them the ability to estimate ,the illegals ,or other Democrat leaning constitutents that don't want to be counted and avoid it. It looks like they will get it this time ;the Chicago Way by a White House power grab.. Why not just empower ACORN for the task of taking the count ? ACORN is tabbed to get a huge chunk of the stimulus bill .

Bruce Chapman ,former head of the census bureau explains why the census taking should remain non-partisan.

Simply put, there is no excuse for this idea. It is not true that the Census Bureau has ever been under the direct management of the White House, and for good reason. Even if angels were in charge of the Executive Mansion, if the nation's premier statistical agency were placed under White House direction the danger to public trust would be enormous. The Decennial count is one of the few federal functions specifically described in the Constitution itself and must be operate above suspicion of politics.


"Power flows from an accurate census count. Everyone involved for years has seen the count therefore as a sacred trust. It must not be polluted with even a semblance of presidential meddling."

Don't Politicize Next Year's Census Count (Discovery Blog)

I will be writing to Senator Craig today to ask him to consider withdrawing his nomination rather than being a party to this nonsense. If Gregg has any integrity he will promise to reject his appointment unless this power grab is reversed.

[speechlesstx]

This is definitely a shameless power grab. It seems Obama surely favors those executive powers a lot more than he let on in the campaign.

[excon]

Hello tom:

I don't know. First you call it a spoils of war. Then you call it a power grab. What is it?

Oh, I understand why you're complaining about the Democrats trying to gerrymander a permanent majority... But, it didn't bug you when Tom DeLay was doing it?

excon

PS> What? When Obama makes his first progressive pick to the Supreme Court, are you going to call that a power grab too?? You sure might.

[tomder55]

Try reading the post. I did say it sucks ;but ,Gerrymandering is an accepted practice once a legitimate census is taken .

If the census itself is rigged then there is no legitimacy to the process.

[speechlesstx]

Gregg apparently found his spine and Obama takes another transition hit as he withdrew from consideration at Commerce.

“I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle.

“However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.

“Obviously the President requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives.

“I greatly admire President Obama and know our country will benefit from his leadership, but at this time I must withdraw my name from consideration for this position.

“As we move forward, I expect there will be many issues and initiatives where I can and will work to assure the success of the President’s proposals. This will certainly be a goal of mine.

“Kathy and I also want to specifically thank Governor Lynch and Bonnie Newman for their friendship and assistance during this period. In addition we wish to thank all the people, especially in New Hampshire, who have been so kind and generous in their supportive comments.

“As a further matter of clarification, nothing about the vetting process played any role in this decision. I will continue to represent the people of New Hampshire in the United States Senate.”

[BABRAM]

Tom-

You've got a huge problem going after the Democrats here. No matter what count you use for a census now, minorities have overcome the white populace in parts of the country and we (my family is statistically considered minority, although I'm a registered Independent) know that the PUB party is on the short end of minority voters.

[tomder55]

I don't care what the ultimate #s are so long as they are the result of an honest count. The Constitution mandates a count ;not a statistical analysis based on someone's best guess as to what the numbers SHOULD BE .

Gregg stepped down from consideration yesterday. KUDOS!!