Obama grabs the Census...WHY?

I know that I'm in danger of becoming like those who bashed every last thing that Bush did, and I really, honestly do NOT want that to happen...

But what the hell?

PLEASE somebody explain to me why THIS is such an important thing for Obama to do NOW. If someone could explain to me that this is NOT a power grab, then I will gladly let this one slide. But this type of political interference could influence the distribution of congressional seats, and that directly influences power. This has the potential of being VERY dangerous.

And truly...could you IMAGINE the uproar if Bush had attempted this coup???

If not...so many of my fears about this man are coming true. God help our country.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/02/09/gop-sounds-alarm-obama-decision-census-white-house/

Renee wrote:

I know that I'm in danger of becoming like those who bashed every last thing that Bush did, and I really, honestly do NOT want that to happen...

But what the hell?

PLEASE somebody explain to me why THIS is such an important thing for Obama to do NOW. If someone could explain to me that this is NOT a power grab, then I will gladly let this one slide. But this type of political interference could influence the distribution of congressional seats, and that directly influences power. This has the potential of being VERY dangerous.

And truly...could you IMAGINE the uproar if Bush had attempted this coup???

If not...so many of my fears about this man are coming true. God help our country.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/02/09/gop-sounds-alarm-obama-decision-census-white-house/

Renee,
It doesn't just have the potential to be dangerous, it IS dangerous. It's not only something he shouldn't be doing NOW, it's something he should NEVER do.

Your fears are well founded for so many reasons. And if it were Bush MSNBC would be having a field day.

Don't know if you watch Lou Dobbs on CNN, but he just can't wrap his head around what's going on with everything.

I don't understand why this is such a bad thing for Obama to do. Someone please explain to this simpleton.

It has to do with congressional seats. The seats are divided up based on population. States that tend to skew conservative (Utah is a good example) could be manipulated by declaring the Mormon Missionaries who live there as non residents. This could lower Utah's number of representatives.

The census has never been under the control of a president, if memory serves (I may be wrong, I haven't double checked that fact) for the simple fact that it shouldn't be manipulated for political gain.

Here's a further explanation:

Quote :

Every 10 years, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution, a census is taken of the U.S. population. The demographic changes can shift billions of dollars in federal funding for among other things, schools, roads and job training. The census also determines the number of representatives each state sends to Congress, the composition of the Electoral College and how congressional lines are drawn.

Political parties jockey for position to help redraw districts so they can maximize their own party's clout while minimizing the opposition, often through gerrymandering.

White House officials have announced that the census will technically remain part of the Commerce Department, but that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will oversee it at the White House, raising eyebrows among critics who say he can't be expected to be neutral in the task. Emanuel ran the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006 and was instrumental in getting Democrats elected into the majority.

Critics also say the method of counting can skew the census. Democrats have long supported using mathematical estimates, a practice known as "sampling," to count urban residents and immigrants. Republicans say the Constitution requires a physical head count, which entails going door-to-door.

Blackburn's letter comes one day after Utah's congressional delegation derided Obama's move as partisan and potentially dangerous to congressional redistricting around the country.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, called it nothing more than a "political land grab."

In 2000, Utah, which has three congressmen, came very close to landing a fourth House seat based on U.S. Census numbers, but the nation's most conservative state fell short by a few hundred votes because the Census Bureau wouldn't count Mormon missionaries from Utah serving temporarily overseas.

The decision to move the census into the White House was announced just days after Obama named New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, a Republican, to be his commerce secretary. Gregg has long opposed "sampling" by the census and has voted against funding increases for the bureau.