GOP paranoia about the US Census may cost the party in Congress
Republicans may reap what they sowed when they failed to rein in GOP rightwingers such as government basher Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman whose rants have included urging fellow conservatives not to complete their U.S. Census forms. Now, GOP leaders are worried that lots of anti-government tea-party types will follow suit — or ignore the census altogether. If so, they’ll be undercounted, and the GOP may lose Congressional seats.
Last summer, Bachmann started whipping up strange conspiracies about the census:
Outspoken Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she’s so worried that information from next year’s national census will be abused that she will refuse to fill out anything more than the number of people in her household.
In an interview Wednesday morning with The Washington Times “America’s Morning News,” Mrs. Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, said the questions have become “very intricate, very personal” and she also fears ACORN, the community organizing group that came under fire for its voter registration efforts last year, will be part of the Census Bureau’s door-to-door information collection efforts.
Outspoken Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she’s so worried that information from next year’s national census will be abused that she will refuse to fill out anything more than the number of people in her household.
Now, Census completion is running behind in some ultra-conservative precincts, including parts of Texas, where lawmakers had expected to add congressional seats because of population increases.
From the WSJ:
Some Republicans are worried that an anti-government surge among conservatives will lead to lower participation in the U.S. census, which they fear could reduce the number of Republican seats in Congress and state legislatures.
The census, which is currently being collated and is gathered every ten years, dictates the distribution of federal funding, how many House members each state gets and how congressional and legislative districts are drawn within states. . .
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.), who is admired by many tea-party activists and ultra-conservatives, has said she will refuse to provide information about anything except the number of people in her household.Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas), a former presidential candidate with a small but ardent following, was the only lawmaker to vote against a recent congressional resolution urging participation in the census.
Respondents must answer all questions on the census at the risk of a fine of as much as $100, according to the Census 2010 Web site. If forms are sent in incomplete, census workers are sent out to those homes to collect the missing data.
“The census should be nothing more than a headcount,” Mr. Paul wrote this month in his weekly column. “It was never intended to serve as a vehicle for gathering personal information on citizens.”
In a counter move, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.), the top Republican on the House subcommittee that oversees the census, posted a message last week on Redstate.com, a popular conservative Web site, pleading with conservatives to fill out their forms.
The unstated concern: An under-representation of conservatives could mean fewer Republicans in Congress and state legislatures for the next 10 years.