No Census for you!

Mutha of all Census (4.00 / 1)

This is a perfect time for a HUGE census.

My mom worked for the census when I lived in Sandwich. It was money, when we had little.

www.KusterforCongress.com - www.paulhodesforsenate.com

www.nikitsongas.com - www.devalpatrick.com

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 10:34:23 AM CST

Priceless (0.00 / 0)

Judd's already considered unfit for the job he's being given.

Here's to confirming the inept!

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by: susanthe @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 11:02:13 AM CST

NOW I see why AWOL Judd was a good fit. (4.00 / 2)

It's a part-time job!

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by: elwood @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 11:07:43 AM CST

So now we see that Obama will take the Census out of Gregg's hands. (4.00 / 1)

What is Obama thinking?  He appoints a guy who won't vote for his stimulus package, has an ethics (or worse) issue on his former staff, is a long-term opponent of the department he's nominated to head, brings no particular personal qualities or dynamic to the job - AND NOW, in response to concerns from minorities, Obama's got to make a special arrangement to go around Gregg to ensure that the census gets done as it should ( http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmsp... ).

At some point, he's got to get on this horse and start riding.

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by: Bill Duncan @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 11:56:31 AM CST

Somehow, the term "killing with kindness" comes to mind. (0.00 / 0)

The consonant man is being promoted up.

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by: hannah @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 12:11:15 PM CST

[ Parent ]

President Obama? (0.00 / 0)

moar funny pictures

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by: susanthe @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 14:42:00 PM CST

TheCensus Ain't Sexy, But... (4.00 / 1)

It's tremendously important - and not just for the politics of the House.

The government uses census data for the allocation of all sorts of programs: education, health care, housing, you name it. When the poor and transient are undercounted - and they always are - they suffer.

The New York Times editorial board, God bless 'em, has been harping on this issue for months, but few have picked up on it. There was a big shot of money for beefing up the census in the stimulus bill, but, my radio says, it may have been jettisoned as the Republicans started yelling about pork. We'll see what happens in the Senate tonight and in  conference.

It's not pork, it's jobs - not to mention a Constitutional responsibility of the government.

This is yet another legacy of the Bush years and the ongoing Republican campaign to strangle government. Appoint political hacks, bungle the operation - then point and say, "See? Told ya government doesn't work!"  

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by: Tim Ashwell @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 16:33:03 PM CST

Join The Stop Gregg/Newman Coalition (0.00 / 0)

This guy shouldn't be Commerce Secretary and shouldn't be a Cabinet member.  Any questions?  

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by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 16:43:30 PM CST

Yes (4.00 / 1)

And since I don't know the answers to my questions about Koonce, I'm not prepared to say that Barack Obama should not get the cabinet he wants. Also, I don't think "Gregg/Newman" is particularly fair to Newman; she was minding her own business at the Kennedy School when the President decided he wanted Gregg in the cabinet.




"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 18:58:24 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I'm Not A Fan Of Bonnie "Gregg Chief Of Staff" Newman Either (0.00 / 0)

Sorry Kathy, I'm not a fan of Bonnie Newman either, even though she might not be as BAD a Judd Gregg, who knows?  We shouldn't be for either of these.   I don't have to be particularly fair to Newman, since when she was working for those people who hired her through the years she probably wasn't so fair to us.  We're Democrats, and that means we cheer for Democrats, and don't "promote" Republicans like those -- not like those -- to higher levels.  I'll cheer you!  -- but not them.

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by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 20:19:22 PM CST

[ Parent ]

The Census should be part of the Department of State anyway. (0.00 / 0)

And I had that thought long before Gregg was nominated.

Counting everyone to determine representation is a function of state, not a commerce-boosting measure.

--
"Act as if ye have faith and faith shall be given to you." -Aaron Sorkin

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 17:14:41 PM CST

Hard to say (0.00 / 0)

Having State do it sort of creeps me out.

"Interior" sounds logical, but isn't.

How about HHS?

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by: JimC @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 17:32:57 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Why does having State do it creep you out? (0.00 / 0)

There's a reason they decided not to call it "Department of Foreign Affairs".  It's responsible for affairs of state, foreign and domestic, everything from foreign relations to maintaining the Great Seal.  And when President Nixon resigned, the letter was to the Secretary of State.

Keeping track of how many House districts each state gets seems like a good fit.  Better than calling that jobs "commerce", anyway.

--
"Act as if ye have faith and faith shall be given to you." -Aaron Sorkin

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 22:23:31 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I was being a bit hyperbolic (0.00 / 0)

But my reference was having the Department of War (as State was once called) counting the potential troops.

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by: JimC @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 05:52:59 AM CST

[ Parent ]

State was never the Department of War. (4.00 / 2)

When Thomas Jefferson was the first Secretary of State, the job was called "Secretary of State".

The Secretary of War was the predecessor to what is now the Secretary of the Army, before the consolidation of the military into the Department of Defense with the National Security Act of 1947.

--
"Act as if ye have faith and faith shall be given to you." -Aaron Sorkin

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 07:24:21 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You are right (0.00 / 0)

And I was wrong.

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by: JimC @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 08:44:00 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Republican Census Pushback?! (0.00 / 0)

Turns out it's REPUBLICANS who are now making political threats about Judd Gregg being circumvented from running the US Census in 2010:

House Republicans are incensed about the prospect of the Census Bureau director reporting directly to the White House staff, which is led by former Rep. Rahm Emanuel (2003-09), a longtime political operative and onetime chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"Any attempt by the Obama administration to circumvent the census process for their political benefit will be met with fierce opposition as this ill-conceived proposal undermines a constitutionally obligated process that speaks to the very heart of our democracy," said California Rep. Darrell Issa , the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Issa and North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, the top Republican on the subcommittee that oversees census issues, sent a letter to Obama detailing their concern that such a move might circumvent existing law and be used for partisan gain.

"Requiring the census director to report directly to the White House and placing responsibility for administration of the Bureau outside the Department of Commerce may even violate federal law," they wrote. "According to Title 13 of the U.S. Code, the Bureau is to be administered 'within, and under the jurisdiction of, the Department of Commerce.' "

The selection of a Republican Commerce secretary by a Democratic president was always certain to cause some discomfort on the political left and the political right.

Gregg's record on Census Bureau funding, in particular, highlighted the high stakes political battle over how people are counted.

As more and more evidence comes to light, it's become apparent that the confirmation process for Judd Gregg should be put on "hold" by a U.S. Senator until these issues are resolved:

* Crabgate - what did Judd Gregg know about the legislative work done by Kevin Koonce on behalf of Jack Abramoff via Kevin Boulanger? Furthermore, the $ from Crabgate's possible ties to the GOP's phone-jamming in '02 merits investigation.

* Transparency - the White Mountain PAC has, to put it generously, been less than transparent about donations from defense contractors and others.

* Census - the White House should make clear what role, if any, Judd Gregg will play in administering the 2010 census should he be confirmed by the Senate.

"Where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can." - Barack Obama

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by: Garth Corriveau @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 14:58:20 PM CST

There's also that money (0.00 / 0)

About $15,000, that seemed to get passed from Abramoff to the phone jammers through Gregg.

That's worth a little investigation now that the DoJ is under new management.

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by: elwood @ Sun Feb 08, 2009 at 06:57:41 AM CST

[ Parent ]