Republicans Urge Bachmann to Stop Fear Mongering About the Census

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Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:13 pm

Three Republican members of the House Census Oversight Subcommittee, Rep. Patrick McHenry (NC), Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (GA), and Rep. John Mica (FL) released a statement today urging Rep. Michele Bachmann to end her boycott of the 2010 Census. They said, “Boycotting the constitutionally-mandated census is illogical, illegal and not in the best interest of our country.”

The statement said, “Every elected representative in this country should feel a responsibility to encourage full participation in the census. To do otherwise is to advocate for a smaller share of federal funding for our constituents. Boycotting the constitutionally-mandated census is illogical, illegal and not in the best interest of our country.”

Being Republicans, they also worried about ACORN, “The unfortunate irony is that Ms. Bachmann’s boycott only increases the likelihood that ACORN-recruited census takers will be dispatched to her constituents’ homes. Anyone who completes and returns their census form will remove any need for a census taker to visit their residence.”

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The House members also warned that partisans could manipulate the data, “Furthermore, a boycott opens the door for partisans to statistically adjust census results. The partisan manipulation of census data would irreparably transform the census from being the baseline of our entire statistical system into a tool used to wield political power in Washington.”

For the one millionth time, ACORN is not recruiting all of the Census takers. ACORN is not training the Census takers. It was a good move by these Republicans to try to talk some sense into Bachmann, but this ACORN nonsense has got to stop. You would think that members of the Census Oversight Subcommittee would understand that ACORN is not going to be taking the Census. As usual with the Republicans it is 1 step forward and 100 steps back.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association