Republicans and the Census

Republicans have always portrayed themselves as paragons of patriotism and devoted supporters of the Constitution. It has, therefore, been something of an anomaly to find that they dislike one of the fundamental principles of our nation—democracy. The idea behind true democracy is that every adult citizen in a nation has the right to vote regardless of his or her race, wealth, occupation, origin, education, religion, or political opinion.

Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution provides for a nationwide census every ten years in order to enumerate the population. The results are used to allocate Congressional seats (congressional apportionment), electoral votes, and the funding of governmental programs. Republicans are, at the very least, suspicious of, if not down right hostile to the census.

If the census counted only white, Anglo-Saxon, financially stable, Christian citizens, Republicans would have no problem with it. Unfortunately for them, it also counts minorities, immigrants, the poor, non-Christians, and the homeless. Many Republicans would prefer that these types were not even part of the American population, and feel strongly that they should not be considered part of the electorate. They are aware that many of these people have been overlooked and undercounted in past censuses and that a preponderance of these people tend to vote for Democrats. For that reason, they oppose any efforts to make the census more thorough and accurate.

Now, it seems, Republican leaders are making efforts to sabotage the census before it even gets started. Republicans are sending-out a fundraising form that looks a lot like the official census form. Census officials are afraid that the Republican mailings could make some Americans think that they are responding to the official census and therefore be less likely to respond to the real thing.

House Minority gasbag John Boehner sent out a fundraising mailing which says that recipients were specially chosen to receive "the enclosed CENSUS DOCUMENT containing your 2010 Census of America's Republican Leadership." Copies of the Republican mailings look very much like official census forms. In the upper right hand side of the document I have seen, in large bold capital letters, it says “2010 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CENSUS.” Then below, in tiny lower case letters it says: “Commissioned by the Republican Party.” The rest of the form looks like an official federal government form. It is very different from the usual fundraising type of letter sent-out by political parties.

The similarity of this form to official government census forms is no coincidence. The clear purpose of this deceptive and dishonest mailing is to confuse voters and lower the response to the official census mailings. Republicans seem to think that the fewer the number of people who answer the census, the better it is for them.

A former director of the U.S. Census Bureau, who was appointed by George H.W. Bush, said in a letter sent to RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele that she received a mailer called the "2010 Congressional District Census." It was delivered in an envelope marked with the words, "Do Not Destroy, Official Document." She said that the mailer is "blatantly attempting to interfere with the United States’ 2010 Census of the Population….The design of the mailing envelope and its enclosure is clearly intended to confuse recipients and, in doing so, affect response to the nation’s 23rd decennial census."

Why do Republicans feel it necessary to engage in such deceptive and misleading activity? Is it because they do not trust the strength of their political arguments? Is it because they do not trust the majority of the American people to make the right decisions? They have relied on falsehoods and scare tactics in an attempt to defeat the health care reform bills. Why can’t they let truth prevail and let Democracy do its work?