Sunday, February 08, 2009

Obama Takes Personal Control Of Census

Hmmmm… let’s think about this. 

President Obama has decided to bring the U.S. Census Bureau under White House jurisdiction, a move that incensed House Republicans, who fired off a blistering letter to him Thursday, calling it “outrageous and unprecedented” and a “blatant partisan and political maneuver.”

The move would shift the chain of command with the bureau and the Commerce Department, where the bureau currently resides. It comes after the Congressional Black Caucus, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and other groups expressed displeasure with Obama’s nominee for Commerce secretary, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.

Gregg, the groups said this week, opposed efforts to secure emergency funding for the 2000 Census, which they asserted exposes a potential lack of commitment to ensuring that hard-to-reach minority populations are properly accounted for in the 2010 census.

A White House spokesman confirmed Thursday that Obama plans to work closely with the bureau, which will remain within the Commerce Department.
“From the first days of the transition the census has been a priority for the president, and a process he wanted to re-evaluate,” the spokesman said in a prepared statement.

The census is extremely important.  It decides how many representatives come from which states and how much of the money flows out of the federal government to states and cities.  Obama’s decision to run it personally tells us that he wants to manipulate the process.  This manipulation will be politely called “reform” in the normal media. 

On a tangent note, isn’t interesting that Obama has been marginalizing all of his “cabinet of rivals” appointees?  First he appoints Hillary Clinton to Secretary of State.  But then he selects a Mideast envoy, thus removing her from one of the most critical foreign regions, and then he sends Biden to Europe for important foreign policy discussions.  It’s like Clinton doesn’t exist.  Now he appoints a Republican to the cabinet and then immediately begins stripping him of power.  Obama wants “rivals” in the cabinet for the sake of appearances, but he’s keeping the real power very close to himself. 

Hat tip Steveegg.

(10) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1739 hrs
Politics + Politics - General

  1. Here’s the first example of “buyer’s remorse” floating around in the commentaries.  Charlotte Observer endorsed Obama.

    http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/story/514318.html#Comments_Container

    Change we cannot and do not believe in
    This is not the kind of change Obama promised us in 2008.

    When Barack Obama was running for the Democratic nomination last year and then for the presidency in the fall, one of the most attractive things about his candidacy was his promise of change that we all could believe in
    ....................................................................
    Two weeks into the Obama presidency, we like his campaign better than his administration.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 08, 2009 at 1859 hrs


  2. Obama wants “rivals” in the cabinet for the sake of appearances, but he’s keeping the real power very close to himself.

    I don’t attribute that much “evil genius” to him or his team.\

    Personally, I see it more as Obama thinking he’s got personal experience with “hard-to-reach minority populations are properly accounted for in the 2010 census.”  It’s just more inexperience from the man.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 08, 2009 at 1924 hrs


  3. I don’t think it has much to do with “evil” or “genius.”  It has more to do with ego-centrism and a reluctance to delegate.

    Posted by Owen on February 08, 2009 at 1929 hrs


  4. Since Obama’s earnest drive to convince the nation to weaken its economic strength through redistribution as well as weaken its national defense, COUPLED WITH HIS UNPRECEDENTED WHITE HOUSE TAKEOVER OF DECENNIAL CENSUS TAKING FROM THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT, has confirmed the very threats to our Republic’s survival that the Constitution was designed to avert, it no longer is sustainable for the United States Supreme Court and Military Joint Chiefs to refrain from exercising WHAT IS THEIR ABSOLUTE CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY TO DEFEND THE NATION FROM UNLAWFUL USURPATION. The questions of Obama’s Kenyan birth and his father’s Kenyan/British citizenship (admitted on his own website) have been conflated by his sustained unwillingnes to supply his long form birth certificate now under seal, and compounded by his internet posting of a discredited ‘after-the-fact’ short form ‘certificate’. In the absence of these issues being acknowledged and addressed, IT IS MANIFEST THAT OBAMA REMAINS INELIGIBLE TO BE PRESIDENT UNDER ARTICLE 2 OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. Being a 14th Amendment ‘citizen’ is not sufficient. A ‘President’ MUST BE an Article 2 ‘natural born citizen’ AS DEFINED BY THE FRAMERS’ INTENT.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 08, 2009 at 1949 hrs


  5. That, plus it’s unconstitutional.

    The Secretary of Commerce is the only authority the law recognizes. Since as commenter Laird points out, the Constitution did not place the census function in Article II - the Executive branch but in Article I - the Legislative branch, it is not at all within the President’s reach unless the legislature places it there.

    h/t Samizdata

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 08, 2009 at 1951 hrs


  6. it is not at all within the President’s reach unless the legislature places it there.

    So, looks like he’s got nothing to worry about there.  *mutter*

    Posted by HeatherRadish on February 08, 2009 at 2007 hrs


  7. and they claimed Bush was an Imperial President….

    Posted by Steve on February 08, 2009 at 2116 hrs


  8. Can we now say that Obama is a Marxist/Communist?  He is just like Hugo Chavez, just that Obama speaks better English.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 09, 2009 at 0212 hrs


  9. Lack of experience showing again. You can’t bow to every little interest group out there. If he keeps taking on more and more - he’ll accomplish less and less.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 09, 2009 at 0809 hrs


  10. It has more to do with ego-centrism and a reluctance to delegate.

    Owen, you are way too kind.

    It has to do with grabbing power.  To him, the Cabinet is window-dressing.  The actual power is held by O, Emanuel, and a few other “czars” in the WH.

    Look at Chicago.  He’s replicating that in DC.

    IOW, when he wants something, he won’t have to hassle with Departments’ staff, inertia, etc.  He’ll just get it done through his personal staff.

    WHATEVER it may be. 

    Who needs the Constitution?

    Posted by dad29 on February 09, 2009 at 2036 hrs


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