Get Ready For the U.S. Census Fight, Chicago-style - The Sleuth: "'With all of its political implications, hijacking the Census from the Commerce Dept. and letting it be run out of Rahm's office is like putting PETA in charge of issuing hunting permits,' a Senior Republican Senate Aide fumed to the Sleuth. (The aide said he needed to remain anonymous for fear of 'being redistricted -- Chicago style.'"
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This is huge, and it is getting hardly any coverage. As I said the other day (see below), the Obama Administration is getting ready to play hard ball with the Census. This is an astounding power grab and I expect a court battle over it. The Constitution says the Census has to be done a certain way: "[An] Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct." [Article I, Section 2]. "They" means Congress. And Congress has passed laws putting the Census under the control of the Secretary of Commerce. Seems to me that Congress has the authority to hand the whole thing over to the President, but they haven't done that, and it wouldn't happen without the Mother of All Debates. We are talking about laying the foundation for 10 years of gerrymandered districts at every level of government. I see no way the President can make up his own rules on something of constitutional status that is governed by specific statutes.
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