Barack Obama

TPMDC Saturday Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | September 12, 2009, 1:01PM

Obama: Losing Insurance Can Happen To Anybody
In this week's YouTube address, President Obama warned that losing health insurance is something that can happen to anybody -- and according to a new report from the Treasury Department, it will happen to half of all Americans under 65, unless something is done about it:

"If you're under the age of 21 today, chances are more than half that you'll find yourself uninsured at some point in that time. And more than one-third of Americans will go without coverage for longer than one year," said Obama. "I refuse to allow that future to happen. In the United States of America, no one should have to worry that they'll go without health insurance - not for one year, not for one month, not for one day. And once I sign my health reform plan into law - they won't."

Cornyn: Instead of More Speeches, Obama Should Listen To Republicans
In this week's Republican address, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) praised President Obama for taking a bipartisan approach to the Afghanistan War -- and attacked Obama's health care proposals:

"He's paid lip service to bipartisanship while rejecting the ideas that would build bipartisan support," said Cornyn. "As a result, the President has alienated not only independents and divided his own party, but Republicans as well. And, he's ignored the clear wishes of the American people. So the President gave another big speech this week to try to turn his numbers around. But instead of talking, the President and Congressional Democrats should spend a little more time listening."

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Census

Bachmann Still Railing Against Census

Eric Kleefeld | August 5, 2009, 2:54PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is not backing down from her campaign against the Census.

A group of GOP Congressmen came out against Bachmann a month ago for her criticism of the Census, but it's not stopping her. In a new interview with Accuracy in Media, she reiterated her vow to not fill out anything on the form except how many people are in her household:

Note how Bachmann is careful to say she is not encouraging other people to not fill out the Census -- she's simply stating what she and her family will be doing, and what is consistent with their own consciences.

There is an obvious objection to this disclaimer, of course: Monkey see, monkey do. However, Bachmann does not believe in evolution.

Census

Reid Refuses To Honor Republican Holds On Census Nominee

Pete Martin | July 9, 2009, 10:16PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office just told TPMDC that the senator will file for cloture on the nomination of Robert Groves, whom President Obama tapped to be director of the Census Bureau on April 2.

Groves, the 60-year-old director of the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center, sailed through confirmation hearings in mid-May, but shortly thereafter, anonymous Republican senators held up his nomination, preventing a confirmation vote and leaving the bureau without a director. Earlier today Roll Call (sub. req.) reported that those holds were placed by Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and David Vitter (R-LA).

The census, performed every ten years by Constitutional mandate, is not merely an exercise in demography: The populations of states and counties are used to determine Congressional reapportionment and redistricting, which will happen again before the 2012 election cycle. Moreover, state population totals affect the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to states for highway construction and renovation, Medicaid, and education, among other expenditures.

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Census

More Redistricting Follies: Counting Prisoners In Census Data

Eric Kleefeld | July 8, 2009, 1:23PM

Forget one-person, one-vote for redistricting. You might not be aware of this, but our system goes so far as to employ one-prisoner, one-vote -- even though prisoners can't vote!

Wisconsin Public Radio reports that a Democratic state Assemblyman from Milwaukee, Fred Kessler, is complaining about the fact that Census data, which is the basis for redistricting, counts prisoners in the areas where they happen to be involuntarily living.

Kessler is now seeking to amend the state constitution so that prisoners wouldn't be counted for the purposes of redistricting, because the status quo gives a disproportionate level of representation to all the other people in prison districts who aren't incarcerated -- that is, the residents who can actually vote -- compared to the voting public in areas that don't have prisons.

From the report by Wisconsin Public Radio: "Oshkosh Republican Rep. Richard Spanbauer's Assembly district includes the Waupun Prison. That means he represents thousands of inmates. He says regardless of what you feel about prisoners, you have to count them."

Well, that's awfully progressive of him.

Michele Bachmann

GOP Congressmen Condemn Bachmann's Call For Defying The Census

Eric Kleefeld | July 1, 2009, 3:39PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) appears to be getting just a little too wacky for some of her Republican colleagues -- particularly on her new crusade to get people to refuse to completely fill out their census forms.

Bachmann has said she won't provide any more information than the number of people in her home, stating that this is all the Constitution requires and she won't let her personal information fall into the hands of ACORN. (Note: ACORN will not be collecting census data. Also, the law clearly says that the action Bachmann advocates is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000.)

Now three very conservative Congressman -- Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), and John Mica (R-FL) -- have put out a statement: "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."

"Furthermore, a boycott opens the door for partisans to statistically adjust census results," the statement warns.

Fun fact: Many observers think Minnesota could lose a seat in the House after the 2010 Census. And of Minnesota's eight current House members, which one do you think might be in the most danger of being turned out of office when the lines are redrawn?

Michele Bachmann

Bachmann Speaks Out Against Census -- And Government Asking About People's Mental Stability

Eric Kleefeld | June 26, 2009, 11:31AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) appeared on the Glenn Beck show yesterday evening, to keep on her new campaign to not completely fill out her census reform. She is drawing a line against government intrusion, despite the $5,000 fine that could potentially be imposed.

Bachmann again invoked a historic connection between the Census and the Japanese-American internment -- and she objected to the government looking into people's mental health:

"Well, I think everyone in the country has been happy about what I've said -- other than the U.S. Census Bureau," said Bachmann. "So I think other than that, we're doing pretty well."

Bachmann also differentiated between the 28-page American Community Survey, which only a tiny fraction of Americans will receive, and the short form that everyone gets -- and she objected to both of them. "Does the federal government really need to know our phone numbers?" she asked. "Do they really need to know, like you said, the date and time that we leave mental stability?"

Michele Bachmann

Bachmann Warns Of Link Between Census, Japanese Internment

Eric Kleefeld | June 25, 2009, 11:00AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is taking her refusal to fully fill out her Census form, which is a crime punishable by a $5,000 fine, to a whole new level: Invoking the memory of the Japanese internment during World War II, and the evil role that the Census played in it!

During an interview this morning on Fox News, Bachmann mostly focused on the danger of her personal information falling into the hands of the dreaded menace ACORN. But at one point, she made a very interesting appeal to history:

"Take this into consideration. If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the Census Bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps," said Bachmann. "I'm not saying that that's what the Administration is planning to do, but I am saying that private personal information that was given to the Census Bureau in the 1940s was used against Americans to round them up, in a violation of their constitutional rights, and put the Japanese in internment camps."

At this point even Megyn Kelly, who had been gladly dishing out the anti-ACORN talk along with Bachmann, had to take a step back and raise the point that the Japanese internment was a long time ago and we haven't had such abuses since then.

For some context on how this fits into Bachmann's overall worldview, keep in mind that she's previously warned of the threat of "re-education camps" where young people would be indoctrinated into the government's official philosophy.

Michele Bachmann

Bachmann Vows To Shun ACORN Influence, Leave Census Form Partly Blank (Note: This Is Illegal)

Eric Kleefeld | June 17, 2009, 4:36PM

In an interview with the Washington Times, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) vowed that in the upcoming census, she and her family will refuse to answer personal questions on the forms beyond the number of people in her household -- which is, in fact, against the law:

"I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home," said Bachmann, who warned of corrupt ACORN involvement in the census. "We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."

In fact, as a Census Bureau spokeswoman told the Washington Times, what Bachmann just announced she would do is a crime punishable by a fine of up to $5,000. But hey, there's something to be said for civil disobedience.

(Via Think Progress)

Barack Obama

The Bizarre Burgeoning Legend of Judd Gregg

Elana Schor | February 13, 2009, 10:56AM

As patently mock-able as it is, this morning's Politico story on the GOP emboldening wrought by Sen. Judd Gregg's (R-NH) pullout from the Obama administration has a crazy kind of truth to it. Republicans are eagerly lionizing Gregg as a conservative hero whose conscience could not allow him to serve under a -- gasp! -- liberal president who believes that government spending can heal the economy.

Listen to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Fox this morning:

JORDAN: [Y]ou have Senator Gregg ... he understands that the stimulus package is going to do nothing to stimulate the economy. So I think it is kind of the final thing of a really bad week for the administration for Democrats.

REPORTER: You know, I'm not sure it was a bad week. They got an $800 billion stimulus plan pushed through. That's a pretty good week if you're a Democrat.

JORDAN: That's bad for the American people. That's what Senator Gregg understands.

And that's not even touching on control of the Census, which the GOP turned into a rallying cry to protect Gregg's power in the Obama administration -- before Gregg cited it as a major reason for his withdrawal. Suddenly the dry business of counting Americans, which helps determine congressional re-districting, has become a hot political debate for the GOP. Even our old buddy Hans von Spakovsky can't help but get in on the act.

Yesterday Matt likened Gregg to Sir Thomas More, but I'm thinking he might be congressional Republicans' William Wallace. "Tell our enemies that they can take our majority, but they'll never take ... THE CENSUS!!!"

Late Update: And the lionizing continues. Gregg's party is now imploring him to reconsider his decision not to seek re-election next year.

What's next, www.juddgreggisyournewbicycle.com?

Capitol Culture

Bonnie Newman, We Hardly Knew Ye

Matthew Cooper | February 12, 2009, 6:37PM

Well, that was weird. I guess the senatorial career and presidential aspirations of Bonnie Newman have been cut a bit short.

Gregg seems to have acquitted himself better at the press conference than in his statement which at first seemed to suggest that he was going to try and play Sir Thomas More in "A Man For All Seasons," dying on a pyre to protect the sanctity of the Census from the politically expedient ruler.

I still think the Census thing has a slightly bogus quality to it. Gregg surely had more than enough clout to ensure that the Census Director, whoever it was, was someone he could live with even if the appointment was not his alone to make. It's not like the President was going to force Terry McAuliffe or some Demohack on him.

The stimulus thing is a little odd, too, since the whole package moved in a more Collins-Snowey direction in the last week. He should have been more reconciled to the bill by week's end, not less. But, that said, if he changed his mind for his own reasons or in part because he had raised eyebrows back home, then it's probably better we know now.

I pitch Eric Schmidt for the job. It's primarily a science job. NOAA is most of the budget. And then there's the Census. What Google was meant for (albeit in a slightly creepy way).

Census

Why Gregg Withdrew

Matthew Cooper | February 12, 2009, 4:45PM

I won't claim to know the precise reasons why Judd Gregg, who last week stood with President Obama, and vowed to work with him as Commerce Secretary is now withdrawing. But a couple of sources in New Hampshire politics chalk it up to the abuse Gregg was taking over the past few weeks, first from some on the right for going into the liberal Obama administration and then from all sides for being too cute about the stimulus package, abstaining from voting for or against it. Gregg was ridiculed in New Hampshire's most important newspaper, the Union Leader.

The situation creates headaches for everyone. Back home, Gregg might come to be seen as principled for staying in his seat but at the moment he looks weirdly indecisive and he still faces a tough reelection bid in 2010 if he chooses to run again. He's embarassed a popular governor, John Lynch, who took some political risks by nominating a Republican to fill Gregg's seat. But the biggest fallout is probably for the Obama administration which has seen two other cabinet nominations (those of Tom Daschle to be HHS Secretary and Bill Richardson to head Commerce) blow up on the launch pad.

It's hard to see why the differences with Obama had somehow become irreconcilable for Gregg. The stimulus package has moved in a conservative direction since the days when he was named to the Commerce post. And if he's feeling neutered over the decision to make the Bureau of the Census appointment, which I wrote about at the time, a White House-appointed position, surely he could have worked behind the scenes to make sure someone sufficiently politically independent got the slot. He didn't have to switch caree to guarantee someone who met with his approval got the Commerce slot.

The withdrawal would seem to be very different than that of Tom Daschle's in most ways. There was no hint of financial or personal misdeed about Gregg. But the two withdrawals are similar in the sense that the person's peer group started to come down on them. In the case of Daschle, it was the New York Times and the chattering classes who had begun to transform him from aw-shucks good guy to limousine villain. Likewise, Gregg's peer group was giving him crap back in New Hampshire and he, like Daschle, withdrew although Daschle at least gave the White House a few hours to scramble so they could release simultaneous statements of regret. This time, the White House had no heads up, so far as I have heard. You have to wonder what the president will think about his outstretched hand after its been slapped like this.

Late Update: Gregg has reaffirmed to the ABC affiliate in New Hampshire that he is not running for re-election in 2010. (e.k.)

Barack Obama

Gregg Withdraws His Commerce Nomination

Elana Schor | February 12, 2009, 4:23PM

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) has just withdrawn his nomination to become Commerce Secretary -- citing the growing controversy over his administration of the Census. Here is Gregg's statement:

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Barack Obama

Ensign: The Census 'Needs to Stay' Under Gregg's Control

Elana Schor | February 10, 2009, 2:48PM

We wondered last week what would become of the growing House GOP frustration over the White House's plans to direct oversight of the 2010 Census, rather than leave the process to Commerce Secretary nominee -- and Census skeptic -- Judd Gregg.

House Republicans, no matter how ready they are to cry foul over the politicization of the Census, need at least one Senate GOPer to raise the issue during Gregg's coming confirmation hearing. And it looks like they've found that senator.

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Barack Obama

Gregg Confirmation Flashpoint Emerges as GOPers Decry White House Census Move

Elana Schor | February 6, 2009, 4:12PM

The Senate Commerce Committee has yet to schedule Judd Gregg's confirmation hearing to lead the Commerce Department. Still, don't be surprised if the bone-dry subject of the Census -- as our own Matt predicted -- makes Gregg the latest Obama nominee to be caught up in a GOP-generated flap.

But it won't be Gregg directly caught in the cross-hairs of his former Senate Republican colleagues. Instead it looks like GOPers are ready to go after Rahm Emanuel, accusing the White House chief of staff of yanking the Census away from Gregg's department and claiming it for himself.

I know, the notion sounds absurd -- but let me walk you through it.

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Census

Gregg: A Republican Runs the 2010 Census

Matthew Cooper | February 3, 2009, 5:24PM

I'm surprised only one commentator so far as I know, Michael Barone, and few Democrats like Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee, have made this point. By putting Judd Gregg at Commerce, Obama has put a Republican in charge of one of the most politically frought tasks facing any president: the Census. Mandated by the Constitution, the Census is, of course, essential for allocating congressional seats as well as the disbursement of certain federal funds.

The methods of Census collection are often in dispute. In 2000 Democrats pushed for statistical sampling to achieve a better count of underrepresented groups--the homeless, transient poor, and so on. They lost. It's not clear that there will be as much controversy in 2010 when the next Census will take place but by putting Gregg at the Commerce Department--which oversees the Bureau of the Census--Obama has handed a potentially very politically sensitive position to a Republican. My old colleague, Barone weighs in against sampling as liberal subterfuge although any number of groups of like the American Association for the Advancement of Science have supported it.