Trump’s Citizenship Question Isn’t Controversial. Obama Deleting It Should’ve Been.

Human Events ^ | July 6, 2019 | Ian Miles Cheong

[gattaca]

Barack Obama was the first U.S. President to not include a question on nationality in the decennial census.

President Trump’s citizenship question on the upcoming U.S. census is, contrary to popular opinion, the norm for the decennial survey.

The planned citizenship question asks: “Is this person a citizen of the United States?”

Barack Obama was the first President to exclude a question on citizenship in the U.S. Census.

But today, the Trump administration is being assailed from the Left for its efforts to include the question.

The Left has responded typically, with accusations of racism. The question of nationality, they claim, is a danger to immigrants.

There has also been no shortage of confusion as to whether President Donald Trump would go forward with its addition. Trump’s statements appear to contradict news reports that his administration dropped its plan to ask the question after a Supreme Court ruling.

The planned citizenship question asks: “Is this person a citizen of the United States?”

The political left’s dominant view is that the question could serve to marginalize immigrants or non-white Americans.

Trump is simply following the established and understandable tradition of asking those who fill out the form if they’re actually Americans.

NPR, quoting the Urban Institute, says the census threatens to put “more than 4 million people at risk of being undocumented.” The headline warns the addition of the question could lead to “worst undercount of black, Latinx people in 30 years.”

But the framing implies Trump is the first U.S. President to include a question on citizenship, when in fact Trump is simply following the established and understandable tradition of asking those who fill out the form if they’re actually Americans.

The charge against Trump is one that demands reframing – Obama was the first to not include a question on citizenship, naturalization, or nativity in almost 200 years. The Trump administration is simply undoing Obama’s 8-year effort to distort the status quo.

Obama’s own efforts to not ask the question was limited to the 2010 Census. From 2009 to 2016, the former president’s Census Bureau had no problem asking anyone if they were Americans on all eight of his annual ACSs (American Community Survey), which targeted smaller demographics key to the success of the Democrats in the eight years of his administration.

The ACS even asked the question in both English as well as Spanish.

Read more at link...

[right way right]

Obamanation happened.

[Liz]

Obama was the first U.S. President to remove a question on nationality in the decennial census.

He did more than that.....Trump's DOJ needs to look into Obama-era census finagling-----the first move the Kenyan
made when he crawled into DC from Chicago's Democrat gutters was to put the Census under his total control.

humanevents.com
2/12/09

Controlling the Census: The Obama Administration’s Power Grab
Martha Zoller | Thursday Feb 12, 2009 3:01 AM

"The American people deserve a non-partisan census in 2010, and we hope the committee will ensure that goal comes to fruition by holding an oversight hearing on the administration’s potential plans to reduce the future secretary of commerce’s authority over the agency," Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee

The preservation and expansion of the Democrat majority is the only reason the Obama Administration is exercising its power and taking over the Census. Last week, without much fanfare, The White House moved control of the Census from the Commerce Department to the Executive Branch. The Democrats want to use “sampling” to add to the counts in urban areas homeless people and minorities that they believe will be under counted. The Supreme Court shot down the idea of “sampling” in the last Census, but the Obama Administration is going to tee it up again and see if it flies.

In the last Census, congressional seats moved from states that were losing population in the North and Northeast, to states that were gaining population in the South, Southwest and Mountain regions of America. That is a loss of power from generally Democrat strongholds to more likely Republican areas. That population trend is expected to continue which means more seats out of Blue States into Red States.

That’s why before the ink was even dry on the announcement of Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) as Commerce Secretary, the Congressional Black Caucus and Latino groups were complaining that a Republican could not be in control of the census. Instead of supporting Gregg and letting the confirmation process vet this issue, the White House immediately caved and gave the power of oversight of the Census to the White House and indicated that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel would be in charge.

Not only is this the wrong political move to make, it may also be unconstitutional. It is the duty of the Congress to take the Census every 10 years and through a law passed in Congress, it gives the power to execute the Census to the Commerce Department. If Congress has established — by law — that Commerce has the responsibility, the White House can’t override that law. If it does so, the action is illegal and unconstitutional to boot.

It would be helpful to know what Senator Gregg has to say about this but so far he hasn’t commented. Maybe he received a dead fish in the mail from Mr. Emanuel. Many suspect that he didn’t see this coming but it is seen by most as a slap in the face to the integrity of Senator Gregg and the Commerce Department. Controversy over this isn’t new and that’s why a letter was sent last year to the President signed by every Census Director since Nixon supporting a bill to make the Census Bureau an independent agency.

The directors believe they could be more effective if they could deal directly with Congress and there’s a Constitutional argument to back that up. New York Democrat, Carolyn Maloney is the bill’s chief sponsor — so this is a bipartisan issue. Many people, who won’t go on the record, are afraid of a Census process that is overseen by one of the most hyperpartisan people of our generation, Rahm Emanuel.

The Obama administration is quickly adopting the Chicago way of governing by fear. First the fear of economic collapse, which with the announcements and proclamations on a daily basis of doom and gloom seem to be riling the markets. Now they want to instill the fear that Republicans want to ignore minorities and the homeless in the Census count. To strip the Commerce Department of this responsibility just because a Republican is appointed to the position is a pretty sad state of affairs. But it’s only the beginning. This is not a “post-partisan” White House.

I’m a bit old school on the Census. I believe it should be a count and that’s it. The data derived from asking whether you have indoor plumbing or how many bedrooms you have is interesting, but not a part of the Census (and frankly none of the government’s business). The Census affects every aspect of how government asserts its power over us: the way our votes count — toward one congressman or another — results from the census. It provides the raw data by which government spending is allocated on everything from roads to schools. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also uses the Census to prepare the economic data that businesses rely on.

"The real issue is who directs the Census, the pros or the pols," says Bruce Chapman, who was director of the Census in the Reagan/Bush Era. "You would think an administration that’s thumping its chest about respecting science would show a little respect for scientists in the statistical field." It a tad ironic that the Obama administration is standing firm on the “fact” of global warming but wants a hyperpartisan such as White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to oversee the Census. John Fund, in the Wall Street Journal, said, “The Obama administration is downplaying how closely the White House will oversee the Census Bureau. But Press Secretary Robert Gibbs insists there is "historical precedent" for the Census director to be "working closely with the White House." Fund is one of the foremost experts on election fraud and ultimately, manipulating the Census is a tool to be used to steal elections.

You should be concerned about this. Call Representative Maloney and ask if she still supports the independence of the Census process and support Representative Blackburn as she leads the fight in the Energy and Commerce Committee.

[wastoute]

Notice the Brown Shirt Media have YET to point out that it was 0bama that took the question off and in a highly partisan move that was LOUDLY criticized at the time. But that old magic “ten years” has gone by so they don’t need to remember. There’s a reason you drag Modified, Limited Hangout on for ten years and you are seeing it right here.

[RonnG]

What, exactly, was the mechanism that removed the citizenship question from this census? Executive order? Act of Congress? What?

I can understand an EO since it involves that branch. I really don’t understand what business it is of Congress

[right way right]

What a damn horrible time that was.
Good piece.

[Liz]

Remember this? Parllel with the census takeover, Obama placed his COS---Chicago Rahm Emanuel---in control of the US Dept of the Treasury..... <

Chicago Rham was Obama's COS AND controlled Treasury. both at the same time.

"Mr President, you are now in complete control of the US Treasury."

==========================================

THE SMOKING GUN---WSJ REPORT--On Jan 20, 2009 Timothy Geithner was appointed Obama's Secy of the Treasury. But within three weeks, the Obama White House tightened its grip on Treasury. Obama put his COS, Rahm Emanuel, in charge of Treasury---Rahm Emanuel's dual role was an unusual move. When he got to Treasury, WH COS Rahm Emanuel was so involved in the inner workings that the phrase "Rahm wants it" had become an unofficial mantra among subservient govt staffers, prostrate in obeisance, scurrying to accede to Rahm's wishes, according to Treasury government officials. Reported by WSJ / 05/31/09

More here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124113406528875137.html

[Trump20162020]

Just like DACA, it’s all right when Obama does it, but not Trump.

So sayeth the courts.

[piasa]

Rahm have any Epstein connections? Pritzker does.

[Adder]

Trump needs to quit dithering.
Put the damn question back in and be done.
This nonsense of looking to other agencies or sources for the answer is a] not going to work and b] a nod to the left that they have a point.

Its being political...a politicians move. Be bold and do it.

[jughandle]

It’s tough to find but has the question actually been on previous census forms? I can’t remember..!

The local radio news keeps calling it “unprecedented” that such a question be asked yet it’s seemingly on every application I’ve ever filled out, even for a drivers license/registration.

[kiryandil]

"Obama Deleting It Should’ve Been"

Big Media tells Merkuns what to think.

[MountainWalker]

If you think it’s bad now, wait until the Souterization of John Roberts is compete. We’re going to need two more scotus appointments before we have a reliably conservative court.

[cymbeline]

Trump says he’ll use other means to determine the number of citizens and non-citizens. Fine, but can those findings be made part of the final census, which is used in determining the number of delegates from the various states?

[TheNext]

Republicans failed the Census.

Our Census form can be sent to foreign nations and filled out.

2020 Census is FRAUD !

A 2 year old could have put a citizenship question on the Census form.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

And not a word of this from the media.God, I hate the commie media.

[lilypad]

There’s an article in the Wall Street journal about this and the libs in the comment section are putting out the lie that the citizenship question was taken off in 1950!

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Thank you.

[a fool in paradise]

The media repeatedly lies saying that it hasn’t been on the census for 100 years.

[Jane Long]

Rush just made this same point, on Fox & Friends, this morning.

It WAS on the census form from 1870 - 2012.