Posted on 02/05/2009 10:42:45 AM PST by PghBaldy
The director of the Census Bureau will report directly to the White House and not the secretary of Commerce, according to a senior White House official.
The decision came after black and Hispanic leaders raised questions about Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg ’s commitment to funding the census.
Gregg, New Hampshire’s senior senator, voted in committee and on the floor for a 1995 Republican budget that envisioned the elimination of the Commerce Department. Of even more concern to black and Hispanic leaders, Gregg battled President Clinton over a request for “emergency” funding for the 2000 census.
“Secretary of Commerce-designate Judd Gregg ’s record raises serious questions about his willingness to ensure that the 2010 census produces the most accurate possible count of the nation’’s population,”” the National Association of Latino Elected Officials said in a release on Tuesday, the day Gregg was named to the post. “”Policymakers and planners at all levels of government rely on these data to make important decisions about their services, such as the number of teachers that will be needed in their classrooms, the best places to build new roads, or the best way to provide job training.”
The selection of the Republican Gregg for Commerce — a plum often given out to a big fundraiser or personal friend in the president’s own party — left many Democrats scratching their heads and others fearful that Gregg might not defend favored agencies and programs with the department.
“Sen. Gregg’s record of previously voting to abolish the Commerce Department and his attempts to block President Bill Clinton’s efforts to secure adequate funding for the 2000 census raise troubling concerns regarding his commitment to the department’s core missions,” Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee said on Tuesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at cqpolitics.com ...
Chair warmer Gregg was unavailable for comment.
So now we have a census czar to cook the census books. This can be really bad ...
‘The director of the Census Bureau will report directly to the White House and not the secretary of Commerce, according to a senior White House official.
The decision came after black and Hispanic leaders raised questions about Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg ’s commitment to funding the census. ‘
Gee, thats the fastest deballing of a seated Senator I’ve ever witnessed.
Have fun being the Obama Administrations in house eunich, Mr Gregg.....
Didn’t take long for Gregg and the GOP to be played, again. Now, just what is/was Gregg really after?
Commerce can good lobbying job later.
So Gregg is already being undercut by Zero. Wow, he must feel the fool!
If Gregg has an ounce of self-respect, he’ll withdraw his nomination immediately, and tell the nation exactly why.
I can’t understand - why would a sitting Senator with a lot of power (Gregg, Clinton) want to work in the Cabinet, especially one as political as Commerce.
unless one is a committed Obamaniac, it would not be a good career choice, as far as I can see. Most cabinet members have their posts for, maybe, 2-3 years. A Republican last even less time.
What’s the attraction? Executive experience? Furture lobbying contacts? Get out and write memoirs?
Well you can count that out. Gregg doesn’t have an ounce of character. He doesn’t even have a gram of it. This guy sold us out for his own gain, and frankly, I’m going to laugh my ass off when he is fired about sixty days from now.
So, Gregg was chosen to be a token example of phony bipartisanship, with the title but without the customary power of the position... Surprise, surprise...
I’ve already heard radio ads for jobs for the Census. $14.00 per hour....not bad when you keep track of your own hours...Another corrupt mess this will be.
I’m sure these will be the jobs Obama ‘creates’.
Exactly. The Kenyan had this plan in mind all along. Gregg should have known better.
Anyone else here ever got one?
They threaten a $500 fine for not answering but the questions are MANY and INTRUSIVE.
We've already had people call and visit saying we are legally obligated to fill it out but so far we are not going to cooperate.
Someone who was trying to justify Gregg taking this position said the only good thing was that at least they wouldn’t cook the Census books.
But now we see Obama plans to bypass Gregg.
So Gregg is really just a figurehead. Ihope Gregg realises this now and withdraws his name. Why would you take a job once you learn that the boss is not going to give you the responsibility or authority of the job?
Why would a registered Pubbie....a sitting Senator at that....even take a job with this administration?
1. Career politicians, whether Republican or Democrat, always put their self-interest ahead of other concerns.
2. Career politicians rarely move back to their home states anymore when they leave the House, Senate, White House staff or cabinet post. Instead, they move on to highly lucrative lobbying gigs, media gigs and/or the occasional university prez or corporate CEO gig.
3. Gregg gets fast-tracked to one of those post-government lucrative jobs. Obama gets another northeastern "centrist" Republican to join Snowe, Collins, Specter, and that crowd, guaranteeing many opportunities for passing filibuster-proof Leftist legislation.
We’ve already had people call and visit saying we are legally obligated to fill it out but so far we are not going to cooperate.
________________
Tell them the dog ate it.
The census every ten years has become intrusive enough.
People on the internet who have refused to fill it out say the census bureau so far have not fined anyone for not filling it out even though the literature says they will. So we are ignoring it and putting a chain across our driveway to try to keep them out. Our 3 months of harrassment is almost up.
I’ve seen the survey. They threatened my MIL (after she had had two strokes) who could not fill out the survey.
“She” finally filled it out. Her weak hands could not press the pencil hard enough for most answers to show up...some were illegible.
If I get one in the mail, it goes in the trash. I’ll say I never received it, I will not open my door to pollsters, if I do, I will be hacking and coughing with illness. I will not answer my phone when an unknown number shows up.
I will NOT fill out the survey.
The questions are extremely intrusive.
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