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ACORN Involvement Undermines Confidence in Census
humanevents.com ^ | 07/21/2009 | Rep. Michele Bachmann and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland

Posted on 07/21/2009 5:29:38 AM PDT by kellynla

The U.S. Constitution doesn’t specify many duties that the federal government absolutely must carry out. For as long as our republic lasts, Americans will debate the meaning and intentions of the Constitution, but on requiring a decennial census, the Framers wrote with such clarity that no analysis is needed.

Today our nation has 100 times as many people as it did at our founding. Though much has changed, the headcount of Americans remains an essential function of our federal government. It’s how we apportion representatives in Congress and direct spending. For such an endeavor to succeed, the process must have the trust of the American people. Unfortunately, the blatant politicization of the 2010 survey has undermined many Americans’ faith in the system.

From the get-go, the Obama Administration sought to use the census for partisan gain. First, Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel -- a former leader of the House Democrats’ campaign committee -- tried to usurp the census authority of the Commerce Department. A public outcry killed that West Wing power grab, but the partisan undertones continued when the administration announced ACORN as a national partner in the census soon thereafter.

ACORN’s involvement casts a cloud of suspicion over what should be a nonpartisan process. ACORN has been under investigation -- and at times indictment and consent decree -- for various counts of voter registration fraud related chiefly to the 2006 and 2008 elections. In more than a dozen states, prosecutors and investigators have pursued ACORN for violating the public trust in one of the most critical of public functions: the electoral process. Yet, this is the organization that the Census Bureau wants to tout as a “national partner” in the collection of some rather personal information.

Judge Says Get ACORN

Just last week, Senior District Judge Richard H. Zoller, in hearing a case against an ACORN employee for voter registration fraud in Alleghany County, Pa., urged prosecutors to zealously pursue the “real culprit” in these criminal cases. “Somebody has to go after ACORN,” the judge said. A few months ago, Nevada Democratic Atty. Gen. Catherine Cortez Masto, said ACORN’s own training manuals “clearly detail, condone and … require illegal acts.”

The Census Bureau says that ACORN is just one of thousands of organizations that help to promote the census. Fair enough. But no organization other than ACORN has raised as many red flags or engendered such a high level of distrust among the American people.

The Census Bureau says that ACORN won’t actually go door to door and that the bureau will thoroughly screen all the enumerators. Nevertheless, ACORN will recruit enumerators and provide space where people can fill out their surveys. In fact, on the form that ACORN officials filled out to become a partner, they also indicated that they will “appoint a liaison to work with the Census Bureau, encourage employees and constituents to complete and mail their questionnaire, identify job candidates and/or distribute and display recruiting materials, provide space for Be Counted sites and/or Questionnaire Assistance Centers, engage regional and local chapters of [its] organization” and a host of other activities.

Any organization so intimately involved with helping Americans fill out census forms should have credibility beyond question. ACORN, a group credibly accused of filling out fraudulent voter registrations with the names of Dallas Cowboys, utterly fails that test.

The Census Bureau alone determines who qualifies as a national partner. Unlike most rules written by government agencies, there’s no congressional involvement, no opportunity for public input and no public notice. The Census Bureau says that it will partner with any group that can encourage participation in the census. Only law-enforcement organizations, tax assessors and hate groups are specifically excluded. Given the fears and concerns that many Americans have toward ACORN, its involvement may actually discourage participation.

If the Census Bureau wants to allay mistrust and encourage full participation in the 2010 Census, it can take a giant step in that direction by dropping ACORN from its national partnership program.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: acorn; census; constitution; election
Rep. Bachmann represents Minnesota's 6th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Westmoreland represents Georgia's 3rd district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1 posted on 07/21/2009 5:29:39 AM PDT by kellynla
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To: kellynla

I’ve said this in other threads on the subject: I will not participate in the next census. Why should I be a party to a criminal act?


2 posted on 07/21/2009 5:35:25 AM PDT by fatnotlazy
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To: kellynla

The assault on our freedom by the Democrat party is satanic. This government takeover is fraudulent and illegal on every level. They must be stopped.


3 posted on 07/21/2009 5:37:07 AM PDT by demkicker
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To: fatnotlazy

I will give the number of persons in my household only.


4 posted on 07/21/2009 5:42:14 AM PDT by Hugin (Sarah Palin: accept no substitutes!)
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To: fatnotlazy
I’ve said this in other threads on the subject: I will not participate in the next census. Why should I be a party to a criminal act?

Last Census, I refused to answer any questions other than the number of people living at the address. I caught grief from the Census people, who called me repeatedly about the other questions, but when I stood resolute that the Constitution only required me to answer that question, they eventually gave up and left me alone.

I will do the same this go round.

Starve the Beast is the only way to control the Government Monster. Starve it of information and money. I take every possible tax deduction too and always complain to any politician about any tax increase.

5 posted on 07/21/2009 5:44:03 AM PDT by Lawgvr1955 (You can never have too much cowbell !!)
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To: kellynla

Having Acorn involved in the 2010 census is, like, well as if a president of some country, for the sake of argument lets say, Honduras, were to declare an illegal referendum... and then have the ballots for that referendum printed in another country, for argument purposes, lets say Venezuela.


6 posted on 07/21/2009 5:44:20 AM PDT by C210N (A patriot for a Conservative Renaissance!)
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To: kellynla

It’s a given that the upcoming census,under the direction of Hussein and his ballet dancer pal,will prove to be something that Stalin himself would be proud of.And I,for one,don’t see a damn thing we can do about it.


7 posted on 07/21/2009 5:46:39 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Christian+Veteran=Terrorist)
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To: fatnotlazy
I’ve said this in other threads on the subject: I will not participate in the next census. Why should I be a party to a criminal act?

Just answer the first question, how many people live at your address, and no others, and you've complied with the law.

8 posted on 07/21/2009 5:47:09 AM PDT by Travis T. OJustice (I can spell just fine, thanks, it's my typing that sucks.)
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To: Hugin
I will give the number of persons in my household only.

I won't even do that.Throwing a monkey wrench in the works of Massachusetts RAT politics is what I plan to do.as far as the 2010 Census is concerned my dwelling is vacant and nobody who lives here even exists.Did the same thing in 2000.

9 posted on 07/21/2009 5:50:02 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Christian+Veteran=Terrorist)
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To: demkicker

“The assault on our freedom by the Democrat party...” That’s all that needs to be said. Let anyone know this who will listen, the dim party has morphed into the enemy within. They are jealous of the power that castro or chavez weild. They believe that the Constitution is a “living breathing document”. Thats code for they want to gut it while reserving rights for themselves. They want to be rulers and see their opportunity in ozero. They don’t care if he is an illegal president, the ends justify the means.


10 posted on 07/21/2009 5:53:06 AM PDT by Texas resident ( Boys and Girls, it's us against them.)
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To: Travis T. OJustice

“Just answer the first question, how many people live at your address, and no others, and you’ve complied with the law. “

***

I’m not going to answer that one either. I don’t want anyone from ACORN to know that I live alone. How do I know that that certain members might want to invade my home, rob me or worse?

Another thing: You know that Obama wants to conscript Americans to “volunteer” for his brown shirt troops. I’m willing to bet that the census will be used for that purpose. Now, I know that I can be found through other means (such as my tax returns), but I’m not going to make it easy for them.


11 posted on 07/21/2009 5:54:41 AM PDT by fatnotlazy
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To: demkicker

Yes, Satan is at work through his minions on the left.
If you examine their ideology, everything about it is totally in opposition to God’s ways and laws.

Some are willingly in opposition to God, as they hate Him,
but others, sadly, actually have been fooled into thinking
they are doing God’s work.


12 posted on 07/21/2009 5:56:12 AM PDT by MrB (Go Galt now, save Bowman for later)
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To: C210N
“Having Acorn involved in the 2010 census is...”

like having the Mafia in charge of bank security. LOL

13 posted on 07/21/2009 6:01:15 AM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: Gay State Conservative

Since I live in a Republican area, I don’t want my town underreported when it’s time to draw congressional districts.


14 posted on 07/21/2009 6:15:17 AM PDT by Hugin (Sarah Palin: accept no substitutes!)
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To: Lawgvr1955
I know the Census clause is Article I, section 2, but I can't find where it says only number of household. Can you point me to that?

Because I plan to only give the number in my household as well next year.

15 posted on 07/21/2009 6:17:14 AM PDT by libs_kma (F.U.B.O.)
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To: Hugin

I have the opposite situation. A heavily tax and spend liberal Democrat area. If our population is underreported, our region will receive less federal money. Since our politicans spend money faster than it comes, I figure this will be less money for them to squander (or embezzle).


16 posted on 07/21/2009 6:37:18 AM PDT by fatnotlazy
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To: kellynla

They’ve already been to my house. They took a gps fix of my front porch, and asked if we had any non-family members living there.

Others have reported questions about exterior doors, ‘granny flats’, and sublet renters. I suspect this will be used to pump up population numbers in large cities...the census taker will just assume that a second exterior door means there is a sublet renter...add one to the count for that house. This will mask the mass migration out of Detroit, Chicago, Kalifornia, etc.

In fact, I’m quite confident these ACORN thugs have a county by county map of the last election results....and they know what to do.


17 posted on 07/21/2009 6:38:17 AM PDT by lacrew (The 274th trimester is a very late procedure)
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To: lacrew
In fact, I’m quite confident these ACORN thugs have a county by county map of the last election results....and they know what to do.

You, lacrew, have hit the nail on its head.

Do not be distracted about invasive questions on the census (ignore them)- the primary reason for the involvement ACORN is to ensure Democrat victories by gerrymandering with false district counts. Pump up the count in areas likely to vote for more democrat-tyranny and under-report areas that would fight the usurpation of liberty. In a republic policy is set by who gets elected. The ACORN census is an attempt to give unequal representation! If ACORN/Obama are successful, liberal voters will wield more power through representation in DC relative to their true numbers than a conservative voters. It is not who votes that counts, but who counts the votes! That is never more true than when ACORN is involved.

18 posted on 07/21/2009 7:16:26 AM PDT by DaveyB (A government's ability to give is proportionate to their power to take away!)
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To: lacrew

I am reporting a sighting too. They were sitting out a rain storm in Hampton, VA at a B&N I was at. Very full of themselves, lots of goodie bags and tags and not happy I was giving them the evil eye. As for participating, we need party ID for districting so respond with party affliation(plus however many you feel you can get away with...) but NOTHING ELSE!


19 posted on 07/21/2009 7:39:40 AM PDT by matginzac
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To: libs_kma
I know the Census clause is Article I, section 2, but I can't find where it says only number of household. Can you point me to that?

I take it from a reading of the entire Article. It is clear by my reading that the purpose of the Census is to determine the make up of the House. For the first 50 years, the only questions on the Census were for this purpose. So I take the position that the people who drafted the Constitution wrote what the Census was for and used it the first 5 times for that simple purpose

People take a contrary position using the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution to mean that Congress can do about anything with the Census.

As far as I have been able to determine, no one has been prosecuted for refusing to answer questions.

If I am the first "test case" I plan to argue that I read the right not to answer any other questions in the same "penumbra" of privacy as the Roe v. Wade Court found the right to abortion. Should get plenty of press.

20 posted on 07/21/2009 3:57:58 PM PDT by Lawgvr1955 (You can never have too much cowbell !!)
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