Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire was absolutely right to withdraw as the nominee to be secretary of commerce, citing “irresolvable conflicts” regarding the stimulus package and the census. It is the latter issue that has the most direct bearing on the job at the Commerce Department. A recent White House announcement on the census amounted to a direct challenge to Gregg’s autonomy and a dangerous politicization of a process that should be scrupulously apolitical.
The constitutionally mandated census is tremendously important. Reapportionment of congressional seats and the redrawing of district lines at every level of government are dependent on census findings. So are the funding formulas for an immense number of government programs. Changes in census data mean real changes in money and power. To protect the census from political manipulation, seven former census directors wrote a letter last year strongly suggesting that the census be made an “independent, nonpartisan, apolitical and scientific” agency.
Until now, the Census Bureau, a quasi-independent part of the Commerce Department, has largely escaped overt politicization. There is no reason to believe that would have changed under a Republican of Gregg’s integrity, especially when the Democratic president could fire him at the drop of a hat if Gregg attempted any political shenanigans.
Yet when Gregg was announced as Obama’s choice to head commerce, a phalanx of liberal activist groups complained to the White House that Gregg couldn’t be trusted with census oversight. The Obama administration responded by announcing that the Census Bureau would report to — later amended to “work with the high-level officials” at — the White House itself.
In sum, this means the census effectively will be coordinated by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel — one of the most fiercely partisan Democrats anywhere. Congressional Republicans rightly noted that there would have been a deafening hue and cry if former President George W. Bush had put the census under the thumb of political aide Karl Rove. The role of Emanuel should arouse the same indignation. Even an honest White House is by its nature a partisan one.
Rep. Darrell Issa, ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, put it plainly to The Examiner’s Byron York this week: “When you see something as unusual as the president taking an unconfirmed, personally appointed individual and putting them in charge of the census — that essentially means the president is putting himself directly in charge of the census. I’d like to see the maximum amount of distance from any politician of any party in this.” Exactly.
