Judd Gregg at Commerce Could Keep Democrats From Cooking 2010 Census Numbers

An important point overlooked here is that the 2000 Census allowed people for the first time to self-identify their race rather than have census-takers do it. Consequently, the number of "black" voters dropped considerably and naturally the Congressional Black Caucus and other black politicians blame this on something the census takers did or did not do. Apparently they want to maintain the racial "one drop" rule and reduce the number of mixed-race people (all but about 4% if you go by DNA of "African-Americans") who "pass" and don't call themselves "black" and so don't go along with the identity politics of the "black" block. The number of "Hispanics" grew, not only by natural population growth (having more children as well as immigration) but also because the "race" categories to choose from don't make any sense for those from nations where racial segregation did not occur along class lines as in the USA. (There are many other problems with the categories, such as refusal to recognize black Nubian Egyptians as "black" because they are from "North Africa.")

The best thing would be to base our decisions strictly on good science. The concept of "race" or "black" makes no sense today, as there are only about four genes that affect skin color out of a couple of hundred pertaining to national origin. And "black" does not equal "ex-slave" or someone discriminated against, as Obama shows, and in the opinion of the overwhelming majority of people who voted for Obama. As Shelby Steele has pointed out, it is the black upper-class who wish to maintain their position and who use the past discrimination against lower-class "blacks" to do so. Isn't it racist to think that the most significant thing about Obama is that he is "black" or for a person who also calls himself "black" to think that that is more important than other political issues and that he should be favored in some way because of it? So adherence to good science should demand that references to race be eliminated from the census. The Constitution refers to slavery not race--there were white slaves and indentured servants, and black slave-owners.

The second point about science is that it should not be used to lead to false conclusions, cooking the books. The statisticians at the Census Bureau agree that sampling does not lead to increased accuracy in the cases mentioned. It is true that different results may obtain from different statistical methods, but those methods should be chosen on the basis of arriving at the truth, not predetermined results, such as increasing the number of people who identify themselves as "black."

It is time now to demand that "black" politicians stop playing the race card. The census should not be politicized. Gregg and Republicans must insist that Obama make a firm public choice and repudiate racism and this blatant power grab by those who call themselves "black Democrats." Let's judge people by resutls not skin color and identity politics.

joe.shuren of FL 10:10AM February 14, 2009

I guess the most distressing thing to me is that control of the country has just become a game, played between powerful interests, with the winner being the group who most successfully convinces the electorate that they are the ones who are who will do the best job of giving them what they want.

It's not so surprising that Obama is so quickly turning out to have been more of the same, as much as there were people out there who fell or it so easily.

P.T. Barnum looks smarter every day.

John Grever of DC 9:03AM February 08, 2009

Dishonesty has been institutionalized by Bush? Another BDS sufferer. He lied about WMD's? Only because Clinton, Gore, Tenet etal told him they were there. And of course all the criminal convictions in his Cabinet- errr, no, that would be Clinton (and Obama's if there were justice in this world).

Yes those nasty racist, homophobic, misogynist Republicans who have the nerve to think that only Americans should be counted in the Census and not illegals - and ghosts who we 'think' might exist. It's obvious that Paul did not read the article where the professional statisticians stated sampling creates more mistakes than not.

But like all good leftists, why let the facts get in the way of the narrative.

swift boater of FL 8:46PM February 04, 2009