I hope I don't offend anyone here. Rep. Bachmann has been going on about the census, intending not to answer all the questions because:
Minneapolis News - Bachmann's census conspiracy theory, Air Tron, and more - page 1
Bachmann originally said she wouldn't fill out the census completely because she was afraid the community organizers at ACORN could use the information for nefarious purposes. When that line of defense didn't work, she went on Fox News and took the next logical step: World War II Japanese internment camps.
"If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the Census Bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps," said Bachmann.
That's just nuts. Further, there may be unintended consequences for Bachmann herself, the loss of her seat:Bachmann originally said she wouldn't fill out the census completely because she was afraid the community organizers at ACORN could use the information for nefarious purposes. When that line of defense didn't work, she went on Fox News and took the next logical step: World War II Japanese internment camps.
"If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the Census Bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps," said Bachmann.
Editorial: After census dither, take a reality check
At the very least, the census statements call Bachmann's strategic judgment into question. She may be setting in motion events that could substantially hurt her home state and potentially cost her the office she occupies.
The 2010 census will likely determine whether Minnesota loses one of its eight U.S. House seats; population determines seat allocation. Political experts agree that a few thousand people not filling out census forms may be all it takes for the state to lose a congressional advocate in the nation's capital. If Minnesota were to lose a congressional seat, Bachmann's district appears to be candidate for absorption. Bachmann has been careful to say that she's willing to tell the census how many people live in her household, the basic information that will determine whether Minnesota keeps a congressional seat. But that's a message that's easily lost in her fear-mongering; Beck didn't help when he pantomimed flushing census documents down the toilet.
At the very least, the census statements call Bachmann's strategic judgment into question. She may be setting in motion events that could substantially hurt her home state and potentially cost her the office she occupies.
The 2010 census will likely determine whether Minnesota loses one of its eight U.S. House seats; population determines seat allocation. Political experts agree that a few thousand people not filling out census forms may be all it takes for the state to lose a congressional advocate in the nation's capital. If Minnesota were to lose a congressional seat, Bachmann's district appears to be candidate for absorption. Bachmann has been careful to say that she's willing to tell the census how many people live in her household, the basic information that will determine whether Minnesota keeps a congressional seat. But that's a message that's easily lost in her fear-mongering; Beck didn't help when he pantomimed flushing census documents down the toilet.
