Census Returns Way Down in Republican Parts of Texas

[kpete]

Source: Washington Independent

Census Returns Way Down in Republican Parts of Texas
By David Weigel 3/30/10 2:31 PM

File this under “problems that we really should have seen coming”: conservatives, egged on by the likes of Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), declining to return census forms and possibly shrinking the political power of states like Texas. The Lone Star State’s return rate for census forms, so far, is 27 percent. The national average is 34 percent. And the data are worse for Republican areas:

In Texas, some of the counties with the lowest census return rates are among the state’s most Republican, including Briscoe County in the Panhandle, 8 percent; King County, near Lubbock, 5 percent; Culberson County, near El Paso, 11 percent; and Newton County, in deep East Texas, 18 percent. Most other counties near the bottom of the list are heavily Hispanic counties along the Texas-Mexico border.

The McCain-Palin ticket carried 74.3 percent of the vote in Briscoe, 92.6 percent in King and 65.5 percent in Newton — although Obama-Biden won tiny Culberson County.

UPDATE: Some friendly folks on Twitter have called this a false meme, so I checked the new data at the Census site. Here are the return rates, so far, for the five most Republican districts in Texas.

King County (92.% for McCain) – 14% return rate, down from 48% in 2000.

Roberts County (92.1% for McCain) – 22% return rate, down from 68% in 2000.

Ochiltree County (91.7% for McCain) – 39% return rate, down from 71% in 2000.

Glasscock County (90.1% for McCain) – 30% return rate, down from 49% in 2000.

Oldham County (88.4% for McCain) – 26% return rate, down from 72% in 2000.



Read more: http://washingtonindependent.com/80931/census-returns-way-down-in-republican-parts-of-texas#more-80931

[Walk away]

1. Great...if they would just drop their Social Security cards on the way out...

They can file out of the country in an orderly manner.

[KansDem]

89. Maybe Mexico will take them in.

There might be jobs in the offing that Mexicans won't do...

[goclark]

108. Maybe they can't read, we know they can't spell

centus?

sendus?

senseus??

[HereSince1628]

2. If Texans want to give back a few representatives in the House

Who am I to complain?

[Ineeda]

7. and the less they participate

the less federal $$ comes their way for schools, hospitals, roads, etc. Idiots.

[vduhr]

46. That was my first thought...

More for us!

[AllyCat]

82. Bummer for their people who need help. Just desserts for those who don't want

any of that "socialist" help for their problems.

[TrollBuster9090]

62. Seeing as Tom DeLay had already fudged the Texas districts in favor of Republicans...

...this will probably just even things back out to the way they were before The Hammer messed them up.

[marybourg]

67. They can then bring one of their (non-frivolous)

lawsuits afterwards, claiming federal interference with states rights or some such crap

[pundaint]

104. Yes, accept them at their lack of words. Appoint Bush administrators to make sure

an effort is made to reach those hiding yahoos. That'll keep the count down.

[Brickbat]

3. How nice of them to force the government to spend MORE money sending people out to enumerate them in

person. Lovely.

[FailureToCommunicate]

40. I did census work years ago. It would be more dangerous now going to "those" neighborhoods.

Had a rifle pointed at me at one house. These days a census person might not make it past the front sidewalk...
I'd check off "declined" on their form and move on...

[Toasterlad]

113. Agreed. But It Will Be Worth It If They Lose Representation.

[OHdem10]

4. Heard a report that GOPers like Bachman are telling people not

to participate in the census--too intrusive.

Could it be the GOP like things just as they are. Too many
Hispanics ??? I am sorry to be so cynical. But why would
they tell people not to complete their Census Form???

[pinboy3niner]

21. Bachmann thinks it will be used to round up the opposition

She actually gave, as an example, the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII. I guess we're gonna put 'em all in those American gulags that Glenn Beck reported we were building. Hmmmm--maybe they shouldn't be giving us ideas . . .

[beac]

24. Damn! I forgot to fill out the "How many people in the household oppose President Obama?" question.

:eyes:

[pinboy3niner]

57. Just check the applicable box for

Tea Party Members
Seditionists
Patriot Militia Members
Christians

. . . and fill out all identifying information completely.

[HillbillyBob]

61. Oh you mean the FEMA KKKamps that were set up under

AmBushCo?

[pinboy3niner]

68. FEMA concentration camps being set up under Obama

Beck originally flogged the conspiracy theory in March '09, then reversed himself a month later (after criticism) and debunked it. Southern Poverty Law center has a synopsis on the concentration camp conspiracy theories, which date back to the early 80's--and originated with right-wing militias (imagine my surprise): http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/spring/fear-of-fema

Edited to add link.

[MadMaddie]

70. I read she has backed off of those statements especially when

she realized that no Census could mean the elimination of her district.

[loki341]

76. LMAO

Yeah, but it would kick so much more ass if Michelle Bachmann would only convince these nut jobs that the government is gonna use their voter registration info to round 'em up.

[pinboy3niner]

77. LOL! Republicans paranoid about registering to vote?

My God, you're a genius! That whack job could easily be manipulated into buying a dem voter reg conspiracy. Just be sure to drop some buzzword terms like "concentration camps," "re-education camps," and "internment," then reel her in . . .

Edited to add: From one newbie to another, welcome to DU! :hi:

[AllyCat]

83. She really is insane isn't she? Paranoid...but she has gubmint health insurance

so she can probably get help if she wants. But my guess is she won't admit she needs help.

[geardaddy]

98. She also got farm subsidies

It's only socialism if someone else does it. Right Michele?

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/1209/Antisocialist_Bachmann_got_250k_in_federal_farm_subsidies.html

[glinda]

93. Bachmann doesn't think

[Enthusiast]

111. They are so warped

that they believe their own lies. It's an imaginary world of their own making.

[beac]

22. Which is especially ridiculous since this is the least "intrusive" census I can remember.

Only 10 extremely basic questions. The information on it is already widely available and being used by marketing companies everywhere.

If Texas Republicans lose a Rep or two through their own stupidity, I won't be crying any tears. If only it was so easy to get them out of the textbook writing business...

[Zoeisright]

25. And Bachmann is in real danger of losing her seat because MN is shrinking.

Her seat is the one that will go if the population drops as we expect.

How delicious.

[Lisa0825]

31. That would be SO AWESOME!!! nt

:woohoo:

[SomeGuyInEagan]

52. True. I live in MN's 2nd.

The state may lose a district after redistricting based on the census, and if so, it would likely be the MN 5th. It all depends on how the re-districting goes.

The MN 5th right now is a weird duck, a bit of a horseshoe which wraps around the northern Twin Cities suburbs and runs from St. Cloud on the west to the Wisconsin border on the east (a wide district).

*My* guess is that Bachman sees the future. She barely won re-election in '08. If she can hold on until the districts are re-mapped, she can play the pity card, claim to be a winner and sign that big FOX News contract - it's gotta be tearing her up that Palin is making big bucks for spewing the same garbage she has been for years.

Not that I ever believed she - or Palin or Limbaugh or Hannity or Beck - ever actually believed that stuff. I really do think they are simply looking to make a buck.

[glinda]

94. You give her too much credit. Loss of Republican seat would turn Repubs on her.

[geardaddy]

100. I think you mean the 6th.

The 5th is Minneapolis and surrounding 'burbs.

[Enthusiast]

114. She could become a lobbyist

for Nutjobs of America INC.

[SkyDaddy7]

33. Self Induced Political Suicide??

I can't say I am an expert on the Census but from what I know it can only hurt them in the long run.

[1monster]

90. Too intrusive? As in how many people are in your home? Name, sex, and race of first person.

Hispanic? Name, sex, and race of second person? Hispanic? Etc.

Do you own with mortgage, own free of mortgage, or rent your home?

It didn't even ask for the number of cats, dogs, chickens, monkeys, pot-bellied pigs, and other fur or feather bearing members of the family. Didn't ask for the number of bedrooms and bathrooms or any other invasive questions.

I wanted to put in HUMAN for race :evilgrin:, but decided I didn't need the hassel.

[Dr.Phool]

101. Yeah, but you didn't mention the really sinister questions.

Age, and phone number. Bachmann knows that they need to know your age, before they call you to tell you to report to the properly, age segregated concentration camp.

[Dr.Phool]

99. She doesn't want anyone to know how old she is.

They thought they were dealing with a six year old child. She doesn't want them to know that she's a mentally-handicapped old bat.

[Deep13]

5. .

:woohoo:

[mac56]

6. Remove sidearm from holster. Release safety. Shoot self in foot.

Repeat as necessary.

:eyes:

[n2doc]

12. Exactly

[DeeDeeNY]

50. LOL!!!!

[kestrel91316]

75. OMG, that's PERFECT!!! The only thing missing is plumber's crack.

[AllyCat]

87. Classic!

[Carnage251]

102. LOL

[OregonBlue]

8. Good. Texas was supposed to get another Congresscritter or 2. Now they won't. Yes!!

[frazzled]

9. Well, the 2000 rates are for final rates ....

So you're wrong to compare 14% vs. 48%, 22% vs. 68%, etc.

Still, Texas (along with Mississippi) has the current worst return rate thus far on the entire map. Good for them. They're stupid. But I'm sure the Republicans will convince them to send those forms back in so their districts can get some good gubmint money. I'm not counting them out yet.

[tomm2thumbs]

10. no count - no money. way to cut them noses off

[SemperEadem]

11. good--that means more $$$ for those of us who have sent it in

keep up the good work, morons.

[Renew Deal]

13. lol

:rofl:

[Odin2005]

14. MORANS!!!

:rofl:

[n2doc]

15. And will they also oppose the use of statistical techniques to correct "undersampling?"

I mean, if there aren't any more returns, they must be correct in reflecting the true population without correction, right? That's what the RW always says about cities and undercounting the homeless.....

[Warren Stupidity]

16. Great! I suggest all republicans in majority republican districts join the boycott.

[Deep13]

17. This gives me an idea!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x254435

[florida08]

44. that was great man

[dixiegrrrrl]

51. Oh lordy...and the freepers are gonna take that as gospel.

Only sorry that post got so few recs.

Pop over over there, guys, and enjoy it.

[DJ13]

18. ........

[unblock]

19. the irony is that they're doing this because they resent the government coming to their door

and asking them personal questions like, "are you still alive?"

so by not filling out the form, they guarantee that a government employee will show up at their doorstep!

do they really think the census bureau will not follow up?

[DainBramaged]

20. My sig line says it all

88 of the DUMBEST counties voted for McCain, these must be some of them.

[defendandprotect]

23. Won't that effect their funding, their schools, whatever?

[kestrel91316]

26. Blue states are gonna make out like bandits with redistricting.

If only 25% of Texans fill out the census, they stand to lose 75% of their Congressional reps. Sweet.

[LiberalFighter]

27. Now if only those high republican areas receive less funding.

But not likely to be the case. More likely to be doled out based on the state's budget as a whole.

[placton]

28. I think we should buy a big ad and ENCOURAGE

this protest! This will show the libruls and the pointy heads what real Murcans do!

[MineralMan]

29. I'm actually quite concerned for the Census Workers who will

be ringing the non-compliant ones' doorbells. There could be some ugly confrontations.

[Optimistic]

30. They are Brilliant (Best News in American History)

I love the fact that because of this reasoning that Texas will only have 1 Congressional seat while the Progressive states will have over 375 seats, Say hello to a 3/4 majority of the House to be controlled by the Democratic Party

[Bitwit1234]

32. wonderful....so all the illegally maneuvering delay did twice after the

last census to redistrict more republican areas is going to go to waste. I love I really truly love. And it's all bachmann's fault she started the ball rolling.

[DebbieCDC]

34. Excellent

I guess they don't understand the phrase "cutting off your nose to spite your face". Fine with me. Some good blue districts can use the fed $$ and the less 'puke Texans in Congress the better.

Stupidity thy name is GOP

[liberal N proud]

35. Buying the propaganda, moving against their own best interest

AGAIN!

Dumb ASSES!!!!

[Ter]

36. Isn't it the law to have to return census forms?

N/T

[benld74]

37. GOOD NEWS - THat means Texas is shrinking!!!

[Demeter]

38. YES!

Social Darwinism at its finest!

[yellowcanine]

39. This falls into the category of "Remove gun from holster, aim and shoot foot."

[anachro1]

41. I LOVE IT!

All those ignorant white folk won't be counted.

That means MORE MONEY for us!

[Deep13]

42. Google results for "communist revolution census."

http://www.google.com/search?q=communist+revolution+census&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7DMUS_en

[pinboy3niner]

45. LOL!

You're going to raise quite a ruckus on certain websites. Nice job!

[DRoseDARs]

43. Good. So not will those areas lose funding but all the $100 fines will help stimulate govt coffers.

$500 fines for lying, too. :thumbsup:

[vduhr]

47. I thought they wanted to uphold the Constitution.

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/why/constitutional.php

[Bette Noir]

54. The conservative Constitution is like the conservative Jesus.

It is worshiped as an icon, without ever being read or understood.

[matt819]

48. Question -

At what point will the Census no longer accept Census forms? I know that the date of the Census is April 1. But what if they get the form back on April 15, or May 31, etc.

[SoapBox]

49. Do it, Do it, Do it...DON'T send in those forms Texas...

and all you other wing-nut states.

DON'T send in those forms!

hahahahaha

[graywarrior]

53. Proof of years of inbreeding.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

55. Good Lord, they really are that stupid

The census has occurred every 10 years since 1790. It's not some conspiracy of the Obama administration to target conservatives.

Now let's hope that the idiots who keep re-electing Michelle Bachmann do the same.

[MellowDem]

56. It will only hurt the Repubs...

Less population in Republican areas means less representation for them. Kind of shot themselves in the foot with all the Census paranoia.

[ingac70]

58. The Feds shouldn't even bother going door to door....

When someone doesn't fill it out, thye should just set up funding and Representation accordingly.

[Toasterlad]

112. Sadly, the Government Is Constitutionally Obligated To Make Every Effort To Get This Info.

We can only hope that when the Census volunteers go door-to-door, they Repubs see it through and refuse to answer.

[TroglodyteScholar]

59. Good! n/t

[TrollBuster9090]

60. Awww...and after Tom DeLay did all that work to rig the Congressional districts???

Looks like Tom DeLay did all that work of stealing and gerrymandering the Texas Congressional districts in 2003 for NOTHING! What's the point of corrupting the DOJ and re-distributing the Texas Congressional Districts in between Census reports when your nutcase supporters are just going to refuse to fill out the 2010 Census because they're afraid of the New World Order. You can't very well fill out a Census form when you're hiding in your basement underneath a pile of guns waiting to hear the sound of United Nations helicopters coming to steal your precious bodily fluids.

[truthisfreedom]

63. Man, ya gotta love Palin. She does the heavy lifting for the Democratic Party!

What a doll!

[Politicub]

64. What a bunch of morans

Stupid fucks. It's pretty sweet though!

[proteus_lives]

65. I find it very silly that people wouldn't fill-out the census.

[OnionPatch]

66. Name, birthdate, address

If the wingers don't think this information isn't already out there and readily available, they're nuts. If the government wants to "come after you" for a round up or whatever it is they're afraid of, they don't need the census to find you.

[lark]

116. Haven't they ever heard of Google?

Haven't any of them ever Googled someones name and looked at all the entries that pop up? This is just amazing. Too bad all Repugs aren't this stupid, a lot of the world's problems would be solved.

[MadMaddie]

69. No census - No Money!

Not that complicated!

[old mark]

71. These people are dumber than even I thought they were....is there a

functioning brain among them?


mark

[opihimoimoi]

72. 3 RD GRADE DROPOUTS do9n't they know low counts = less congress seats = loss of

representation = lower voting power = current GOP STRAT ????

[AllyCat]

117. I'd argue that a lot of high school grads don't know it either.

[opihimoimoi]

119. DeLusion is the only possible explanation....:o)

[lumberjack_jeff]

73. I guess no one lives there. Oh well!

More for me!

[kestrel91316]

74. I just keep coming back to this thread again and again for the sheer joy of it.

[lunatica]

78. Bite off nose to spite face

Sounds like a great idea to me!

[Democat]

79. Great, let's reduce their representation if they don't exist!

Less Texas house seats is not a bad thing for America!

[mod mom]

80. I wish this wasn't publicized but went under the radar. Their loss.

[alarimer]

81. Good. Fewer Republican districts

I hope these anti-Census idiots know that this is how Congression districts (and state government as well) are apportioned.

[Fire1]

84. GOOD!! Less pukes! n/t

[lobodons]

85. More taxpayer money

So now more tax payer money has to be spent tracking these fuckers down so they can be counted. I am tea'd off at these fucking racist hypocrite teabaggers!!!!!!

[SocialistLez]

86. If they don't want to be counted...

it's their loss. Who cares?

If they lose a representative, it's their own fault. I frankly won't lose a night's worth of sleep because a Republican is no longer in the House. Heck, I might sleep better.

[Arugula Latte]

88. ...

[WatchWhatISay]

91. Maybe they are just procrastinating like me

I just mailed mine back yesterday. Our county is at 47% compared to 68% in 2000. However, we do have an active tea party group here as well as the KKK, which holds demonstrations at least once each year.

Such a beautiful state, but so many ugly, hateful, politically and religiously extremist people.

[AllyCat]

118. I just mailed mine yesterday too. Maybe they are all waiting for April Fools' Day?

So as not to jinx themselves or anything (you know, someone moving in or someone, uh, leaving).

[ThomThom]

92. the census people will be more at risk and they will spend

more time and money searching them out and counting them anyway

[malletgirl02]

120. You are Right

The census will cost more money and be more risky for workers. Conservatives are supposedly against high government spending, but due to their actions the census will cost more money.

[newspeak]

122. you mean high government spending

unless it's spent killing people in bogus wars or paying off war profiteers? Then they're more than fine about government spending. They just don't want the People's money being spent on people.

[caseymoz]

95. Now they have reason to complain about 'taxation without representation?'

And they might have a leg to stand on if they didn't shoot themselves in the foot.

[jeff47]

96. Shhhhhhh!!!

Don't 'tell 'em until after the census is done. :evilgrin:

It's a tad ironic that Republicans worked so hard to have the census bureau not apply any statistics to correct for under-reporting.

[Dr.Phool]

97. They're probably confused by the questions.

It asks about people at the residence as of April 1, 2010.

Since that's not until tomorrow, they may be waiting until then. Or they really are assholes.

I've had mine for a couple of weeks now, and I didn't know if my father was coming to live with us for a while. I delayed filling it out, to be as accurate as possible on the specified date. I found out last night, that he's not, so I filled it out and mailed it in today.

It's really simple. Took about 2 minutes to fill out, and the most intrusive questions were age and phone number.

[Mme. Defarge]

103. The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways, n/t

[progressoid]

105. Amazing.

Teh stupid, it burns.

[abelenkpe]

106. Those fools are so stupid so misguided

that they would cut off their nose to spite their face....is that how that saying goes?

Bad for them, good for the rest of us. :)

[John Kerry VonErich]

107. Also need to understand

immigrants have a census boycott as well

[Enthusiast]

109. Good!

I didn't know Michele Bachmann was working for us. I'll take all the help we can get.

[Toasterlad]

110. Fucking AWESOME. It's About Time This Idiocy Worked Against Itself And Not the Rest Of Us.

[caraher]

115. This is great

Convince them all to just go away from the public life they profess to abhor, and let the grownups run the country!

[marshall]

121. They may have been waiting for the April 1st date that is specified

The census asts "who is living or sleeping in the home on April 1, 2010"?

Some folks may not think they can give an accurate and truthful answer to that question until after that date. They could guess who would probably still be alive and be living there, but it might change.