Reply #2: Commerce will keep it now that Judd Gregg won't be there

[Jane Eyre]

The only reason that the White House was considering moving the census from the Commerce Department to a direct report to the White House was because it appeared that Judd Gregg was planning to use the Commerce Department to control the Census for Republican political gain:

Judd Gregg's Attempt to Grab Control Over Census Foiled... by HuffPo

He (Gregg) withdrew because control of the Census Bureau was withdrawn. His ploy, on behalf of the Republicans, was foiled. And, these pages began its unraveling.

Commerce had the Census Bureau. The Census will occur again in 2010. Republicans want control over the Census, and Gregg's becoming Commerce Secretary would have provided that control. Historically, Republicans have improved their own legislative percentages after redistricting based upon census information.

So, for Republicans, the Census is a very big deal. It is for Democrats, too, but they have not been as Census-savvy as the Republicans in past decades.


As an aside - this article also indicates that Judd Gregg avoided the draft because of acne. Words fail me....