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Representative Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has gotten criticism from every corner, but usually it’s her political opponents leading the attack. Now her own party is taking her to task.

Last month, Bachmann said she’d refuse to complete her Census questionnaire, as discussed in my partner’s blog.

Now even her fellow Republican housemembers are calling her boycott illogical and illegal. “Every elected representative in this country should feel a responsibility to encourage full participation in the census. To do otherwise is to advocate for a smaller share of federal funding for our constituents," Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and John Mica (R-Fla.) stated. They are all members of the House Census Oversight Subcommittee.

The Census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution, our most basic of laws. Never mind that it’s illegal to boycott the census. Never mind that encouraging others to boycott the census is probably conspiracy to commit that crime. How about the simple fact that by encouraging her constituents to boycott, she’s shooting herself and others in her state in the foot?

The whole reason for the census is proper allocation of seats in Congress. If her actions result in an undercount in her district, isn’t she the most likely Representative to lose her seat??? Holy backfire, Batman!

Many think Bachmann says these things just to get publicity…. the Krazier the better! For more about our favorite Minnesota 6th District Congresswoman, visit this anti-Bachmann blog. Ed O’Keefe of the Washington Post as well as other bloggers have also weighed in on this latest stunt.

Has our Krazy Kongresswoman gone too far this time? Tune in next week, same Bat Time, same Bat-channel!

4 Comments

  1. Gravatar for Cindy R
    Cindy R

    Bachmann is right! Do not give your personal info to ACORN agents at your door! ACORN will have all your info until they give it to the census bureau. Think they won't make a copy? BO has sold us out!

  2. Gravatar for Joe Crumley
    Joe Crumley

    Well, thanks for posting Cindy, but I think you (and Bachmann) should check the facts.

    I think it's pretty clear if you click the "other bloggers" link (last one in the story above), you'll see that her statements have been debunked. Here's direct quotes:

    WASHINGTON, D.C. - GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann has earned two more “pants-on-fire” ratings from Politifact.com, a fact checking website that investigates the validity of statements made by public figures.

    Politifact, which won a Pulitzer Prize this year for its sleuthing efforts, found Bachmann’s recent statements about the Association of Community Organization for Reform (ACORN) and the U.S. Census to be “wildly wrong.”

    ...

    ACORN, however, is one of around 30,000 Census Bureau partners.

    "ACORN and other partner organizations simply promote the availability of temporary census jobs, but have no role in the terms or conditions of employment beyond promotion of the availability of temporary jobs,” according to Politifact.

    Thus, Politifact concluded the following:

    “ACORN will not be ‘in charge’ of going door-to-door and collecting data from the American public, as Bachmann said. The U.S. Census will be in charge of that. Some of the 1.4 million people who get Census-taking jobs may learn about the job through ACORN. Workers who apply to the Census through ACORN have no better shot at the job than those who apply through any of the 30,000 other partners. That's it.

    “And despite Bachmann's claim, ACORN gets no money for signing on as a partner.

    ...

    Of the five Bachmann statements that Politifact has analyzed, the Sixth District Republican has now earned two false ratings and three “Pants-on-Fire” — the lowest possible score.

  3. Gravatar for Daniel 8791
    Daniel 8791

    She (Bachmann), obiviously hasn't done her homework and has stepped in it again . Youch !! She has had a worse losing streak that the Minnesota Timberwolves did this last season. When will the Kraziness end ? Will it ever end ?? See ya next week.

  4. Gravatar for Joe Crumley
    Joe Crumley

    Ha. At least she's entertaining. Thanks for playing along, Daniel.

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