Down For The Count

By Miss Kubelik

What is it with right wingers and the census? Why do they hate something that actuaries and their friends in the business community support and need?

Wait, let's back up a sec. We cats are quite relieved at the Supreme Court's census decision today, as imperfect as it was (and despite the outcome of the gerrymandering case — but with two stolen Court seats, you can't have everything). In short, we had started this week bracing ourselves for a total SCOTUS nightmare — and while it's only Thursday, we're thinking that so far, it could have been worse.

Nevertheless, this whole brouhaha reminds us of another national census that was the target of right-wing ire. In Canada, Stephen Harper's Conservative government successfully deep-sixed the country's long-form census back in 2010. And wow, that was super-unpopular — one of the worst things, in Canadians' eyes, that Harper ever did. Then came the election of 2015, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals wiped the floor with the Tories. Justin wasted no time bringing the census back. There was much rejoicing.

"Stephen Harper misread the country," columnist Andrew Cohen wrote in The Ottawa Citizen the following spring. "His instincts were dark and conservative in a decent, progressive country. When Canadians had a choice, they discarded him."

Similarly, the Trumpsters went after the census here, clumsily attempting to add a citizenship question that would guarantee an undercount and screw over the Democratic Party (and the country) for decades to come.

There can be no doubt that the census, in whatever country, is valuable to interest groups that are not even remotely lefty. Businesses make decisions — like where to spend their money and locate facilities — based upon reliable census data. We can't imagine that the Chamber of Commerce or other corporate pooh-bahs were pleased at Republican attempts to mess with it. The census, business leaders said in 2018, is "vital to businesses across America to promote economic development, identify potential customers and create jobs."

Now Benedict Donald — miffed that he can't undercount people who don't look like him — is trying to call off the 2020 census itself. Here's what's obvious, whether we're talking about Stephen Harper or Trump and his merry band of traitors: Their hatred of people of color is greater than their desire to please their political allies. We cats find that frightening, and we HISS.