The Census Is Not Just About Numbers, It’s About Empowerment | The Nation

The Census Is Not Just About Numbers, It’s About Empowerment | The Nation: It is one of the deepest commitments of our Constitution and a radical tool for democratizing America.

John Nichols writes in The Nation:

"When President Trump and his minions attack the Census, they are messing with the US Constitution and the better angels of the American experiment. This is no small matter. And this is no small fight. Progressives should understand it as such and respond accordingly—not merely with a strong defense but with an even stronger offense.

"It is not enough to leave this one to the courts or the Census Bureau. ...

"The advocates for a full and fair count must be prepared to defend the ground that has been gained. Congressman Jamie Raskin, the Maryland Democrat who chairs the subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, offers wise counsel when he says that 'right-wing attacks on democracy never sleep, so we must all remain vigilant.' ...

"From the start of what has now become his permanent campaign, Trump has imagined presidential powers that do not exist. And he has invited Americans to do the same, exploiting the fact that a lot of what people think is in the Constitution is not there.

"The founding document did not mention democracy, and it certainly did not outline universal voting rights. It did not propose political parties, primary elections or—and this may surprise Mr. Trump—the monarchical flight of fantasy that is 'executive privilege.' But it did mention the Census. Right up at the top, in Article 1, Section 2, the document requires that an 'enumeration shall be made' within successive terms of 10 years. Practically, what that means is that since 1790 the federal government has organized a decennial counting of the people.

"The point of this enumeration is a radical and democratizing one. The founders of the American experiment, who had experienced colonial abuses that included taxation without representation, developed strategy for counting every American and using the results to establish representative democracy. ..."