| | | | Today's biggest story has zero to do with Robert Mueller |  | | In less than two years' time, the census will begin.
That's not news. Or new. Every 10 years, the government counts -- or attempts to count -- all US residents. We do this for lots of reasons, but one big one is to ensure that when new state legislative and congressional lines get drawn -- in 2021 -- the districts created accurately represent the breadth of the American population.
Which brings me to the ongoing legal case, which the Supreme Court is set to rule on this summer, as to whether or not a citizenship question can be added to the census questionnaire. Democrats fighting the addition of the citizenship question insist its true aim is to scare immigrants away from filling out the questionnaire and, in so doing, undercount non-white voters who typically favor Democrats. Republicans have pushed back, insisting that the citizenship question is solely aimed at getting the most accurate count possible -- and that there are no underlying political calculations.
The thing about that last point is that The New York Times published a bombshell story on Thursday that destroys it. Here's the key bit -- focused on the death last August of longtime Republican redistricting guru Thomas Hofeller:
"Files on those drives showed that [Hofeller] wrote a study in 2015 concluding that adding a citizenship question to the census would allow Republicans to draft even more extreme gerrymandered maps to stymie Democrats. And months after urging President Trump's transition team to tack the question onto the census, he wrote the key portion of a draft Justice Department letter claiming the question was needed to enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act — the rationale the administration later used to justify its decision."
So.....
Needless to say, this is a MASSIVE deal. It's unclear whether the revelations about Hofeller's study or his involvement in the crafting of the strategy behind the addition of the citizenship question will have any impact in how the court rules. But the Times story, which is based on a filing by the good government group Common Cause and the ACLU, directly contradicts -- with hard evidence -- the idea that Republicans' pursuit of the citizenship question was separate and apart from their long-term political interests.
Using Texas as a case study, Hofeller concluded that adding a citizenship question "would be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites." Which pretty much says it all.
The Point: The census -- and the redistricting process that it's based on it -- isn't the sexiest political topic. But in terms of the relative strength of the two parties nationally in the next decade, there is no other more important story.
-- Chris | | "Now, somebody did it because they thought I didn't like him, OK? And they were well-meaning, I will say."
-- President Trump, denying knowing about a White House request to keep the USS John S. McCain out of Trump's sight during his recent trip to Japan. | | |  | Debunking the 'voter fraud' conspiracy | | Republicans at the state and national levels (chief among them President Donald Trump) have been pushing the idea that there is widespread voter fraud being committed by Democrats in elections. Problem is -- they can't find evidence of it.
Watch Chris set the record straight: Subscribe to The Point on YouTube. | | Maeve Reston on why the California primary is no slam dunk for Kamala Harris
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Twitter is making us dumb(er)
Every HBO show ever, ranked | | | Gary Clark Jr.'s new album is a departure from his past releases. It's also really, really good. | | THAT WILL BE INTERESTING! | | President Donald Trump is making his first campaign visit to Iowa of 2019 in June.
There's no rally planned (just a fundraiser for the Iowa Republican Party, for now), but the stop will still be interesting.
That's because the latest 2020 target of Trump's ire will also happen to be in the state: Joe Biden. This will be Biden's second trip to Iowa since announcing his presidential run.
Will Iowa be big enough for both of them?
There aren't many details out yet about Biden's overlapping visit with Trump, but it seems fairly certain their paths won't cross. | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Michael Bennet: Gets his CNN Town Hall treatment tonight.
Julián Castro: Is the latest candidate to book a Fox News town hall. His will be on June 13 in Phoenix.
John Delaney: Has rolled out a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that includes rebuilding roads and bridges, rural broadband and boosting climate resiliency.
Elizabeth Warren: Released a calculator for child-care costs under her plan for universal pre-K and early childhood education. | | | | | | |
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