Billy Long: Once again, Democrats choose conflict over compromise

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

In February 2018, the Trump administration announced it would add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

The goal was to ensure minorities are treated fairly under the Voting Rights Act and to establish who is and is not a U.S. citizen. To no surprise, it didn’t take long before Democrats began calling this push by President Trump racist.

However, if Democrats took the time to do their homework, they would find that adding a citizenship question to the Census isn’t a new idea. 

In fact, the government has asked this question several times on the Census in the past as well as surveys it currently sends out. One of those surveys includes the American Community Survey, which has been sent out each year since 2005, to provide information on the U.S. population. Were Democrats outraged and calling President Bush racist? No. It wasn’t until President Trump wanted to add the question to the census that it became a political pawn.

Democratic states and organizations made multiple attempts to ensure this question was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but thankfully, it didn’t work. 

Although the Supreme Court in late June rejected the Trump administration’s reasoning for wanting to include it on the 2020 Census, the Supreme Court ruled that the question was constitutional, but the administration first needed to find a better reason before it can add it to the Census.

Shortly after the ruling, President Trump announced an executive order that requires all federal departments and agencies to provide the Department of Commerce with records on the number of citizens and non-citizens in the U.S. This will allow for better public policymaking and provide states with more accurate information when administering elections.

Sadly, Democrats have refused to accept the Supreme Court’s decision and President Trump’s recent actions and have continued their efforts to pursue meritless litigation and investigations. 

The most recent example of this is a resolution to hold Attorney General Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress. This baseless action comes out of desperation to prove the White House had intentions to weaponize the Census, even though President Trump is no longer seeking to include the citizenship question on the 2020 Census.

Again and again, Democrats show they have no intention of working with Republicans. At every turn, Democrats would rather choose conflict over compromise. You would think they would get tired of it by now, but it doesn’t look like that’s the case.