Republicans mail another 'Census' form

By Ed O'Keefe

The National Republican Congressional Committee has sent supporters a mailer with the word "Census" featured prominently throughout the document.

Democrats, senior citizen groups, public opinion researchers -- even a former Republican-appointed Census director -- recently criticized a similar mailing by the Republican National Committee, arguing it could confuse elderly Americans on the lookout for the government's decennial census questionnaires. The U.S. Census Bureau will mail the decennial forms next month.

The RNC mailing and envelope included the words "Census" and "Official Document" and were deemed legal by the Postal Service because they did not explicitly use the words "U.S. Census Bureau" or the agency's official seal.

Nonetheless, three Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill this week that would require mailings with the word "census" to clearly indicate the sender's name and return address and an unambiguous statement that the mailing is not associated with the U.S. Census Bureau.

The new mailing, from the NRCC, includes a fundraising solicitation and begins with a letter from House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio):

"You are one of a carefully selected group of Republican leaders nationwide receiving the enclosed CENSUS DOCUMENT containing your 2010 Census of America's Republican Leadership," the letter states. Boehner asks the recipient to complete the form to help end "Nancy Pelosi's reign as Speaker" and "the Obama administration's radical leftist agenda."

The document then asks participants several questions consistent with the Republican Party platform or rhetoric.

"Do you agree that Speaker Pelosi damaged our counter-terrorism efforts when she accused the CIA of lying without providing any evidence?" the document asks.

“It's clear in the document that this is an NRCC mailer used to collect the opinions of Republicans and, if they're willing, donations to help us retire Nancy Pelosi as Speaker," said NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay. "Unlike the Census Bureau's Super Bowl ad, the response has been positive.”

The agency's Super Bowl ad was widely panned, and deemed too expensive and confusing by critics.

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