Count GOP lawmaker as disgusted with his party’s use of ‘census’ in fundraising mail

GOP lawmaker disgusted with RNC ‘census’ mailings

WASHINGTON — You can count at least one partisan Republican as disgusted with his party’s fundraising letters that appear to be from the Census Bureau.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sponsored legislation that passed the House unanimously Wednesday to stop the GOP tactic. The bill went to the Senate.

Issa was angry that this was the second time the message had to be sent to the Republican National Committee — already in trouble with some of its supporters for spending $1,946 at a sex-themed California nightclub.

The RNC found a loophole in a law passed just weeks ago, as the 2010 census was underway. The original statute requires nongovernment mailings using the word “census” on the outside of the envelope to have a disclaimer that it is not a government document and to display the sender’s return address.

The law was passed after the RNC used the word “census” on the envelope of a January mailing.

The RNC skirted the new law in a new mailing that had the word visible through a plastic window. Issa’s bill would extend the restrictions to any visible use of the word “census.”

Issa said, “When it comes to the census there is no separation between Republicans and Democrats. Working together we thought we put an end to this deceptive practice. Unfortunately, the foolishness of the RNC to move forward with yet another deceptive mail piece has caused us to act again.”