From the Times:

Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrew Thursday as the nominee for commerce secretary, saying he had “irresolvable conflicts” with President Obama over his economic stimulus plan and a concern over what many fellow Republicans believe is the politicization of the 2010 census.

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Time was (during Bush years) the New Yorker did a long form article about the dangers of politicizing the census, redistricting, and gerrymandering.
From the New Yorker piece:

The struggle over redistricting amounted to a Promethean display of political power by DeLay, and his subsequent downfall has been similarly epic.

And:
The Democrats, in addition to challenging the gerrymander on the ground that it is excessively partisan, have asserted…

And:
Ultimately, DeLay’s extremism may turn out to have been a national service, if it compels the Supreme Court to confront the problem of uncompetitive congressional elections.

And:
Democrats would need to win only seventeen new seats—or about four per cent of the Congress—in order to regain the majority. But the extreme gerrymandering in most states makes the Democrats’ challenge nearly impossible, even in a year when national political trends may favor them.

And:
In 2004, Democrats in Pennsylvania presented the Supreme Court with a direct challenge to the practice of partisan gerrymandering

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Thus……All in All democrats were pretty upset about any tomfoolery with the census and what can then be done (redistricting and gerrymandering) with those results.

Now, let me tell you how I would have howled if above and beyond the nasty Tom Delay strong-arm redistricting tactics in Texas, Bush had commandeered the census from the Commerce Department and handed it over to Rove for, at best, extremely questionable shenanigans.

When Obama nominated a republican (Senator Gregg) to head up the Commerce Department, he forgot that Commerce does census; the New York Times quickly reminded Mr. Obama, and Obama pulled the plug on Commerce and Census. Obama, essentially did the equivalent of handing Karl Rove the census—this one goes to Rahm Emanuel. This turns my stomach! This is Rovian politics; this is political hardball Obama Style. Whatever it takes no matter what. Don’t like your competition on the ballot, get them tossed out by whatever dubious means necessary. Don’t like pesky campaign finance rules, ignore them and take millions in illegal donations; can’t get to the White House without sexism?...embrace it. Can’t win a caucus without busing in votes, no problem.

Now, so sadly, CNN, the Times, or evening news will not detail this issue, and don’t look for a New Yorker article that roundly condemns Obama for politicizing the census or dismantling campaign finance for decades to come. (CNN is to busy dishing out Obama propaganda—an entire Day of …Obama is just like Lincoln.) Democracy depends upon the press doing its job; it does not depend upon the Press electing the candidate it likes and then refusing to tell uncomfortable truths about The One they selected! A little help please!

Mr. Gregg was correct to turn his nose up at the nomination after Obama tried to hardball the census. Obama and Tom Delay are quite equal in many ways; it’s just that Obama is a far smoother talker. Tom Delay killed pests; Obama puts a bit of spit and polish on them and then smiles and rides his nose high as he sells them to us. Press,do your job on this story. This is a story for more than Fox to report on. This is a STORY. Get it?

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/03/06/060306fa_fact