CENSUS 2000: ABIDE BY THE CONSTITUTION

One of the worst ideas ever promoted by any American president is the Clinton administration's plan for the 2000 census. The Clinton administration wants to replace actual counting of individuals with a form of statistical sampling. This is wrong, even laughable when you think about it.

The Constitution says that every 10 years there shall be conducted a national census, which shall consist of an "actual enumeration" of American citizens. This means, as the dictionary defines it, "to count off or name one by one." For 220 years, this has been taken by all to mean, and has been executed in, the straightforward manner the language would indicate. Until the Clinton administration. This administration's theory apparently is that using an actual count results in an under-count of individuals residing in certain neighborhoods and demographic groups, usually minorities.

As The Wall Street Journal put it this week:

"In ... statistical sampling, the Census Bureau would have to make a whole series of decisions about what kind of districts to sample, and how much to adjust different results. Though there may be some defensible scientific basis for doing this, the decisions would be subject to political pressure every step of the way. Who would trust the Census Bureau to stand up to this administration if it tried to twist the results?"

Everyone in rural and small-town America should recognize the Clinton census plan for what it is: A brazen power grab for large urban areas. Want to hand another congressional district each to Chicago, Los Angeles and New York at the expense of smaller states such as Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri? Statistical sampling in place of an actual count is the way to go.

Now comes a three-judge panel of the federal courts, which has unanimously shot down the Clinton administration's census plan. The lawsuit was filed by the majority in the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The unambiguous court decision slapping down the Clinton census plan may put the kibosh on another scheme the administration was cooking up. That was the Clinton plan to use this controversy over statistical sampling as a pretext for vetoing the congressional budget bill that will shortly be headed for his desk. Then you could end up with another close-down-the-government showdown over the budget this fall, of the sort this president used to his advantage back in 1995. Tsk, tsk: Those pesky federal judges, who insist on reading the Constitution and applying the plain meaning of its words.

REDISTRICTING IN ARKANSAS

Speaking of representation in Congress and the state legislatures, it is dependent on two processes: The census, mentioned above, and the redistricting process. In Missouri as in most states, every 10 years redistricting lands in the laps of state lawmakers, frequently ending up in the federal courts to finish the job when lawmakers can't.

In neighboring Arkansas, the crucial redistricting process resides not with the state Legislature but among a panel consisting of the governor, the attorney general and another statewide elected official. This makes the outcome of the race for attorney general crucial to the coming electoral map for the next decade. Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is expected to win easy re-election, is steering campaign money and support to GOP attorney general candidate Helen Dickey.

"Long term, redistricting may be the most important issue of this campaign," said GOP consultant John Morgan, a Virginia-based apportionment expert. Thus the 1998 elections are crucial for another reason: the power to draw electoral maps for another 10 years.