Once again, the Clinton Administration has revealed itself to be totally out of step with American sentiment. One day before one of the most liberal courts in the country upheld the constitutionality of the California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) banning the use of preferences based on race or sex in any state action, a rather low profile but incredibly powerful office at the U.S. Labor Department sent a letter to 250 federal contractors in California, reminding them of their responsibility to "clarify and reinforce" affirmative action plans within their companies.

Almost two weeks ago, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to review the 3-0 decision by a panel of the court that upheld the constitutionality of CCRI. As a preemptive strike, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP), headed by deputy assistant secretary Shirley Wilcher, sent a letter to all their California contractors reminding them of their affirmative action obligations, whatever the ruling on CCRI.

Two years ago, the San Francisco Chronicle profiled Shirley Wilcher just as the fledgling CCRI campaign was gaining ground. Entitled "The Enforcer," the piece acknowledged the tremendous power of this little known woman and her office. "Enforcing racial and gender equality in the workplace by using billions of dollars in federal contracts is one of the most dramatic examples of social engineering that exists anywhere in government," wrote Louis Freedberg from the Chronicle's Washington Bureau. Money is quite a powerful incentive.

Wilcher sent the recent OFCCP letters calling for reinvigorated preference policies only to the 250 largest California contractors, confident this would "get the word out," as she told reporters, to the rest of the thousands of federal contractors in the state. Her message is clear: don't pay attention to those upstart Californians. If you want your money, follow OUR rules.

This sort of coercion is typical of the Administration's backroom dealings to keep preferences based on race and sex in place. In fact, the Administration has been fighting CCRI and all other attempts to dismantle the preference industry around the country.

For example, in December of 1996, Clinton's Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an unprecedented "friend of the court" brief supporting the ACLU's request to have the 9th Circuit Court overturn CCRI. Then in April of this year, after three appellate judges lifted the injunction on CCRI and ruled it constitutional, the DOJ instantly filed a brief supporting a rehearing - a rehearing that the 9th Circuit recently refused. It seems the Administration cannot read the writing on the wall.

Or look at the Administration's long and convoluted involvement with the Piscataway case in New Jersey, where the DOJ originally supported the school board that fired a teacher during cutbacks solely because she was white. A brief filed last Monday by the DOJ now says that the school's decision is not legally defensible, yet asks the Court to protect the idea of preferences in the noble (if amorphous) name of diversity.

But the 9th Circuit's decision holds an ominous note for President Clinton and his minions like Shirley Wilcher who have continued to fight for the expansion of preference programs around the country: the end is near. Through the courts and the legislative process, the American people are dismantling the preference industry in favor of a true opportunity society. As Ward Connerly, founder and Chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute has said, it's all over when the fat lady sings, and if you turn your ear just so, you can catch her humming in the wings. Apparently, the President is plugging his ears

- Katherine Post

Director of the Center for Enterprise and Opportunity