Karl Rove Appears in Ad Supporting Census

While some conservatives have stirred suspicion among their constituents about filling out the 2010 census form, Karl Rove is urging everyone to stand up and be counted. In a 30-second ad, the former adviser to George W. Bush talks about James Madison, one of his "favorite founders" and the man who wrote the census requirement into the Constitution.

"He created an instrument of democracy by writing into the Constitution a requirement for a census every 10 years to ensure fair representation in Congress," Rove says. "Please answer the 10 easy questions -- they're almost the same ones Madison helped write for the first census in 1790."

In an e-mail to The Washington Post, Rove said he agreed to participate because the census "settles apportionment of Congress and the current distrust of Washington should not discourage people from being counted." According the Post, the president of the National Council of Negro Women, Dorothy Height, will film a similar ad encouraging minority responses in several major cities.

Last summer, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said she would not complete her census form because it represented government intrusiveness. She changed her tune more recently when it became apparent that she could lose her congressional district if too few constituents heeded her advice and went uncounted.