DEMOCRATS, GOVERNOR AT ODDS IN JEFFERSON CITY

A curious situation exists today in Jefferson City, where Gov. Mel Carnahan is having troubles with his own Democrats in the General Assembly. That would be the same governor who was re-elected by a heavy majority last year, and those would be the same Democrats who have enjoyed majority status in both houses of the General Assembly for more than four decades.

It can't be denied that part of the explanation for the trouble lies in today's closer partisan divide in both houses: In the Senate, the margin is 19 Democrats to 15 Republicans, while the House counts 87 Democrats, 75 Republicans and one independent. In the House especially, where 82 votes are required to pass any measure, there is precious little margin for error. A handful of defectors, and any party-line deal will collapse.

The simple fact is that Carnahan is markedly to the left of the Democratic majority caucuses, House and Senate. Abortion is one issue. Carnahan is stubbornly pro-choice, insisting on funding Planned Parenthood, America's largest abortionist, and even refusing to say whether he will sign or veto the ban on partial-birth abortions now on his desk after being passed overwhelmingly in both chambers.

Or take taxes. It is now 18 months since Carnahan took to the House podium and promised tax cuts. This he couldn't deliver last year, while for the second year in a row the issue came down to the final day. With much Democratic support, the Senate passed a tax deduction for parents of children attending parochial schools. Carnahan is adamantly opposed. But look around: In one form or another, parental choice in education is on the march in nearly every state. His intransigence on the issue has led to sharp words with his fellow Democratic leaders in the General Assembly. It threatens to sink his promised tax cuts for a second year.

Missourians are watching to see whether the Carnahan administration can get its act together and deliver on its promise to Missourians. Thus far in 1997, they've seen mostly chaos.