FOR SALE: WHATEVER YOU WANT. SEE GOVERNOR

Aside from the questionable policy established by Gov. Bob Holden when he signed an executive order that forces state workers to pay union dues whether or not they choose to participate in any union, there is a seamier side to his action.

Based on comments made both by the governor and by union officials, it is now apparent that most if not all of the governor's huge debt for his $1 million inaugural party will disappear, thanks to generous donations from Big Labor -- the same unions that stand to get $8 million to $10 million a year from now on from state workers who aren't getting raises this year because of state overspending.

Such a multimillion-dollar deal is politics at its worst. Taxpayers of Missouri would do will to ask: What else is Governor Holden willing to sell before his term expires?