MISSOURI WATCH: BEEN TO ANY GOOD PARTIES LATELY?

Speaking at the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau the other day, the former U.S. senator from Illinois, Paul Simon, urged his listeners to forget their partisan preferences and solve society's problems as Americans rather than Democrats or Republicans. It was good advice, although not likely to be heeded by the party faithful of either group, despite former Alabama Gov. George Wallace's declaration that "there's not a dime's worth of difference between the two."

There are signs, however, that at least a portion of Paul Simon's advice is being followed by today's younger generation, many of whom evidence little or no respect for partisanship and seem indifferent to any philosophical differences between liberal and conservative, two words that once differentiated our state and national politics. Younger citizens have responded negatively to both parties in poll after poll, and their lack of participation in party efforts and meetings confirms this disdain.

It is foolish to claim, as some do, that our two major parties are losing their influence in Washington and Jefferson City. Party allegiance is still the essence of governance at both levels and is likely to remain so for some time. Our state and federal legislatures are organized by the party that wins more votes in the last election; each sponsors programs deemed essential to the future of the republic or its own future; each party assumes responsibility for electing the executive officers and thus the control of the administrative machinery that runs the nuts-and-bolts programs that serve the public.

Missouri was at the forefront nearly 60 years ago in ending party control of the judicial branch, and today many other states have a judicial-selection system similar to ours. Missourians decided several generations ago that while it was perfectly acceptable to inject politics in ways we care for our poor and our mentally ill, it was unwise to permit partisanship in how our courts operated. Logic would tell us this is a fine distinction between what is nonpartisan and what is acceptably partisan. Indeed, shouldn't the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education be as free of politics as a Missouri Court of Appeals? Shouldn't public health and welfare programs be as nonpartisan as the state's Supreme Court?

It has been argued that man, by his very nature, is a political animal, an argument that receives considerable credence in quarters where the Civil War is still an issue and where Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt are revered as guardian angels of conflicting ideologies. It is possible there are still those among us who preach that the opposition party is composed of evil, scheming and desperate men who will stop at nothing, including murder, to gain their point of view. Thank heavens their children's children take a dim view of such nonsense, replacing it with views that may not be more intelligent but are certainly less biased.

Simon, who maintained friendships on both sides of the aisle in Congress, was viewed as an effective legislator not because he was a Democrat in an almost continually Democratic body during his tenure, but because he presented a pragmatic approach to governing that is missed in both state and federal capitols. This is not to say that he often strayed from party-line votes in Congress; he did not venture forth into independent thought on any daily basis but he did reserve the right to join the enemy when he felt they were correct on important issues. To be perfectly blunt about it, Missouri has few members from either party who demonstrate such independence, and that is regrettable for both their supporters and their antagonists.

The party lines drawn in Jefferson City are less indelible than those in Washington, and again, thank heavens. But the minority party is still punished for its allegiance in too many inexcusable ways. Those who are disregarded because of party allegiance cannot effectively represent their constituents and too often are prohibited from even introducing legislation that would serve the best interests of all citizens, not just a bare majority.

In a real sense, political control in a democratic society is a dichotomy. Single-party agendas are not democratic by their very nature, nor are they likely to become more so by partisan dominance of legislative machinery. Someday we should see an elected official who will declare the kind of independence Simon challenges us to adopt. Someday we hope to see Democrats and Republicans give a party and no one shows.

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.