POLITICAL PROTOCOL: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS, STRONG FOES

Although there are few rules of protocol in politics, it's considered poor form to speak unkindly of an opponent if he's in your presence. Under the same code, it's perfectly permissible to liken your political enemies to members of the John Gotti clan as long as they're out of the room. Thus when state Sen. Norman Merrell recently endorsed the candidacy of St. Louis Mayor Vince Schoemehl, all eyes focused on Lt. Gov. Mel Carnahan who was standing not three feet away. Both Schoemehl and Carnahan are engaged in a contest for this year's Democratic nomination for governor, and both found themselves in a small overcrowded room as Merrell addressed reporters covering a recent Democratic rally at Hannibal.

Animosity between Carnahan and Merrell seems not to have subsided since they battled in the 1984 gubernatorial primary that was won by then Lt. Gov. Ken Rothman. Carnahan ran second, while Merrell was third, with less than 6,400 votes separating them in the 7-man primary. Rothman went on to lose in the November general election to John A~shcroft. Politics makes strange bedfellows and strong enemies.

---

Missouri legislators may soon approve a measure that could have your local hospital advertising bargain prices for tonsillectomies and gallbladder operations. If so, the hospitals can blame a physician, state Sen. Marvin Singleton, Joplin Republican, whose measure would require price disclosure of surgery and hospital care. The facilities would report their current charges to the state's Department of Health, which in turn would be required to publish and distribute a consumers' guide. Sen. Singleton, who won the right to represent his area of the state (32nd District) following the death of Sen. Dick Webster, is an ear, nose and throat specialist a rare breed in Missouri political circles.

---

When Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton finished ad~dressing more than 3,600 party faithful attending a Democratic rally at ~Hannibal the other evening, there was no doubt who most would support when they went to delegate caucuses. Although there were plenty of Tsongas, Harkin and even Brown buttons on display prior to Clinton's arrival, they seemed to disappear after the speaker demonstrated his oratorical skills to party members who had waited nearly two hours for his arrival, foregoing a banquet until the guest of honor showed up. There was surprisingly little grumbling despite the fact attendees were both tired and hungry which proves political fans don't live by bread alone, particularly if they believe their party has a shot at winning the next election.

---

No timetable has been set for Gov. John Ashcroft's announcement of his selection for an ~April 1 vacancy on the M~issouri Supreme Court. The opening will occur with the mandatory age retirement of Judge Charles Blackmar. One feature of this selection makes it unusual in Missouri judicial history: this marks the first time a governor has ordered a background investigation of the three nominees chosen by the appellate judicial commission. The checks are being run by officers of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who have interviewed the nominees, their wives and outside sources and run the regular paper trails. The three nominees are W. Ray Price, Kansas City; John Oliver, Cape Girardeau; and Judge E. Richar~d Webber, Memphis, Mo.

A second vacancy on the state's highest court will occur ~April 7, when Judge Albert Rendlen also reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70. ~When the governor makes the appointment of Judge Rendlen's successor, he will again enter ~Missouri's history books by virtue of naming every member of the Supreme Court a first for any state chief executive.

---

The odds are that this year's General Assembly will for the first time enact limits on campaign contributions for both state and local candidates. While the Senate is still perfecting a measure sponsored by Sen. Wayne Goode, St. Louis County Democrat, passage of a fund limitation law seems probable. The limits provided in Goode's measure include no more than $2,500 from any single source for a gubernatorial candidate, scaling down to $500 in jurisdictions under 100,000 population. The bill also imposes aggregate totals, limiting gubernatorial candidates to collecting no more than $1.5 million over a four-year period. Lower limits are set for offices below that of governor.

---

Some members of the House Ethics Committee vow to put an end to what many view as an alarming trend: the creation of special legislative groups or caucuses that permit lobbyists to wine and dine lawmakers without identifying them. The state's new ethics law virtually ended lobbyist food-and-wine spending during the 1991 session, but creative legislators soon devised a way to circumvent detection, by way of lobbyists' filed expense reports, through the formation of special caucus groups. Who says we don't have creative government in ~Missouri?