STRONG WORDS DURING THE LEGISLATIVE DEBATE PRODUCE MIXED MESSAGES; THE EDITORIAL -- HOW LOW CAN THEY GO?

The following is an editorial from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

A last-minute break in the logjam last Friday (May 16) allowed the Missouri Legislature to produce a respectable record of achievement. But there was nothing respectable about the snide rhetoric and dirty tricks that permeated the Capitol in the session's closing days. The schoolchildren who packed the galleries for the time-honored springtime trip to Jefferson City didn't get much of an inspiration for a life of public service.

The most obvious example was the overheated debate on a proposal to allow a tax break for families who send children to private or parochial schools. The effort has been made for years, but for some reason the 1997 version was marked by an intemperance that was as embarrassing as it was wrong. Proponents of the idea attributed any opposition to -- in the supercharged words of Sen. Peter Kinder, a Cape Girardeau Republican -- "anti-Catholic bigotry" rather than a sincere and reasonable desire to keep government separate from religion.

The call was taken up Friday afternoon by a number of senators, most notably Democrat John Schneider of Florissant, who wasted more than two hours of precious time with the dubious proposition that government is punishing people who dare believe in God. Such arguments failed to sway a majority of the Legislature, but the strident nature of the debate prompted Gov. Mel Carnahan to rightfully complain of "terrorist procedure" used by lawmakers trying to foment "religious war."

Similar irresponsibility was shown in the argument that made this week's special session necessary: the refusal by anti-abortion legislators to allow family planning money to go to Planned Parenthood. With people like Democratic Rep. David Reynolds of Florissant leading the way by branding Planned Parenthood "evil," completion of the budget was held up beyond the deadline. As a result, lawmakers had to return to the Capitol, at a tab estimated at almost $23,000 a day. Taxpayers should remember the cost of the extremists' pique.

For downright nastiness, though, nothing can match the dirty tricks of Republican Sen. David Klarich of Ballwin in his opposition to helping secure affordable health insurance for children. Unable to block the legislation on its merits, he went to the secretary of state's office Friday and formed a dummy corporation called the "Healthy Missouri Children Corporation" -- the same name for the entity that would have been created by the bill.

Then he smugly told his colleagues they couldn't vote yes because the name could only be given to one nonprofit corporation, and he had already pre-empted its use. The bill died, killed by the stunt that Mr. Carnahan called "deceitful" and "despicable."

How low will the dirty tricksters go during the special session? On the last day of the regular session, House Majority Leader Gracia Backer appeared on the floor wearing full battle dress, complete with combat boots, helmet and flak jacket. As the budget war heats up, let's hope she doesn't need them.