VOTERS' VOICES

Voters in several states Tuesday approved term limits for officeholders, but voters across the county used a different method to abbreviate the terms of incumbents: They voted for the challengers, in the process adding to a Republican maelstrom that swept from coast to coast. Not a single GOP incumbent senator, member of Congress or governor was defeated.

This was just one of the interesting results of Tuesday's general election. There were others too: New York's governor, Mario Cuomo, was defeated. Two powerful House members, Speaker Tom Foley of Washington and Ways and Means chairman Dan Rostenkowski of Illinois were ousted. With the gains in the election, Republican governors will lead 31 states, the most in nearly a quarter of a century.

But that isn't all. Voters spoke loudly and vigorously on a variety of state issues, and Missourians were among them.

The two most closely watched issues in the Show Me State were constitutional amendments allowing games of chance at riverboat casinos and requiring voter approval for virtually every tax increase. The gambling issue passed, but there was strong voter sentiment against it as well. The so-called Hancock II amendment, on the other hand, was trounced by a better than 2-to-1 margin as voters took heed of Doomsday predictions about severe cuts in state services and programs. Of Missouri's 114 counties, Amendment 7 won a majority in only three counties in Southwest Missouri, an area partial to U.S. Rep. Mel Hancock who hails from Srringfield.

The election was a watershed departure from the timid pattern of recent years in which voters said they wanted to throw out the bums but seldom did it. The new attitude of voters sends a strong message to Republicans and to the Clinton White House: Watch out in 1996. If the GOP honors its "Contract With America" and keeps its focus on real issues, the president can expect a tough time winning re-election. In fact, he might even face an uphill battle for the Democratic nomination.