Here come the Republicans

KENNETT, Mo. -- Hold onto your hats, Missourians. We're about to witness a rare sight in our state Capitol. And most of us should be rejoicing, if not from partisan preference, then at least from the theoretical concepts of a people's democracy.

For the first time in more than half a century, the Grand Old Party will control the state's House of Representatives and maintain its control in the Senate.

This historic change in political domination in the legislative branch provides an opportunity for state government to adjust to constituent changes that have been apparent in the last two or three elections, changes that mirrored citizen dissatisfaction with some of the initiatives promoted primarily by the state's more liberal Democratic Party.

Perhaps more importantly, it restores a balance that is often thrown off center when one political faith, in this case the Democratic one, hangs around too long. That fountain of power is as addictive as any drug around, and folks who take it for granted are, someday and sometime, disappointed to learn that it has been shut down, awaiting further constituent orders.

Unless you are as old as the writer and knew Bus King, a once-unquestioned GOP boss of the General Assembly, you may be imagining all manner of radical changes that are being hatched these days in anticipation of January's convening. You are worrying way to much, particularly if you believe the direction of Missouri's ship of state is about to be radically changed and we suddenly find ourselves being governed by reactionaries who would make Trent Lott their guiding light and consider Pat Buchanan a bleeding-heart liberal.

America's various political constituencies have seldom been as radical as their opponents would have us believe. Indeed, one of the most significant of these moments occurred during the administration of a Republican, Abraham Lincoln, and the second was orchestrated by Franklin D. Roosevelt and became the New Deal in the 1930s.

It would be unfortunate if today's rampant public lethargy blocks citizens' view of the changing of the guard in the Capitol in January. It will take place quickly. If you blink, you could miss it. Gavels in both chambers will be held by Republicans, proper committee chairmen will be installed, the new reigning party will promise the inauguration of fairness and consideration of the wishes of all citizens, regardless of their standing in the community or the amount of the balance in their bank accounts.

All sorts of promises will be made, with the least believable being that the sun will shine a little brighter over a Republican domination Capitol than one controlled by the Democrats.

As for the rest of the inaugural promises, we can expect a more business-like state assembly, one less prone to embracing every social program handed down by Washington, and improved opportunities to banish government waste, all backed up by promises to let taxpayers keep a little more of their "hard-earned money," even if it happens to come from clipping coupons. After all, the political dogma most commonly embraced in America since the days of President Andrew Jackson has been to give voters what they want: more freebies at a lower cost.

If the state has a problem finding enough money to pay for earlier validated social programs, the answer is clear enough for anyone to see: reduce the programs to the level suggested by the status of the state treasury. The dilemma facing the GOP is that the answer is always much easier to supply than the actual remedy, so how do you cut off public assistance to an unemployed mother with three children who was gainfully employed until the recent recession triggered her dismissal before she could qualify for unemployment payments? I hope readers are mature enough to recognize that there is no right answer to this problem and certainly there is no Democratic or Republican "solution." Unless, of course, you still believe in the tooth fairy.

Over the years it has become clear and obvious that there are very few public issues that lend themselves to partisan solutions, particularly at the state governance level. Republican governors have been as anxious and as proactive in providing mental health services in the state as have the Democratic ones. And Democratic chief executives have been as supportive of industrial development programs as their Republican counterparts. As for enthusiasm for programs designed to enhance the lives of citizens still struggling to reach the mainstream, there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two political parties, even if their choice of words to describe their programs is different.

Surely we are mature enough to recognize that political careers are powered by only three ingredients: cash, gas and ego. There being no cure for this malady, political parties have been forced to set the standards, moving them to the lowest possible denominators. And if you believe your political party is somehow free of such ailments, then we are prepared to offer you some exceptional buys in a wondrous corporation known as Enron.

Republicans who take control of the Missouri House and Senate in a few days will do just fine. We need to overlook their exuberance, their foolish little post-election boasts of owning state government and their understandable desire to cement their popularity through good works. They're permitted their pontifications after an absence of 50 years, and they deserve the sincere applause of those who brought them back to life.

After all, had they not won in November, somebody was going to have to invent them, and the public is always better at this task than the politicians.

Welcome home, Republicans. It's been a long time, and you've been missed.

Jack Stapleton is the editor of Missouri News & Editorial Service.