JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri General Assembly opened the 2004 legislative session with talk of working together and putting aside old differences. But whether that sentiment will hold remains to be seen -- and in fact by day's end, the bipartisan hand-holding was already starting to wear thin.
House Speaker Catherine Hanaway ushered in the new session by extending an apparent olive branch to Governor Bob Holden and the Democrats, saying she wanted to "leave last year's fights to last year."
"Last year, I stood here and in a confrontational tone told the Governor a list of things he better not do," Hanaway said. "This year, I say, Governor, I have no advice for you, but I am extending a hand."
Hanaway told her fellow legislators that first order of business was to "cut the ties that bind the potential of Missourians."
"The first rope that should be cut is all the partisan fighting," she said.
But on the other side of the Capitol, apparently Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder and Minority Leader Ken Jacob had no interest in cutting that rope. Both men are running for Lietenant Governor in November, and they unofficially launched their campaigns by taking each other on Tuesday afternoon in dueling impromptu press conferences on the Senate floor.
"It would be nice if on every issue we could hold hands and sit around the campfire singing 'Kumbaya,'" Kinder said. "There are some things you have to fight."
Kinder said he did not think the fact that he and Jacob were both running for the same office would "inject an additional element of rancor" into the Senate's proceedings this term.
But Jacob subsequently referred to Kinder as "my Kumbaya friend," and said he planned to push for the revision of Senate rules he thought gave Kinder too much power as President Pro Tem.
Jacob also told reporters that he thought the Republicans were pushing a "radical" agenda and that they wanted "to turn the world upside down" -- even going so far as to call the plan the "Karl Rove, George W. Bush, Peter Kinder agenda."
When it came to members of the House of Representatives, the mood was still kinder and gentler -- but some local legislators had doubts about whether the two sides could really come together this session.
"We'll have to see," said Rep. Kevin Wilson. "It is an election year." Wilson will be reintroducing a worker's compensation bill this session, legislation that could once again be a rallying cry for both sides of the aisle.
Rep. Marilyn Ruestman said she saw room for compromise on some of the more moderate legislation. But when it came to the big contentious issues -- including taxes, tort reform and worker's compensation -- the two sides were unlikely to agree.
"In some ways, you can't really make those issues non-partisan," Ruestman said, saying they highlighted a clear difference in philosophy between the two parties.
Rep. Steve Hunter also said he did not expect the non-partisanship to last very long this session. Hunter said when it comes to issues such as the size of government, its relationship with businesses, and the role of social services, the two sides had distinctly different ideas about what was best for Missourians.
Republicans control 90 seats in the House, compared to the Democrats' 72. Republicans also have a 20-14 majority in the Senate.