01:00 AM EDT on Monday, June 21, 2004

Rhode Island's unions, in the guise of the group Working Rhode Island, have delivered on a threat to go after Governor Carcieri unless he keeps his mouth shut about public-employee unions' handsome taxpayer-funded benefits and clout with the General Assembly.

Union leaders say they tried to take the nice approach, but when the governor criticized them, they had no choice but to respond. Another way of looking at it is that the governor refused to be scared into silence.

And so a campaign of ads against the governor has been unleashed. One published recently featured unattractive pictures of Governor Carcieri and slammed him for the pension he receives as a retired corporate executive. What it didn't point out is that the taxpayers pay for public-employee benefits -- not for Governor Carcieri's private pension -- and that most of the taxpayers doing the paying do not receive benefits nearly as plush. Nor does the ad point out that property taxes are going through the roof in many communities, and that elected officials are unable to manage efficiently, in part because of giveaways in contract negotiations.

The union leaders say their latest attack was in response to a May 10 fundraising letter by the governor. The letter said, in part: "We must curtail the powerful union influence that pervades government in Rhode Island. . . . We must reign [sic] in government spending to make Rhode Island more competitive with neighboring states. We must stop the outrageous increases in health care premiums and mandate that public sector employees in our state pay their fair share."

In a state where politicians have traditionally been too fearful to awaken powerful enemies, this talk borders on heresy. The unions consider it politically motivated, an attempt by the governor to use union bashing to get enough Republicans into the Assembly to sustain his vetoes. But many taxpayers view the governor's comments as the unvarnished truth about politics in the Ocean State.

Rhode Islanders endure some of the nation's highest taxes. They pay for first-rate public education but do not receive it. Businesses are discouraged from moving in, and well-to-do retirees are driven out. A slight adjustment in state politics from serving the special interests to serving the general interest would greatly benefit the vast majority of Rhode Islanders.

Whether Governor Carcieri will get anywhere with that message is yet to be seen. But the union leaders have made clear they will go after him for trying. Both sides, of course, have every right, under the First Amendment, to engage in vigorous debate, and to sharply criticize opponents.

The voters, as always, will ultimately sort this out, deciding what kind of government they want.