A lamentable trend in American politics these last 15 years or so is what some writers have called "the criminalization of politics."

In some quarters, it seems, it isn't enough to disagree with your opponents, nor even to defeat them in free and open debate or at the ballot box. You must go down to the kennel and turn the dogs loose on your opponents. You must set in motion the criminal process against those with whom you disagree. The end for your opponents mustn't be merely to win a contest against them. Your goal must be their prosecution, conviction, fines, jail -- ruin.

Such a fate is in store for this writer, it would seem, if certain factions in the fever swamps of the left-wing unions have their way.

"State Employees Ask Attorney General to Investigate State Senator Pete Kinder/ Kinder's E-Mail to State Employees Violates State Statute, Attempts to Intimidate Union Supporters."

So reads the headline over an Aug. 23 press release from the worthies at our friendly local Service Employees International Union.

The union's press release, I wryly noted to news media types seeking a response, appears to be a non-union, or scab, job: There is no union bug on it at all.

My offense? Sending an e-mail to 20-something-thousand state employees, vowing to defend them from the coming, mandatory Holden lug of $20 a month on their pay, whether they want to join the union or not. The Holden lug will follow his decision to unionize your state government by executive order.

A potential of millions flowing into union coffers makes clear the stakes for the government-employee union crowd. With private-sector union membership at historic lows, government is where the growth action is for them.

In the little press release, the union folks cited the attorney general to Section 105.510 of the Missouri Revised Statutes as the section allegedly violated. Missing from their complaint was the text of Section 105.055, in the same chapter: "1. No supervisor or appointing authority of any state agency shall prohibit any employee of the agency from discussing the operations of the agency, either specifically or generally, with any member of the legislature or the state auditor."

So, how goes the response from the rank and file -- the folks whom the unions believe I'm guilty of intimidating?

As of Friday morning, we have the following tally, which doesn't include those from another e-mail account, where the responses are 100 percent in favor of my position: 146 pro-e-mail and 23 anti-e-mail plus five pro-collective bargaining.

The pro-e-mail responses are in favor of my sending the e-mail and very supportive of my efforts to investigate the issues surrounding the executive order on bargaining. The anti-e-mails are upset that I used the state e-mail system to send them a message but aren't supportive of the governor's executive order. The pro-collective bargaining responses are in favor of the executive order and don't support my sending them an e-mail on this issue.

At the guardhouse entrance to your beautiful state capitol, inscribed in stone, there is a telling legend for all who enter, placed there by our wise founding fathers: "Be just and fear not." Just so. Our work continues, undeterred by our friends in the union movement, laboring overtime, it would seem, to put this writer in jail.

~Peter Kinder is assistant to the chairman of Rust Communications and president pro tem of the Missouri Senate.