WASHINGTON INSIGHT

LOUD SILENCE: President Clinton expressed disappointment privately to friends and aides that he had not received a single phone call or note of condolence from a Republican in the four days after Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown died in a plane crash in Croatia last week. Although Republicans, including Sen. Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas and House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, expressed their sympathies to Brown’s family directly, Clinton saw their lack of communication with him as a reflection of the political climate now reigning in the capital, according to someone who heard his remarks. He mentioned their silence more in sorrow than anger, and said it demonstrated what he thought was a “mean streak” in Republican politics today. Many Democrats had spoken to the president about Brown’s death, and Clinton recalled that Brown himself had visited former Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater in the hospital and attended his funeral five years ago.

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AIDS IN MILITARY: One obstacle to congressional action on the long-awaited budget bill is a new law requiring the Pentagon to discharge military personnel infected with the virus that causes AIDS. As part of a bill to fund much of the government for the rest of fiscal 1996, the Senate voted to repeal the requirement. But the House did not. When House and Senate negotiators start meeting next week to finish the budget bill, they are expected to consider a compromise that would extend the deadline for discharging people with HIV. The law requires their discharge by Aug. 10. But Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), author of the requirement, proposes changing the date to Jan. 1, 1997, to allow time for senators who dislike the law to “get educated on the pandemic.” However, opponents--including Senate Appropriations Chairman Mark O. Hatfield (R-Ore.)--do not think delaying the discharge is much of a compromise and will fight it when the talks resume.

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GETTING TOUGH: An arm of the Treasury Department is considering stricter financial reporting rules for card clubs to discourage money-laundering. The crackdown by Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network would stem, in part, from allegations of skimming, cheating, stealing and payoffs at the Bicycle Club, a Bell Gardens, Calif., card club seized by the federal government six years ago. Until now, Treasury has not imposed the rules on card clubs on the grounds that they are not like full-scale casinos, which provide a range of financial services and take a percentage of the gaming transactions for acting as the “house.” But now, authorities believe, the card clubs have grown to the point that they generate huge revenues, making them an inviting site for those who want to launder millions of dollars. Authorities also believe that the clubs are more active in operations than merely providing a location for card players. The Treasury Department recently extended the more stringent rules to Indian gaming establishments.

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YIN’S BACK IN: The Republican half of the Yin and Yang political odd couple Mary Matalin and James Carville is taking a senior position in Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole’s presidential campaign. Dole aides said that Matalin will have a major role alongside campaign manager Scott Reed and Don Sipple, the campaign’s top strategist. Matalin served as President Bush’s political director in the 1992 campaign, while Carville was Bill Clinton’s chief strategist. The Clinton reelection campaign has yet to carve out an official role for Carville, although the mercurial Cajun is in regular communication with the president about broad themes and strategies. Matalin will step down as co-host of the CNBC television program “Equal Time” to assume her new role, although she will continue to serve as host of a CBS radio show.