Vitriol eats at governance

As columnist Bob Gibson so rightly points out in today’s Commentary, mud-slinging may help a politician get elected but it doesn’t help him govern.

And with crises mounting and revenue plunging, Virginia desperately needs real governance, real leadership.

One pressing need is education. Virginia is being given failing grades for the affordability of higher education, and tuition costs are poised to climb higher as the economic crisis deepens and Richmond pulls back its support.

Here’s another example of the need for leadership, this one hot off the presses:

The American Society of Civil Engineers has just given Virginia a “D” on the condition of the commonwealth’s infrastructure.

That’s below average, folks — just shy of failing.

And that’s unacceptable.

Virginia has also been rated recently as the No. 1 state in which to do business, the fourth year that Forbes.com has bestowed this tribute.

But how long do you think Virginia can hold onto that spot if the state’s infrastructure crumbles underneath its commerce?

Businesses need good highways, rail lines and port facilities to move their products to market. They need high-speed data access to move information. They need to be sure that their water is clean to drink and feel secure that dams won’t fail, flooding their offices and factories.

Dams? Yes. Of the 125 dams identified because failure would cause loss of life and significant property damage, 15 percent of affected communities don’t even have an emergency action plan for dealing with such a catastrophe.

But of course the most important infrastructure need Virginia has at present is transportation. The ASCE cites the state’s top needs as roads, bridges and mass transit — but we already knew that.

We’ve sent our delegates and senators to Richmond to deal with it. Last summer they failed, once again, to truly address the problem even though they scheduled a special session in order to allow them to focus solely on this critical issue.

Of course, they needed the special session because they failed to deal with the issue during their regular session — just as they have failed year after year after year to address the fundamental changes that must be made to our transportation system.

So how does campaign mud-slinging fit into all this?

Here’s how:

It’s hard to reach across the aisle to cooperate with members of the opposite party when you’ve just spent the last five months or more trashing each other.

Negative campaigning spews vitriol that doesn’t magically disappear on the day after election. To the contrary, it breeds bitterness and vengefulness that cling to the body politic and corrode the processes of government.

Lawmakers can’t cooperate with each other, they can’t cooperate with other branches of government. All they now know how to do is bash and trash and clash.

This poison is sickening our great and noble commonwealth.

People, this has got to stop. It’s got to stop.