John Goolrick. For folks in Fredericksburg, to be mentioned in the same sentence with him is a peculiar honor. Half-historian, half-reporter, there’s probably not a better person to know and talk to when it comes to Virginia politics.
In short I’m a fan, and what he writes I read with great attention.
So naturally, when I see a column in the latest edition of Bacon’s Rebellion, I couldn’t help but take a look. With great precision, he comments on what many outsiders might remark as a strange friendship between Speaker Howell and Senator Chichester, and how such civility has been lost and forgotten by many today:
As anyone who follows state politics knows, there is a huge intra-party fight going on in the Virginia Republican Party involving taxes and spending. Howell and Chichester are at the very eye of the storm and have quite differing opinions on the subject. As for me, I don’t feel that I am the least bit under taxed, but when stuck in some horrendous traffic jam wonder where the money is going to come from to do something about all the congested roads.
But I’m glad Bill Howell and John Chichester are still friends despite their political differences. Their friendship harkens back to an era in state politics when there was much more civility. I doubt that ethos is destined to return, but hearing of it does bring back fond memories for an old political reporter who witnessed the days when Republicans and Democrats would fight for their views and bills by day and drink together by night at the Holiday Inn Downtown bar.
Nowadays in the halls of the Capitol, some Republicans are not even on speaking terms with others.
Ah, to be able to genuinely disagree and debate the merits of a political issue. . .
Truth be told, the Howell/Chichester friendship is something I understand without a second thought. For a long time, I’ve been of the opinion that it’s the hallmark of an open-minded person to be able to abstract ideas from individuals. I can think of a number of local Democrats I would much rather speak with than some of my fellow Republicans. I would like to think – however naively – that politics didn’t always have to be a bloodsport, but perhaps I too am reminiscing of a day and discourse that is slipping away. Look at the way we eviscerate politicians that slip up, or how we prefer headlines (and blogs?) to an in-depth story.
Goolrick’s lament is right. May those days speedily return!