Editorial: Politics lost in nastiness

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | 9:03 a.m.

Partisanship shouldn't be seen as something inherently bad. It's important that Democrats and Republicans have core ideological beliefs which they will defend. But the political atmosphere in Washington has become so poisoned by a vicious kind of partisanship -- notwithstanding a bipartisan compromise that was struck Monday in the Senate over confirmation votes on federal judicial nominees -- that it's tough to find common ground on the top issues affecting our nation. Not so surprisingly, then, Americans hold a dim view of Congress, a situation for which Republican leaders deserve much of the blame for their invective and strong-arm tactics. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll released last week found that the job-approval rating of Congress was at its lowest point since 1994, the year that Democrats lost control of Congress to the GOP, a sign that shoul d trouble the Republican-led Congress.

In light of this, it was encouraging to read a story in Monday's USA Today that showed how, away from the nation's capital, governors and legislators in the states have frequently been able to work together and avoid the nasty partisanship that dominates Washington. The story notes that while partisanship still exists at the state level, voters demand pragmatism on bread-and-butter issues that affect them directly -- such as schools and roads -- and these officials often deliver. Additionally, constitutional limits, such as passing a balanced budget, out of necessity require legislators and governors to be more accommodating of the other party's views.

The USA Today story didn't mention Nevada, but our state historically has had governors and state legislators who have been able to work together without resorting to bitter partisanship. Our current governor, Republican Kenny Guinn, in 2003 pushed through the largest tax increase in Nevada history, a boost that was supported by both Republican and Democratic legislators. And while some Republican legislators -- and their enablers in the right-wing media -- said the economy would suffer terribly after the tax increase, Nevada's economy is even stronger today than before the hike in taxes. It is proof that, even on a volatile issue such as taxes, state legislators can do the right thing.

Nevertheless, it's an indication of how broken things are in Washington that it is hard to muster much optimism that members of Congress can actually bridge their differences on some of the most critical issues facing our country -- health care and Social Security, to name but two. It's long past time for Washington to take its cue from the states on how to get things done -- unless, of course, Congress wants to sink even lower in the eyes of the public.