Kayla Muñecas, Assistant News Editor
VCU’s Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs held a “Virginia at 250” symposium to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary on Sep. 1.
The panelists included Robyn Diehl McDougle, interim dean of the Wilder School, former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, former Gov. Jim Gilmore and political analyst and founder of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, Larry Sabato.
Political analyst Bob Holsworth mediated the panel.
“The Wilder School’s symposium is one of our key programs that we do annually and it really follows what [former] Gov. Wilder is always saying, which is that the people are ahead of the politicians and politics,” McDougle said.
The panel’s discussion surrounded concerns about democracy and heightened political polarization and how Virginians feel about the state’s direction and the importance of civil discourse.
McDougle, who established the Commonwealth Poll, said that Virginia differs in comparison to other states because it is more issue driven rather than party driven.
“Our founding fathers would have been very ecstatic for that kind of bipartisan belief for around one issue,” McDougle said. “That’s an example and a very partisan decision that policies really are impacting voter interests.”
McDougle said Spanberger came into office at the height of redistricting efforts and likely struggled to frame the issues on her agenda due to redistricting.
According to McDougle, a Commonwealth Poll showed that Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s approval rating fell in the low 40s, despite winning the election by double-digits.
“One of the things I think did drive a bit of that was the uncertainty with the budge” McDougle said. “The budget is a relationship between the legislature and the governor, and it’s the longest we’ve gone without a budget.”
Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore said that parties have evolved beyond what they once were.
“This is no longer the Democratic and Republican parties of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, that’s not what’s going on,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore said he believes the media is partially to blame for intense partiality.
“The problem is that the public is not being discerning about what they’re seeing and whether or not they’re making a decision based upon propaganda or reality,” Gimore said. “And this is heightened by this media society that we live in.”
Political analyst Larry Sabato said that knowledge is key in facilitating discussion.
“When we don’t know what’s going on and we don’t understand the issues…we can’t make a well-informed choice,” Sabato said. We have to understand that both sides have something to be said.”
According to a Commonwealth Poll in February, over 40% of Virginians reported that they headed to the polls over concerns of maintaining democracy.
According to a Commonwealth Poll in July, 81% of registered voters support requiring data centers to offset their impact on the state’s electric infrastructure. Seventy two percent of registered voters opposed granting data centers tax cuts as incentive.
Sabato said that if politicians do not explain their plans of action involving data centers to the public, they should not be surprised by the public’s reaction.
“That’s one reason why [the Iran] war is becoming extremely massively unpopular,” Sabato said. “Data centers are another good example.”
Sabato said that in stagnant political times, voters tend to vote for the opposition and demand quick change, forgetting however unhappy they might have been with their predecessor.
Wilder prompted Spanberger to heed the polls and begin to work on the issues she campaigned on.
“If you resonate with the people, if you listen to the people, if you do something and the record shows that you have done something for the people, they’ll hear you,” Wilder said. “And once they hear you, they will respond.”