Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 15, 1995 TAG: 9508150024
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN GOOLRICK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
One day, legendary Roanoke Times reporter Mel Carico and I were standing in the halls of the Capitol when a certain Post reporter hurried by, presumably looking for political dirt.
"The trouble with Virginia," Carico said dryly in his twangy Southwest Virginia voice, "there ain't enough crooks to go 'round for all the investigative reporters."
Suffice it to say that the reporter who passed by was Carl Bernstein, who later went on to Watergate fame after he was returned to Washington for reportedly exceeding an unlimited expense account.
There are probably more investigative reporters in Richmond these days than then (since nowadays they all think of themselves as Sherlock Holmes-type journalists); what Carico said in that satirical tone is just as true as ever.
From time to time, there are minor-league scandals in Virginia government. But so far they have not even remotely approached some of the wrongdoing and corruption we read about in some other states.
Criminal indictments of public officials have occurred fairly routinely over the years in New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and other states. There have been reports of lobbyists handing sackfuls of cold cash to elected public officials in some places.
Make no mistake, powerful lobbyists indeed play a big role in influencing the course of legislation that comes before the Virginia General Assembly. I have seen them in action, and they make their marks through such legal activities as campaign contributions, pressure from organization members, and fancy events at which politicians can be wined and dined.
But I cannot remember instances in Virginia that resulted in accusations against lobbyists of making blatant payoffs to public officials.
It is true there have been several borderline incidents, one involving a now defunct home-loan company some years ago that may have had a suspiciously cozy relationship with a couple of legislators who are no longer around. Criminal charges were dismissed, although at least one of the legislators was mildly censured by colleagues for his actions.
Yet that incident was so atypical that it resulted in the kind of frenzied media coverage reserved in other states for much bigger scandals.
After all, Maryland had two governors in a row indicted for felonies. One went to jail; the other, who was vice president of the United States at the time, pleaded no contest and was spared a prison term.
Virginia has a long tradition of conservative honest government. Some might not like the philosophical approach it has generally taken, but by and large its elected and appointed officials have been clean.
Of course, there may be a lot going on in the way of corruption, under the surface, that we don't know about. But if that's the case, then all those dozens of bright young investigative reporters aren't finding it, and must content themselves with bush-league scandals that wouldn't raise an eyebrow in Jersey City or Wheeling.
John Goolrick, a former Virginia political reporter, is now an aide to Republican Congressman Herbert Bateman. Opinions expressed are Goolrick's.
by CNB