The Failure of the GOP Assembly

The Gilmore-Cuccinelli-O’Brien philosophy of starving government of critical resources to address health care needs and public safety needs found its horrific counter-argument in the events at Virginia Tech. Today’s Post notes the continuing multi-faceted review process that is occurring throughout state government in the wake of those events. Yesterday’s House committee hearings on revamping and improving our broken mental health systems are just the latest development in reform which is tragically overdue.

These hearings are indeed laudable, but make no mistake that the cost of inaction to this point lies at the feet of the Richmond Republican establishment, led by the far right Ken Cuccinelli and Jay O’Brien. These are the same people that decried the expenditure of funds on high school guidance counselors. And these are the same people that dragged their feet or outright opposed every attempt at improving our investment in critical services from education to transportation. The culture they have fostered is the cause of the corrosion of our mental health system.

As the Post also notes, a national group which collects data on the condition of mental health services in states across the country – The National Alliance for Mental Illness – has found Virginia to be worthy of a grade of D for its mental health system. Despite ranking 12th nationally in per capita income, we rank 30th in our investment in mental health services. The glaring fact that this awful tragedy might have been averted if only we had made some simple investments in our community-based mental health services should not be forgotten simply because it’s politically uncomfortable to direct blame. And of course it’s true that we should focus on the future rather than the past. But we also must never forget the cost of this corrosive culture of disinvestment which has been perpetrated upon us by radical ideologues like Cuccinelli and O’Brien.