Would it not be pathetic if the state’s successful response to the coronavirus hinged on three little words — namely, “Can we talk?”

Not only are the Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders engaged in a contentious debate on how to combat the deadly disease, but now comes a disagreement on whether they are actually talking to or past one another as they do the people’s business on this public health crisis.

In her final remarks during her third State of the State message, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as every governor has done before, reached out to the GOP leaders to “fix the damn road ahead together.”

The next morning, the new Republican House speaker, state Rep. Jason Wentworth, thanked the governor for what he termed this “new spirit of cooperation.” But then he and his state Senate counterpart (the governor’s chief political nemesis) Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, proceeded to lecture the governor on how to communicate with them.

The essence of their advice was that she has not been talking to them the way they want to be talked to.

Shirkey was blunt. He revealed that, since March of last year, when this COVID-19 thing got its claws on the state, he has had one conversation with the governor. He conceded that he had many “presentations” from the governor over the months, but not the kind of “conversation” that he was demanding.

Wentworth reflected that it was time for the governor to include them in the COVID-19 strategy talks, but the governor, prior to their remarks, had a different take.

“We’ve been in constant contact,” she reports. “That’s why, whether it’s been principal to principal or at the staff level, we’ve got an ongoing conversation happening.”

Talk about day and night. She says they are conversing. They say she’s not.

A recent example of that centers on the governor’s rollout of her $5.3 billion federal coronavirus aid package for vaccines, schools, businesses, and other virus-ravaged entities.

She was asked if she gave the GOP leaders a heads up that this was coming.

She says, “Yeah. Absolutely.”

Yet, Mr. Wentworth told one TV outlet that he was never consulted.

In fact, his office reports the “heads up” was a phone call from the governor’s office notifying the House Republicans that the package was coming out within the next few minutes.

The governor’s detractors would argue that is not the same as sitting down with the loyal opposition and actually discussing what should be in the package and how the money should be spent before it was released.

Sen. Shirkey had more advice, noting that, in effect, two or three heads are better than one.

“I can guarantee you, when you are talking about different solutions, there are almost always reasonable chances of improving the outcome,” he argues. “We may not agree at the end, but at least people have a chance to have input, and that is not happening. And that’s not what the people of Michigan signed up for when they elected this governor.”

The governor asserts that, every two weeks, she videoconferences with the two Republican and two Democratic leaders, but the GOP contend they never knew in advance what would be discussed, and there was no agenda to follow. After complaining about that, they report there is now an agenda and an opportunity for the GOP lawmakers to have input on that.

The governor also indicates that she routinely invites the Republicans to her weekly COVID-19 briefing, but they don’t always attend.

From 30,000 feet, even to the most casual observer, it looks like the dialogue between that trio is still a work in progress, and the question is, can they bridge the communication gap?

For certain, we do know this: If they don’t talk, then the votes won’t be there to fight the virus and its devastating impact on all facets of daily life around here.

The citizens who pay these folks to get stuff done will be the losers in the end.