Virgil Goode

Virgil Goode
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Lewis Payne
Personal details
Political party	Democratic (1997-2000) Independent (2000-02) Republican (2002-present)
Spouse	Lucy Dodson
Residence	Rocky Mount, Virginia
Alma mater	University of Richmond, University of Virginia
Occupation	attorney
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army National Guard
Years of service	1969-1975
Unit	Virginia

Virgil Hamlin Goode, Jr. (surname rhymes with mood, not would), born October 17, 1946, is an American politician and a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He represents the 5th congressional district of Virginia (map), which takes in the Southside region and extends north to Charlottesville.

Early life

Goode was born in Richmond, Virginia; but has spent most of his life in Rocky Mount. Goode graduated with a B.A. from the University of Richmond (Phi Beta Kappa) and with a J.D. from the University_of_Virginia_School_of_Law. He also is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, and served in the Army National Guard from 1969 to 1975.

State politics

Goode grew up as a Democrat. He entered politics soon after graduating from law school. At the age of 27 he won a special election to the state Senate from a Southside district as an independent after the death of the Democratic incumbent. One of his major campaign focuses at the time was advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment. Soon after being elected, he joined the Democrats.

Goode wore his party ties very loosely. He became famous for his support of the tobacco industry, where he spoke about his fear that "his elderly mother would be denied 'the one last pleasure' of smoking a cigarette on her hospital deathbed." He was an ardent defender of gun rights while being an enthusiastic supporter of L. Douglas Wilder, who would become the first elected black governor in the history of the United States. At the Democratic Party's political convention, it was Goode who nominated Wilder for lieutenant governor in 1985. However, while governor, Wilder cracked down on the sale of guns in the state. Goode ran for the U.S. Senate in 1982 and 1994 and was defeated in the Democratic primary both times, by Richard J. Davis in 1982 and by incumbent Senator Chuck Robb in 1994. He angered much of the leadership of the Virginia Democratic Party during his second run, when he challenged Robb.

After the 1995 elections resulted in a 20-20 split between Democrats and Republicans, Goode seriously considered voting with the Republicans on organizing the chamber. Had he done so, the State Senate would have been under Republican control for the first time since Reconstruction (the Republicans ultimately won control outright in 1999). Goode's actions at the time "forced his party to share power with Republican lawmakers in the state legislature," which further upset the Democratic party.

State Delegate Bob Hull once said of Goode, "Virgil can best be described as a populist. He has more in common with William Jennings Bryan, whose father was a Virginian, who supported 'the laboring masses and the toilers everywhere.' He supports the underdog and fights hard for the people of his district, which has been hard hit by the loss of manufacturing and textile jobs. ...Regardless of his political party, I am sure that his views are representative of those of his district."

Congressional career

When Congressman L.F. Payne retired in 1996, Goode won the Democratic nomination to succeed him. He won election easily, as his state senate district was virtually coextensive with the southern portion of the congressional district. During his first term, Goode compiled a very conservative voting record, even by Southern Democratic standards. Like many Southern Democrats, Goode strongly opposed abortion and gun control and vigorously supported the tobacco industry. He is also a long-time opponent of same-sex marriage and gay civil unions. His contrarian streak resulted in him being isolated within the Democratic caucus, which later led to his subsequent party switches.

Goode came under considerable fire shortly after being unopposed for a second term in 1998, when he voted for three of the four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. In January 2000, he declared himself an independent and began caucusing with the Republicans, who gave him a seat on the Appropriations Committee. He was handily re-elected that November, touting himself as a congressman who was "as independent as the people he serves." He officially became a Republican in August 2002 before the primary election, making him the first Republican to represent this district since 1889. Republicans had been lobbying him to switch parties since 1998. Reflecting on Goode’s record at the time, David Brown, the mayor of Charlottesville and a former chairman of the city's Democratic Party said "It was obvious he didn't really fit in the Democratic Party anymore."

For the 2001 congressional redistricting, Goode allied with Republican Bob Goodlatte and Democrat Rick Boucher to ensure that none of them would be put in the same district. Goode's home in Franklin County is only about 20 miles (32 km) south of Goodlatte's home in Roanoke, the heart of the 6th district. The counties to the west of Franklin County are in Boucher's 9th District, which had to expand due to lack of population growth. He won his first full term as a Republican in November, 2002, with 63.47% of the vote, and was elected to a fifth term, and his second full term as a Republican, with 63.68% in 2004. In 2006 Goode won 59% of the vote, with challenger Al Weed garnering 40% of the vote.

He also serves on the Liberty Caucus (sometimes called the Liberty Committee), a group of libertarian-leaning congressional representatives. Congressman Ron Paul hosts a luncheon for the Liberty Caucus every Thursday. Other members include Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee, Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Zach Wamp of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Political positions

His primary policy initiatives are anti-amnesty immigration reform, veterans' healthcare, and the enactment in 2004 of a $9.6 billion buyout for tobacco farmers. Goode has sponsored legislation to permit deployment of the U.S. Armed Forces to the U.S.-Mexico border. He voted in 2002 to authorize the Iraq War and in support of an $87 billion Iraq War supplemental spending bill.

Goode is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.

Goode voted in 2007 against a resolution opposing the increase in troop numbers in Iraq, saying that he didn't want to "aid and assist the Islamic jihadists who want the green flag of the crescent and star to wave over the Capitol of the United States and over the White House of this country" and that "radical Muslims" wanted to control the world and put "In Muhammad We Trust" on American currency.

In the 2008 Republican primary elections for President, the Federal Election Commission reported that Goode donated $500 to Republican candidate Ron Paul.

Controversies

MZM

In 2005, Goode faced questions when a major corporate campaign donor, defense contractor MZM, Inc., was implicated in a bribery scandal that resulted in the criminal conviction and resignation of California congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Although Goode insisted that his relations with MZM were motivated solely by his interest in bringing high-paying skilled jobs to his district, in December of that year he donated the $88,000 received in MZM contributions to regional charities.

On July 21, 2006 Richard Berglund, a former supervisor of the Martinsville, Va. office of MZM Inc., pleaded guilty to making illegal donations to Goode's campaign. Court papers indicated that Berglund and MZM owner Mitchell Wade (who previously pleaded guilty) engaged in a scheme to reimburse MZM employees for campaign donations. There was no allegation of wrong-doing on the part of Goode's campaign.

2006 Qur'an controversy

Main article: Virgil Goode and the Qur'an oath controversy of the 110th United States Congress

In 2006, Keith Ellison was elected as the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Some criticized Ellison's intended use of the Qur'an for his unofficial swearing-in ceremony; among them, Goode was vocal in his opposition to Ellison's plan. One of Goode's constituents posted a letter online from the congressman regarding Ellison. The letter says in part:

When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.

Ellison criticized Goode for this letter, stating that he is not an immigrant and that Goode does not understand Islam. He has also offered to meet with Goode to discuss the matter. The copy of the Qur'an used by Ellison in his private swearing-in ceremony was once owned by Thomas Jefferson, the nation's third president and author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom . Jefferson was actively involved in advising Congress at the time on the matter of Muslim-backed pirates and their philosophical position in the run up to the First Barbary War. Monticello, Jefferson's home, is located in the congressional district that Goode represents.

In recent interviews, Goode has also stated that he is in favor of decreasing legal immigration to the United States and that he wants to do away with Diversity Immigrant Visas. Goode argues that these visas may allow people "not from European countries" or from "some terrorist states" to enter America. Goode also repeated his views on a January 1, 2007 post to the USA Today blog.

On his first day in office, Ellison sought out Goode and initiated a cordial exchange on the House floor.

Hummer accusation

At the 2008 Fourth of July parade in Scottsville, Virginia, independent supporters of Goode drove a Hummer H3 decorated with signs promoting Goode and Robert B. Bell. With gas prices at $4 a gallon, a supporter of Goode's opponent, Tom Perriello, put video of the parade on YouTube, accusing Goode of being out of touch with ordinary citizens grappling with the high cost of fuel.

Goode never rode in the Hummer, and is not known to have had anything to do with it, but he was widely portrayed as having both owned and operated the vehicle. He was lampooned on The Daily Show for the apocryphal story.

The Sunlight Foundation pointed out that among the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Goode has the 13th-highest amount of investment in oil stocks, meaning that Goode stands to gain financially through high gas prices and pro-oil industry legislation.

Eden's Curve Controversy

“Eden’s Curve,” according to the Internet movie database, tells the story of a boy who goes to college and becomes involved in a sexual relationship with his male roommate and his roommate’s girlfriend, and a relationship with his male poetry professor. The film’s trailer features homosexual sex scenes and a violent beating.

Linwood Duncan, Virgil Goode's Press Secretary, has a minor role as the dean of the college. A number of other Danville residents are listed in the cast and credits.

Though Congressman Virgil Goode actively opposes any rights for homosexuals, the producer of the un-rated film thanks the Rocky Mount Republican in the movie’s closing credits. The film Eden's Curve was shot in Danville in 2001. The film was released in 2003 having had its world premiere at the National Film Theatre of London at the invitation of the British Film Institute in April of that year. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development Grant that Virgil Goode assisted in bringing to the North Theatre project was received by the North Theatre organization in 2005. When Eden's Curve was being shot the North Theatre project was not underway.

The Danville Register & Bee at the time questioned Goode’s perceived favoritism with these projects because Duncan and Goode’s wife Lucy were both on the founding board of the North Theatre. Virgil Goode checked with the house ethics committee, before Duncan or his wife Lucy went onto the North Theatre board. In the light of the controversy Lucy Goode stepped down from the board.

In 2003, Duncan told the Register & Bee he didn’t see any conflict with the earmarked dollars. “I don’t even know how a question of a conflict even arises,” he said.

Electoral history

Virginia's 5th congressional district: Results 1996–2006

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1996		Virgil H. Goode, Jr.	120,323	61%		George C. Landrith III	70,869	36%		George R. "Tex" Wood	Virginia Reform	6,627	3%	*
1998		Virgil H. Goode, Jr.	73,097	99%		(no candidate)				Write-ins		785	1%
2000		John W. Boyd, Jr.	65,387	31%		(no candidate)				Virgil H. Goode, Jr.	Independent	143,312	67%	*
2002		Meredith M. Richards	54,805	36%		Virgil H. Goode, Jr.	95,360	63%	*
2004		Al C. Weed II	98,237	36%		Virgil H. Goode, Jr.	172,431	64%	*
2006		Al C. Weed II	84,682	40%		Virgil H. Goode, Jr.	125,370	59%		Joseph P. Oddo	Independent Green	1,928	1%	*

*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1992, write-ins received 23 votes. In 1994, write-ins received 34 votes. In 1996, write-ins received 104 votes. In 2000, Joseph S. Spence received 3,936 votes (2%) and write-ins received 70 votes. In 2002, write-ins received 68 votes. In 2004, write-ins received 90 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 99 votes.

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, 2008#District 5
• Virginia's 5th congressional district

External links

• Congressman Virgil Goode official U.S. House site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Audio from Goode's August 9, 2006 debate with Al Weed