Editing Virgil Goode (section)

===Tenure===
During his first two terms, he compiled one of the most conservative records of any Democrat in the Congress.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.voteview.com/c105/c105.htm |title=Voteview analysis of the 105th Congress |access-date=August 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726053933/http://www.voteview.com/c105/c105.htm |archive-date=July 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Like many [[Southern Democrat]]s, Goode strongly opposed [[abortion]] and [[gun politics in the United States|gun control]] and vigorously supported the [[tobacco]] industry. His contrarian streak resulted in him being isolated within the Democratic caucus, which later led to him switching parties.<ref name="Hull"/>

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 of Bill Clinton|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 [[United States House Committee on Appropriations|Appropriations Committee]]. Republicans had been lobbying him to switch parties since 1998. Reflecting on Goode's record at the time, [[David E. Brown (elected official)|David Brown]], the [[List of mayors of Charlottesville, Virginia|mayor]] of [[Charlottesville, Virginia|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."<ref name="Shear&Craig"/> He officially joined the GOP in August 2002.

Goode's primary policy initiatives were opposition to amnesty for [[Illegal immigrant population of the United States|undocumented immigrants]], veterans' healthcare, and the enactment in 2004 of a $9.6 billion (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=9600000000|start_year=2004}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) 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 $87 billion (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=87000000000|start_year=2002}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) [[Iraq War]] supplemental spending bill.

Goode is an advocate of a federal prohibition of online [[poker]]. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.04777: |title=Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4777 |access-date=August 6, 2008 |archive-date=October 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018013459/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.04777: |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Goode voted in 2007 against a resolution opposing the increase in troop numbers in [[Iraq]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.asp?year=2007&rollnumber=99 |title=Final Vote Results for Roll Call 99 |publisher=Clerk.house.gov |access-date=August 24, 2010}}</ref> saying that he didn't want to "aid and assist the [[jihad|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 [[Muslim]]s" wanted to control the world and put "In [[Muhammad]] We Trust" on American currency.<ref>[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2007_record&page=H1706&position=all Congressional Record. Feb. 15, 2007]</ref>

;Liberty caucus
Goode served on the [[Republican Liberty Caucus|Liberty Caucus]] (sometimes called the Liberty Committee), a group of [[Libertarianism|libertarian]]-leaning congressional representatives.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.thelibertycommittee.org/|title= The Liberty Committee|access-date=June 24, 2007}}</ref> Other members at that time included [[Ron Paul]] of Texas, [[Jimmy Duncan (U.S. politician)|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]].<ref name="nytimesmagazine">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/magazine/22Paul-t.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin | title = The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul | first = Christopher | last = Caldwell | work = The New York Times Magazine | date = July 22, 2007 | access-date = July 21, 2007}}</ref>

;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]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Goode's liability in scandal unclear|author=Peter Hardin|publisher=Times-Dispatch|date=February 26, 2006|url=http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&%09s=1045855935264&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834366359&path=!news!politics|archive-url=https://archive.today/20060628175847/http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&%09s=1045855935264&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834366359&path=!news!politics|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 28, 2006}} Retrieved on December 28, 2006</ref> 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, Virginia]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Goode's war chest turns up new MZM donor|author=Lindsy Nair|date=July 4, 2006|url=http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-72325|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927024416/http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-72325|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 27, 2007}} Retrieved on December 28, 2006</ref> There was no allegation of wrongdoing on the part of Goode's campaign.

;2006 Qur'an controversy
{{Main|Qur'an oath controversy of the 110th United States Congress}}

In 2006, [[Minnesota's 5th congressional district]] elected [[Keith Ellison (politician)|Keith Ellison]] as the first [[Muslim]] to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Some criticized Ellison's intended use of the [[Qur'an]] once owned by [[Thomas Jefferson]] at a private swearing-in ceremony;<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010300075.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=But It's Thomas Jefferson's Koran! | first1=Amy | last1=Argetsinger | first2=Roxanne | last2=Roberts | date=January 3, 2007 | access-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref> 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 reads in part:

<blockquote>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.<ref name="Howsare">{{cite news| title=Goode makes complete ass of self: Anti-Muslim letter goes out to hundreds – not all are amused| author=Erika Howsare| publisher=C-Ville Weekly| date=December 19, 2006| url=http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=141404064431134&ShowArticle_ID=11041812060944420| access-date=November 22, 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211214050/http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=141404064431134&ShowArticle_ID=11041812060944420| archive-date=December 11, 2008| df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Swarns">{{cite news|title=Congressman Criticizes Election of Muslim| author=Rachel L. Swarns|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 21, 2006| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/us/21koran.html?_r=1&oref=slogin|access-date=November 22, 2008}}</ref></blockquote>

Ellison criticized Goode for this letter, stating that he is not an immigrant and that Goode does not understand Islam.  Ellison also offered to meet with Goode to discuss the matter.<ref name="Swarns"/> On his first day in office, Ellison sought out Goode and initiated a cordial exchange on the House floor.<ref>{{cite news|title=Muslim congressman shakes critic's hand'|date=December 21, 2006 |url= http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/04/congress.muslim/index.html|publisher=CNN}} Retrieved on January 5, 2007</ref>

In interviews around that time, Goode stated that he was in favor of decreasing legal immigration to the United States and that he wanted to do away with [[Diversity Immigrant Visa]]s. Goode argued that such visas would allow people "not from [[Europe]]an countries" or from "some terrorist states" to enter America.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ellison: Lawmaker has 'a lot to learn about Islam'|date=December 21, 2006 |url= http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/21/quran.congress/index.html|publisher=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061222162935/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/21/quran.congress/index.html|archive-date=December 22, 2006|access-date=December 22, 2006}}</ref> Goode also repeated his views on a January 1, 2007 post to the ''[[USA Today]]'' [[blog]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Opposing view: Save Judeo-Christian Values |date=January 1, 2007 |url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/01/opposing_view_s.html |publisher=USA Today |first=Thomas S. |last=Kidd |access-date=January 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104055856/http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/01/opposing_view_s.html |archive-date=January 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} Retrieved on January 4, 2007</ref>

;Hummer accusation
At the 2008 [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] parade in [[Scottsville, Virginia]], independent supporters of Goode drove a [[Hummer H3]] decorated with signs promoting Goode and [[Robert B. Bell]].<ref name="cvillepodcast.com">{{cite news|title=The real story of Virgil Goode and the Hummer|date=August 1, 2008|url=http://www.cvillepodcast.com/2008/08/01/the-real-story-of-virgil-goode-and-the-hummer/}} Retrieved on August 10, 2008</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=YouTube: Virgil Goode Grief'|date=July 7, 2008 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOi7iWwnYuI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/EOi7iWwnYuI| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} Retrieved on August 8, 2008</ref>

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.<ref name="cvillepodcast.com"/> He was lampooned on ''[[The Daily Show]]'' for the story.<ref>{{cite news|title=Daily Show: Rappers or Republicans'|date=July 29, 2008|url=http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=178008|publisher=Comedy Central|access-date=August 9, 2008|archive-date=August 10, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080810014919/http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=178008|url-status=dead}} Retrieved on August 8, 2008</ref>

;North Theatre controversy

The United States [[Department of Housing and Urban Development]] grant that Goode assisted in bringing to the North Theatre project was received by the North Theatre organization in 2005.

The ''Danville Register & Bee'' reported that Goode's press secretary as well as his 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 [[Earmark (finance)|earmarked]] dollars. "I don't even know how a question of a conflict even arises," he said.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/goode_linked_to_gay_movie/6829/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017123129/http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/goode_linked_to_gay_movie/6829/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 17, 2008 |title=Goode linked to movie about homosexuality |publisher=GoDanRiver.com |access-date=August 24, 2010 }}</ref>

;Sabato earmark controversy
In June 2009, it was revealed that political scientist [[Larry Sabato]], of the [[University of Virginia Center for Politics|Center for Politics]], had been the recipient of over $7 million in earmark money from Goode, who Sabato predicted would win re-election in 2008, despite declining poll numbers; Goode ultimately lost the race by a small margin.<ref name="earmarks">{{Cite web |url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=F5EA641B-18FE-70B2-A8CA7099244C65DC |author=Ben Smith |title=Sabato's program earmark dries up |website=[[Politico]] |date=June 19, 2009 |access-date=November 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225230652/http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=F5EA641B-18FE-70B2-A8CA7099244C65DC |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>  Some observers have suggested that Sabato should have revealed his financial connection to Goode or recused himself from making predictions about the race.<ref name="criticism">[http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/pundits/larry-sabato-and-the-dc-pundit-industrial-complex/   Greg Sargent, ''Larry Sabato And The D.C. Pundit-Industrial Complex'', The Plum Line, June 19, 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006230339/http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/pundits/larry-sabato-and-the-dc-pundit-industrial-complex/ |date=October 6, 2011 }}</ref>