Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994 TAG: 9403280144
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Welcome to the race, Democrat Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount.
A conservative populist (whatever that is) and veteran state lawmaker, Goode caused mouths in the Democratic establishment to gape - and others to grin - by announcing this week that he's challenging U.S. Sen. Charles Robb for the party's nomination.
Laugh if you like. In a state increasingly dominated by suburbanites, here's a country lawyer with a drawl as thick as sorghum molasses on cornpone thinking he can win a primary against Robb. It isn't clear what Northern Virginia's Brie and Perrier crowd will make of Goode's style and philosophy - best summed up, perhaps, in his own words: "Ah'm against it 'cause it will cost money."
But no one who knows Goode is laughing. He's smart as a whip, as politically savvy as they come. And he's a stem-windin' political speechifier, perhaps Virginia's best today.
Sure, he's a character. He's made a career of ranting and railing against "the big boys" - in the state Senate to which he was elected as its youngest-ever member in 1973, and at the State Corporation Commission where he's represented consumers opposing utility rate increases.
But character may be Goode's strong suit. His happens to be unbesmirched by the sort of troubling past that recently forced Robb to issue an extraordinary five-page mea culpa, in a vain effort to put to rest issues that have besmirched his character.
And no past presidents have labeled Goode, in so many words, a liar, fanatic and fraud - which is more than GOP frontrunner Oliver North can say.
In a race that, two weeks ago, seemed destined to pit Robb against North, Goode's entry will be welcomed by many as a deodorizer.
Sure, he's taken positions that won't play as well statewide as they do with his constituents. He's voted against the Equal Rights Amendment, against gun control. He's sponsored bills for smokers' rights, and to provide for parental notification in abortion cases involving young girls.
But his integrity and hard work for the causes in which he believes have earned him affection and respect in the legislature, including from those who disagree with him on issues. There's also this to say for Goode:
Unlike Democrat Sylvia Clute, another Robb challenger with an unsullied reputation, he has had experience in public office and is a practiced campaigner. And unlike former Gov. Doug Wilder's flirtation - again - with the notion of opposing Robb, Goode's challenge is impersonal and does not smack of settling old political scores.
This is not to say that Clute, a highly regarded Richmond attorney and lobbyist for women's and children's issues, should drop out of the competition and let Goode carry the case against Robb. She's a worthy candidate in her own right.
Nor should Wilder be dismissed, if he decides his destiny is to run this year. If he's going to run, though, let him do so honorably - like Goode and Clute - in the June primary for the Democratic nomination. Waiting and running as an independent in the fall would be unseemly.
Before the daffodils fade, other Democrats may also decide to challenge Robb. (Jim Miller, who's coming on strong in the polls, may persuade other Republicans not to join that party's contest.) In any event, the more in this race, the merrier. The Goode news comes like a warm day.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB