The opinionmaker website Daily Kos has taken notice of the U.S. Congressional race happening right here in our own Fifth District, where incumbent crazyhead (and Republican) Virgil Goode faces a challenge from Democrat Tom Perriello. Goode’s anti-Muslim rhetoric has been well-documented; C-VILLE published a head-scratcher of a letter Goode sent to supporters in late 2006, decrying "Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran" and calling for stricter immigration policies, and the story quickly went national, with predictable outrage resulting.
That’s all water under the bridge, though. These days, Goode’s biggest worry is likely Perriello and his muscular fundraising efforts. What the Daily Kos notes especially is the fact that Perriello’s campaign is pledging to tithe 10 percent of its volunteer efforts to community service projects. In other words, one in 10 volunteer hours given to the Perriello campaign will be spent not directly campaigning, but rather, helping with various worthy causes around the Fifth District.
"I’m betting that time spent on actually helping out around the district will be much more valuable than more hours on phone banks or another commercial on local TV," notes the Kos commentator, by way of assessing tithing’s savviness as a political strategy. And oh yeah—it’s kind of nice, too. "Tom Perriello wants to show his values not through fear, but in service to others," purrs Kos.
