Though Virgil Goode has said he will not seek a rematch with Tom Perriello in an attempt to win back the Fifth District seat in November, he showed Tuesday night that he still has the political fire in his belly.
Goode told an audience at the Spring Creek Sports Club in Gordonsville that Virginia should use Arizona’s new immigration law as a model.
"The first thing we ought to do is get every state in the union to lock arms with Arizona and say, ‘You’re exactly right,’" Goode said. "We have got to stop the illegal invasion."
The former Fifth District representative feels that the Obama Administration has been so brazenly critical of the new law—unusual since it is state legislation—because Democrats benefit from the amnesty of illegal immigrants.
"The feds want to keep the states from doing anything," Goode said. "It’s about gaining control of the country. What Obama wants, and what I think most of the Democrats want, is to give citizenship to all those who came in illegally so they will be a voting bloc and expand the Hispanic caucus. That’s what it’s all about."
However, the former Congressman’s criticism was not reserved solely for Democrats. Goode also scolded Republican leaders for letting politics weaken their principles.
"You’ve got half the Republicans who are frozen like they’re standing in concrete because they think they’re going to capture the Hispanic vote," Goode said. "They don’t want to say anything that is politically incorrect, and I think that makes it a fertile field for others to come in and make large-scale changes."
Goode wasn’t talking about himself, necessarily. He was at Spring Creek supporting Kenny Golden, an Independent candidate for the Second District seat, which includes Virginia Beach. If Goode were to run in the Fifth District race as an independent or third-party candidate, he would have to send 1,000 valid signatures of registered voters to the State Board of Elections by June 8.