"Virgil Goode, This Is Your Bill, Will You Pay It?"

Mr. Goode, In 1994 you were quoted in the Roanoke Times asking the question of Senator Chuck Robb, +óGé¼+ôHave you exhibited the character, the judgment and the lawful conduct that Virginians deserve from their elected officials?+óGé¼-¥ Today, Mr. Goode, I ask the same question of you. You wanted answers for Senator Robb+óGé¼Gäós behavior in +óGé¼Gäó94, and today I would like some answers for yours.

Sometime in 2003 your friend, and fellow millionaire, Mitchell Wade enlisted you to help him make as much money possible regardless of the cost. You pocketed his illegal contributions and got him what he wanted.

You then stood by Mr. Wade+óGé¼Gäós side as he made great promises to the citizens of Martinsville. He claimed that by the end of this year, his company would create over 150 jobs with a payroll of over $7.8 million dollars. He even wrote in a letter, +óGé¼+ôI am sure you understand that we anticipate a long relationship with the City of Martinsville and so these benefits can be expected to continue and even grow in the years that follow.+óGé¼-¥

You supported his lies when you claimed this was about jobs. This is, and always was, about money. You got what you wanted, and once again neglected the citizens.

While Mr. Wade engaged in felonious acts of bribery on the grandest scale you gave him an earmark for a multi-million dollar Pentagon contract. A contract the Department of Defense never wanted. Now that your supporters are in jail and their money has dried up, so has the contract. How can you have the gall to blame the media, when the real cause is your failure as a Congressman?

Why did you sacrifice your constituents to protect your illegal contributions? When Mr. Wade offered only $400,000.00 for a building worth over $1 million, and said that the rest was Martinsville+óGé¼Gäós problem, what did you do? You should have told him to pay up, but you didn+óGé¼Gäót.

Instead, you requested that Martinsville enter into this performance agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia. As your support for massive deficits shows, you have no problem disregarding the taxpayers+óGé¼Gäó interests for your political gain. But this time you have gone too far.

Now the Pentagon has officially terminated the useless contract you earmarked for your friend. With Athena+óGé¼Gäós closing, the terms of this loan will not be fulfilled. Now the taxpayers of Martinsville will have to pay at least as much as you took in illegal contributions, perhaps twice that much. You got the useless earmark, you pocketed the cash, which you then distributed for your own political gain, and you put Martinsville at risk. I stand here with taxpayers and we are angry that you look to cast blame on others when the blame falls squarely on your shoulders. Mr. Goode, this is your bill, will you pay it? You owe it to the people you claim to serve.

Al wasn't taking any prisoners today. Goode has already broken his policy only to respond to questions submitted in writing, and as more people start demanding answers, it'll be harder and harder for him to stonewall and dodge questions.

His first cop-out answer will be that Martinsville won't have to repay all that money; but even if the entire loan were forgiven, the Commonwealth of Virginia will have spent a half a million dollars for something that didn't help Virginians at all -- just a millionaire felon from New Jersey.

His second cop-out answer will be that, "No one could have foreseen in 2003 that the center wasn't here to stay." Sure. No one could have foreseen that the Pentagon would cancel projects they never wanted in the first place, just like no one could have foreseen the levee breach or the insurgency in Iraq. Would you risk your own money so your buddy could start a business to provide services no one wants? Of course not. Then why would you risk ours?

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