Former Congressman, Virgil Goode, Appointed
To Constitution Party National Executive Committee!
Virgil H. Goode, Jr.
Lancaster, PA (11/18/10)--Constitution Party National Committee Chairman, Jim Clymer, today announced the appointment of former Virginia Congressman, Virgil H. Goode, Jr. to the Constitution Party's Executive Committee. Goode had previously been appointed to the National Committee as a representative of Virginia, by that state's Constitution Party chairman, Howard Phillips.
"I am very pleased that Virgil Goode has accepted this appointment to serve on the Constitution Party's Executive Committee,” said Clymer. "Virgil Goode is a man of tremendous stature with a wealth of experience in the public arena, having served in both the Virginia legislature and the United States House of Representatives. An educated patriot and constitutionalist, he has been a stalwart advocate of traditional American values, national sovereignty, state sovereignty and limited government."
"Virgil Goode's association with the Constitution Party is a major milestone for our rapidly growing party,” added Clymer, "and it issymbolic of many Americans who are now ready to look outside the Democratic and Republican duopoly for viable political solutions to the big-government morass they have created."
Virgil Goode served six terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing Virginia's 5th District from 1997 to 2009. Proving himself to be a living icon for the Constitution Party's motto of "Principle over Politics," Goode was first elected as a "Pro-Life, Pro-Gun Rights" Democrat, switched to "independent" to win a third term and then moved to the Republican Party for his last three terms in Congress. In 2008, he was defeated by a very narrow margin at the same time that Barack Obama was sweeping to a landslide victory in Virginia. In June of 2009, the former Congressman spoke at a national meeting of the Constitution Party in Newark, New Jersey and again appeared a similar meeting in Minneapolis in May of 2010 at which time he joined the national Constitution Party as a supporting member. He recently once again addressed the Constitution Party's National Committee, at its November 12-13 meeting in Fort Worth, Texas.
In Congress, Goode distinguished himself by his opposition to illegal immigration, trade bills that shift jobs to third world nations and the attempt to foster a North American Union with Canada and Mexico through implementation of the Security and Prosperity Partnership Agreement, as well as by his dedicated support for the sanctity of life, the Second Amendment and Veteran's healthcare. As a Democrat, he voted for three of four articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. Goode served on the House Appropriations Committee and was a member of Representative Ron Paul's well known and highly respected "Liberty Caucus."
Prior to his tenure in the US House of Representatives, Goode served for over twenty years in the Virginia legislature. He is a graduate of University of Richmond and University of Virginia Law School. A veteran, he served in the Army National Guard from 1969-1975. Goode is an attorney by profession. He and his wife, Lucy, reside in Rocky Mount, Virginia.
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