WEED SEEKS TO UNSEAT GOODE

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Al Weed, the Democratic candidate in the 5th
Congressional District, wants the federal government to take over the
health-care system, opposes the war in Iraq and opposes a
constitutional ban on gay marriage. He also wants to decriminalize
marijuana.

So how does Weed expect to unseat Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., a very
conservative Republican in a mostly rural district that for decades
was sending conservative Democrats to Washington when it wasn't
sending Goode?

In a debate before a senior-citizens group here Wednesday, Weed sought
to turn the "liberal" label against Goode.

Weed said he supports a balanced budget, while Goode is a member of a
party that has run up the largest budget deficit in history.

"It must be 'liberal' to be concerned with fiscal responsibility," he
said sarcastically.

Weed added:

"Democrats understand one thing: Because we have faith in government,
we know that that faith can only be justified if we govern efficiently
and effectively. Republicans don't have faith in government, so it
doesn't matter whether they let it go down a rat hole."

Moreover, Goode is backing a president who has undertaken
nation-building in Iraq, something that has always been anathema to
conservatives, Weed continued.

Goode, he continued, has supported at least seven amendments to the
U.S. Constitution, something conservative strict constructionists used
to decry.

"Mr. Goode would use the Constitution as a Christmas tree for his
posturing radical right-wing views," Weed said.

Weed, agreeing that he is "progressive" on some issues but
conservative on others, such as being pro-gun and for a strong
military, said he can win by getting a high turnout in the northern
end of the district and by persuading people that "Virgil is not
getting the job done."

But Goode says he is getting the job done, pointing to a number of
federal appropriations he has secured for the district. He is a member
of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, a reward for joining
the Republican Party in 2002.

Goode, who has represented the district since 1996, first as a
Democrat, then as an independent and now as a Republican, also pointed
to his success in helping to secure the tobacco-quota buyout bill
adopted last week by Congress.

Goode is credited with helping devise the strategy that attached the
buyout bill to a must-pass tax bill in the House of
Representatives.

The buyout legislation will bring $465 million to Southside Virginia
over the next 10 years, he said.

"If someone like Al Weed had been up there working on it, it would
never have happened," Goode told the seniors group.

Goode acknowledged that parts of Southside have fallen on hard times
because of the collapse of the textile industry. He said he is working
hard to secure federal investments in the area and blames free-trade
agreements.

The two men not only disagree on issues, they disagree on how to carry
on the job.

Weed thinks a congressman needs to spend a lot of time in Washington,
building coalitions.

Goode said a congressman needs to be in the district to talk to
constituents.

"They should be going to Brunswick stews, they should be going to
fairs, they should be going to the Scottsville Fourth of July parade,
they should be going to events in Albemarle, to events in Greene," he
said. "I don't want to be a legislator who stays in Washington over
the weekend and hits the party circuit."

In last week's debate, the candidates also traded barbs over Weed's
support of the decriminalization of marijuana. He thinks people caught
with pot should be fined, but not jailed.

"As a lawyer, Mr. Goode ought to know the difference between
decriminalization and legalization," Weed said. "Virgil seems to not
know the difference, which may explain why he never made much money as
a lawyer."

Goode had a small-town law practice in Rocky Mount, in Franklin
County.

"I tell you what, Al, you bring out how much you made at your little
winery down there in Nelson County," Goode retorted, then quoted a
newspaper article in a pro-Weed publication that gave a bad review to
his wines.

Weed, 62, moved to Nelson County from Washington in 1973 to start a
winery, Mountain Cove Vineyards. Before that, he worked for the World
Bank and for an international investment firm in Washington. He served
22 years on active duty as an enlisted man in the Army, seeing service
as a Green Beret in Vietnam.

Warren Winborne, political science professor at Hampden-Sydney
College, said Weed is the strongest candidate the Democrats have
fielded in the district in years, although it is difficult to beat an
incumbent. In his past two races, Goode won by 67 and 63 percentage
points, respectively.

While Weed is out of step culturally with many of the 5th District's
voters, Goode has views also that don't mesh with the district,
Winborne said. He is puzzled why Goode is so opposed to immigration,
when the district relies on migrant workers.

Goode has proposed putting armed military on the Canadian and Mexican
borders to curb illegal immigration.

Weed, whose wife immigrated to this country from Panama in 1966,
favors allowing undocumented immigrants who have lived in this country
for five years and pass background checks to become citizens.

The 5th District runs from the North Carolina border to
Charlottesville and Albemarle County.