This may well look worse than it actually is. Wade told federal prosecutors that the members of Congress didn't know the campaign contributions were illegal.The MZM facility Goode helped shepherd to his district is the type of new-economy employer the region desperately needs. It's easy to understand the appeal Goode no doubt saw in the chance to create jobs for his hard-pressed constituents.
After Cunningham pleaded guilty, and exposed the lengths Wade and MZM would go to in order to win business, Goode donated all of the contributions from MZM to charity.
But, then, they drop the hammer:
Still, giving Goode the benefit of the doubt, the most charitable conclusion that can be drawn from all of this is that, while not acting with corrupt intent, Goode allowed himself to be used by Wade and MZM, while remaining cluelessly incurious about his top donor.As a former top aide of Goode's said, it is "suspicious" that Goode didn't find the influx of donations worth further investigation. "It seems to me a situation in which he either knew, or should have known," Goode's former chief of staff Jim Severt told The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The issue is far bigger than Goode, however. As a former employee of Wade told Roanoke Times reporter Laurence Hammack, Wade believed that in Washington, D.C., "you could buy anything or anyone."
Considering the saturation of political cash and the cancerous pervasiveness of corruption that continues to be exposed, Wade's attitude seems sadly well-founded.
Goode may have done nothing illegal in his dealings with MZM.
But his serious misjudgments demonstrate how difficult it has become to distinguish between congressional actions undertaken to benefit constituents and actions undertaken to curry favor -- and cash -- from well-heeled benefactors.
Listen to the words of Goode's own former chief of staff again: "It seems to me a situation in which he either knew, or should have known." So, at best, Virgil showed the worst sort of judgment, especially given how long he's been in politics. And it's a sad state of affairs for the people of his district when the best case scenario is that their congressman has horrible judgment.
Hoping that utter incompetence wasn't really utter corruption - pretty much sums it up for the GOP these days, doesn't it?
Goode should do what Moran did. Moran noted that the House Ethics Committee, which never investigates anybody by mutual agreement between the two parties, had not seen fit to take action.
Goode should demand the same hands-off treatment as Moran.
Why not investigate both Goode and Moran?
(1) Simply announce something to the effect that "It didn't occur to me that anyone would see a connection between x [receipt of money by politician] and y [action desired by donor of money]."
(2)Announce that the donors are your friends and had other reasons to give you money besides wanting y.
(3)Question the motives of those who raise the matter.
(4) Attack the other party. Claim that they are part of a "cabal." Claim that those who oppose you are part of the other party, or are supporters of the leader of Israel.
(5) Print up 40,000 copies of a flyer making claims (3) and (4) written by the Falls Church News-Press and distribute it.
It worked for Jim Moran, and it will work for Virgil Goode also.