INTERVIEW: Balanced Budget, Curbing Immigration Top Priorities for Constitution Party’s Nominee

He knows he’s tilting at windmills, but the Constitution Party’s newly-minted presidential nominee relishes the opportunity to present his party’s case to the American electorate.

While focusing on adherence to the U.S. Constitution, former U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode said that balancing the budget and cracking down on illegal immigration will be the top priorities of his administration if he succeeds in his long-shot quest for the White House.

In an exclusive interview with Uncovered Politics shortly after delivering his acceptance speech in Nashville earlier today, the 65-year-old Goode criticized both major parties for failing to adequately address the ever-increasing federal budget deficit and neglecting to seal the nation’s borders.

“Balancing the budget will be one of my top priorities,” said Goode, who represented Virginia’s fifth congressional district for twelve years before losing his seat four years ago by a scant 727 votes to Democrat Tom Perriello.  The former congressman was highly critical of the $1.3 trillion dollar deficit in President Obama’s 2012 budget, but also criticized House Republicans for offering a budget containing a $600 billion deficit.  Neither party, he contends, has been serious about curbing runaway federal spending.

In addition to a balanced budget, controlling immigration — both legal and illegal — is the key to any real economic recovery, says Goode, who won a special election for a State Senate seat as an independent when he was 27.   Goode, who boasts more legislative experience than any other candidate for the presidency, served in the Virginia Senate for 24 years before winning a seat in Congress as a Democrat in 1996.

“We need to be saving jobs for American citizens first,” he said in his characteristic Old Virginia drawl, adding that he has proposed a moratorium on green card admissions, which numbered approximately 1.2 million last year.  “We also need to stop illegal immigration,” he continued.  “We need to stop illegals at the border.”

The former congressman said that he would require the parents of school-age children to provide copies of birth certificates, naturalization papers or a valid visa before enrolling their children in public schools.

Unlike U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the Constitution Party candidate said that his chief law enforcement officer would be helping states like Alabama and Arizona control illegal immigration, instead of fighting them tooth and nail.

“The Democrats want massive Third World immigration,” said Goode, “because once they become citizens, they’re more likely to vote Democratic.”  The Republicans aren’t much better, he added.  “The Republicans like immigration because it keeps labor costs down.  Mitt Romney and I disagree on immigration.  Romney says he loves immigration,” said the amiable former six-term congressman.

The low-key ex-Rocky Mount lawmaker, who belonged to Rep. Ron Paul’s study group as a member of the U.S. House — “never missing a meeting,” he said proudly — hopes to appeal to the Texas congressman’s supporters once the Republican national convention in Tampa Bay concludes later this summer.  “I hope some of Ron Paul’s supporters come to us,” he said.

Goode, who vigorously opposed the Wall Street bailout in 2008 — “it helped Goldman Sachs at taxpayer expense,” he sighed wistfully — hopes to appear on the ballot in as many as forty states this fall.  According to ballot access expert Richard Winger, the Constitution Party’s national ticket appeared on the ballot in thirty-eight states in 2008 when little-known pastor Chuck Baldwin garnered 199,880 votes nationally.

4 Comments

  1. Dave Francis says:

    This America is the land of opportunity, but only if you play by the rules? For farmers and agricultural communities, there must be a well regulated system of arrival and departure, not the mess provided now. ARE AMERICANS IN PERPETUITY GOING TO BE FORCED BY UNFUNDED MANDATES, TO PAY THE COSTS OF EVERY ILLEGAL ALIEN WHO SWARMS ACROSS THE BORDER OR ARRIVES HERE ON A TEMPORARY VISA WITH NO INTENTIONS TO LEAVE? There is nothing standing in the way of any Guest Worker, to disappear from his job and end up in the job marketplace, where illegal aliens are paid in cash with no taxes taken. In furtherance special visas should be expedited for top professionals in Science, Engineering and a whole range of high technology, given us the brain clout for a futuristic U.S, but we must spend the money to check on females who are carrying an unborn infant, with new detection systems at entry ports, as 400.000 arrivals are ready to conceive annually and apply for welfare. Just calculate the uncompensated cost to hospitals that have to pay for this delivery? By the Congress just amending the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 (H.R.140) the country could discontinue this billion dollar soaking of individual states?

    Then just as viable and with a high success rate is the introduction of Verify (H.R. 2885) – Chairman Lamar Smith’s ‘Legal Workforce Act’. Every worker hired would be eligible, if they are not flagged by the employers hook-up to the Social Security and Homeland Security databases. Those declined can fortunately travel to the SSA to get clearance for their new job. Foreign illegal workers would not go to any government agency anyway, as it would be futile and dangerous. Just these two laws could make a remarkable difference to our countries economy, as these persons would soon find that seeking work would be impossible. Personal ID theft would be reduced, other than crimes of credit fraud and other reprehensible activities.

    As for the controversial issue of the ‘DREAM ACT’ for granting a quick passage of illegal alien children will not be Fair? Backlogs of thousands of people wait patiently for years, sometimes as much as 10 years to receive an entry visa. The U.S. public is charitable and fervent in their giving and the biggest philanthropist in the world. But we cannot continue to fight distant wars and take in every desperate pauper from any corner of the world. We must stop printing money and make a giant effort to remove illegal aliens by ATTRITION BY ENFORCEMENT.

    Marco Rubio may be providing a less tough immigration enforcement ideology to Romney, but it will mean a loss of votes? For the last generation the poverty has accelerated, the financial costs are still rising to new levels. Our Socialist president promises to unite this country, but divided it even more. Assimilation in language and culture is fading, and thanks to the Liberal Legislators ‘Balkanization’ is on the way, as regions of the United States are hostile to each other and refusing to cooperate with the central government such as Sanctuary Cities. This cause and effect in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana and less so in other overrun states by foreign nationals, who are soaking the state taxpayers.

    The outright blame goes to the present administration and its predecessors who just were compromised by the special interest whose greed and profits, was able to coerce the politicians with money. The rising anger against the Congress is not receding, as they have failed by their behavior to stop the tide of illegal immigration. There is new misdirection that illegal immigrants jumping fences or traveling here on temporary entry visas is slowed, but don’t tell that to Sheriffs and land owners along the border region? Mitt Romney already stated that unauthorized workers would “Self Deport” when employment cannot be located. Businesses owners and management that don’t follow the law could lose business licenses, profits, be fined and even end in a prison cell.

    In the coming months before the presidential elections we must be vigilant, as the outcome could be vulnerable to non citizens voting in massive amounts? In Colorado, the Administration’s Elections subcommittee disclosed that 5000 non citizens voted and 12000 non citizens were register to vote. This is serious situation especially in close races at state and local level? Illegal Immigrant voters along with legal immigrants that are barred from voting have been detected voting in Florida. This joins confirmed intelligence of sizable numbers of non citizens voting in Georgia and Colorado! Each illegal alien or non citizen immigrant that registers to vote is committing a federal felony. Each illegal alien or non citizen immigrant that votes and thus steals a vote from an American citizen is committing a second felony. The problem is that many states do not check to perceive if voters are in the US as immigrants or legal and the illegal immigration amnesty and open borders supporters know this crazy notion? The only way to halt any non citizens voting, is to institute either a National Picture ID card, or every lawful citizen-legal resident an official ID to display, that can be checked through a visa type system. It seems hardly feasible that one illegal immigrant in Florida admitted to a television interviewer that she had been voting in elections since 2009.

    And is there any truth that Spain, a European country counting our votes in November? It is a national security nightmare of a globalist magnitude to have any foreign tabulation company to count our votes in November? The company SCYTL has been contracted to do just that. I am not one for conspiracies, but don’t the general public see something very fishy with this situation or am I just paranoid? How could our President or any Congress allow such a thing? Is this is a total violation of our sovereignty, protection and in my view freedoms?

    The best hope with have is to elect TEA PARTY (the Centralist Conservatives and U.S. Constitutional leaders) who have a different approach to every issue, who have credibility in the free competitive business enterprise, self reliance on our own abundance of oil, natural gas and clean coal; but not discounting wind and solar energy. Huge deposits await us that are so plentiful, we can supply it to Europe and other friendly countries. Throw out of political office the purveyors who are selling us out to special interests, union bosses, and church hierarchy, big business and groups like La Raza, who believe in succession of the Southwest to their totalitarian government.

  2. Pingback: Virgil Goode Hopes to Attract Ron Paul Voters | Independent Political Report

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