Goodlatte gets nod in the 6th

By The News Virginian Staff

Published: October 24, 2008

Only a glance is needed to view the contrasts between Bob Goodlatte and Sam Rasoul. The former, an eight-term incumbent House representative in the 6th District, entered The News Virginian clad in a conservative dark suit, with his jacket neatly buttoned and a staffer in tow. The latter came by his lonesome, wearing a sports jacket, blue jeans and loafers. The Republican is the entrenched insider, the Democrat the young outsider looking for a way in where avenues are few.

Rasoul recognizes what any candidate in the richly red 6th District must, that some form of conservatism here is a must. So he aspires to join the ranks of Blue Dog Democrats, a fiscally conservative group who resisted the recent federal bailout on the justifiable grounds of its being laden with pork. Rasoul, like Republican presidential nominee John McCain and unlike Democrat Barack Obama, chafes at earmarks and calls for their elimination. An entrepreneur himself, Rasoul believes in capitalism at a time when that system is under assault. In other words, Rasoul is no ordinary Democrat.

Goodlatte, meanwhile, has accumulated chinks in an otherwise thick conservative armor. He advocated term limits in 1992 when he first ran for office, then cast the pledge aside 10 years later. Though Goodlatte is among the most prudent spenders in the House, he received a rare flick to the nose from the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank, for toting home $1.8 million last year in earmarks, $300,000 going to the Wayne Theatre renovation. His defense on the latter disappoints: “The City Council voted to give money to the Wayne, or else I wouldn’t have done it.” Well, the council minority at the time included Goodlatte’s philosophical allies. Would he betray them over their want of votes? In a word, yes.

But to imply that these slight deviations constitute real blights on Goodlatte’s record would be to ignore 16 years of forceful, disciplined leadership in Congress on his part. A Republican in a true party sense, Goodlatte has been an unflinching critic of President Bush over lavish spending that has combined with sensible tax cuts to double America’s debt to more than $10 trillion over just eight years. He advocates a balanced budget amendment. And he recognizes what Rasoul does not, that reducing America’s foreign oil dependence starts with expanding drilling.

Rather than target Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other environmentally sensitive areas, Rasoul rehashes arguments about requiring drilling on 68 million acres already leased by oil companies – who have found these areas mostly dry – and spurring a revolution in renewables, which so far make up just 7 percent of world energy output. Goodlatte’s all-inclusive approach makes sense. Expecting renewables to supplant oil as a palpable supplier of energy is wishful thinking bordering on delusional.

So, too, might be Rasoul’s plan to shift earmarks to grant programs. Slaying earmarks is a great idea, but Goodlatte’s criticism of the manner in which Rasoul would go about it makes sense. “It would add to the bureaucracy and limit accountability,” Goodlatte said. “Now, if I approve an earmark, voters, if they don’t like it, can come right to me and ask why I did it.” Similarly, Goodlatte disdains Rasoul’s call for publicly financed elections: “That’s food stamps for politicians.”

Perhaps most important, Goodlatte has stockpiled influence as the ranking Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, providing farmers in his district with a crucial ally in the House. His staunch defense of the pork-laden farm bill passed earlier this year drew sharp criticism in this corner, but we recognize the vitality of Goodlatte’s presence in limiting that legislation’s greater excesses.

While Rasoul is an opponent who impresses on several counts, Goodlatte is an almost sure bet to win a return trip to Congress. As well he should. Based on his record and his sage use of influence, Goodlatte gets our backing in the 6th District. We will count on him to continue to be an advocate of spending prudence and principled social and fiscal conservatism in a place where it has all but been lost.