Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Virgil Goode

Great news ... well, make that Goode news out of Virginia: bigoted congressman Virgil Goode (R-19th Century) has been voted out of office.

Virgil H. Goode Jr. announced this afternoon that he will seek a recount in the 5th District Congressional race.

Tom Perriello beat Goode, the incumbent, by 745 votes. This morning, the State Board of Elections certified those results.

By that slim margin, Goode is entitled to request a recount at taxpayer expense.

He has 10 calendar days from today to file a recount petition.

You may remember a couple of years ago when Goode spoke out about the election of Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim member of Congress. Here's an excerpt from a letter Goode sent to concerned constituents:

When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country. I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.

It's troubling to know that people still think that way in 2008, but it's downright astonishing to see a member of Congress not only think that way, but talk about it openly. At long last, sir, have you no shame?

Well, fortunately, we needn't care about Goode anymore. Yes, there apparently will be a recount, but it appears that the people of Virginia's 5th congressional district have decided that no Goode can come from them. Or something like that.

But, hey, Virgil, as you await the recount that will just prolong your political demise, at least you can console yourself with this fact: today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!