Mindful of its tenuous position in the Senate, though, the party leadership wants to avoid antagonizing Goode further. He's a very, very bright guy. A lot of people want me to punish him, but I'm not going to do that. We can't afford to do that. His Richmond office reflects that down-home personality.
Visitors sit on a chair carved out of a tree trunk.
In his home office in Rocky Mount, friends note, they sit on milk crates. Goode's strong defense of the tobacco industry and gun rights and support for abortion restrictions on teenagers have made him wildly popular in his district. But they also have left him isolated in the Democrats' increasingly liberal caucus and have stymied his efforts to move up the political ladder, including two failed bids for U.S. Senate, most recently two years ago when he lost a primary to Sen. Charles S. Robb. It's out of touch, I think, with mainstream Virginia. I've seen it change.