It May Not Be What It Appears

According to this morning's Roanoke Times, 5th District Congressman Virgil Goode is in for the fight of his life in 2008. How do we know? Because his Democratic opponent's campaign appears to have struck a nerve among the voting public:

Democrat says time is right
By Ruth L. Tisdale

Riding the wave of success that Democrats have enjoyed at the state and national levels, political newcomer and 5th Congressional District Democratic candidate Tom Perriello says he can unseat six-term Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Rocky Mount.

"Americans are ready for a change," Perriello said. "They don't want people who will vote right or left; they want people who will vote right or wrong."

After breaking fundraising records by bringing in more than $263,000 since Labor Day, Perriello, 33, has opened the eyes of both Democrats and Republicans as a strong contender for the seat. (link)

$263,000. Gosh. That's big money.

But how many of Perriello's potential constituents does that represent? How many people from the 5th District have written checks to his campaign?

Well, I did some checking ...

If Perriello's post-Labor Day contributions were anything like his pre-Labor Day donations, the answer would be ... 2.

Two, if you exclude relatives. Two individuals from Southside offering up a total of $1,500.

TWO.

Perriello actually had more contributions from donors in ... liberal New York. More from the liberal confines of Maryland. More from the rabidly liberal Washington D.C.

Tom Perriello may indeed be "opening eyes." But, if this FEC filing is any indication, those eyes are to be found nowhere around here.

* Disclosure: The FEC report I cite above is admittedly rather dated and is not intended to represent in any way the current status of the candidate's contributions. All declared candidates are required to file again at the end of this month. We'll hopefully have more then.