Virgil Goode is really making his name as the leading Republican racist

Congressman Goode (R-VA) is a proud Republican and a very outspoken bigot. Think Progress excerpts his latest screed against Muslims and immigration.

In a letter to constituents, Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) blasted Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress, for using a Koran n a private, unofficial swearing in ceremony. Goode wrote, “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.”

Goode’s remarks have been widely criticized as bigoted. But he’s not backing down. In an op-ed in this morning’s USA Today, Goode writes that Ellison’s election is an indication that we are at risk of “infiltration” by Islamic extremists who want another 9/11. An excerpt:

My letter also stated, “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 Quran.”

Let us remember that we were not attacked by a nation on 9/11; we were attacked by extremists who acted in the name of the Islamic religion. I believe that if we do not stop illegal immigration totally, reduce legal immigration and end diversity visas, we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to infiltration by those who want to mold the United States into the image of their religion, rather than working within the Judeo-Christian principles that have made us a beacon for freedom-loving persons around the world.

In response to Goode’s column, the USA Today editors write, “Tolerance and religious freedom are at America’s heart. So is the nation’s embrace of people from all countries and cultures. Several million Muslims live in the USA. It is to the nation’s credit that one of them will join Congress this week.”

TPM Muckraker was keeping track of the Republicans who disavowed Goode's earlier trashing of newly-elected Muslim member of Congress Keith Ellison from Minnesota. There weren't many. One to be exact.

LSB: One. One Republican who's spoken out against this bigotry. What does that day about the Party of Lincoln these days?