Goodlatte: Surrounded by Lawyers

Learned yesterday--from a good source--that Bob Goodlatte, the 6th District Congressman from Roanoke, has 23  lawyers on his staff (he is chairman of the Judiciary Committee) and a staff budget of more than $2 million a year. That's a decent-sized law firm for these parts. This is the 20-plus year member of Congress whose primary goal early on was imposing term limits.

Goodlatte: His own law firm?

"That's pretty good for a guy who was never more than a second-rate immigration lawyer himself. I think his best year ever, he made $25,000 lawyering," said my source, a former lawyer who saw the light.

The hard right Republican, of course, is part of the cadre that is holding the country hostage on the healthcare insurance issue and who helped close the government. His own fear of the TeaParty in recent years has sent him to the extremes of his own party.

Goodlatte's wife (and one of my favorite people), Maryellen, is a top-notch lawyer and a partner in a Roanoke firm. It looked a few years ago like she was going to be appointed to a federal judgeship--which she richly deserved--but one of the good old white boys from far Southwest Virginia picked up the nomination and the seat. Maryellen would have been one of the best federal judges on the bench. The guy who was picked was and is an empty suit, which is what we've come to expect from the GOP.

(Photo: csmonitor.com)