Virgil Goode must be feeling some heat from his Democratic challenger for the Fifth District. He took his fight against Tom Perriello to the airwaves this weekend with negative ads that features a black and white distorted image of Perriello with a beard (which he doesn’t currently sport) to go with voice overs about his “liberal” polices. The version playing in Lynchburg and Roanoke markets calls the Albemarle native a “New York Lawyer” with “Liberal New York Policies” who opposes drilling and the so-called marriage amendment while (gasp!) supporting comprehensive immigration reform.

On the right, the original image of Perriello. On the left, the distorted version that appears in Virgil Goode's new attack ad.

The Perriello campaign fired back almost immediately, decrying the ad as “libelous” for its characterization that Perriello opposes offshore drilling, something that Perriello has supported repeatedly in debates and stump speeches. Jessica Barba, Perriello’s communications director, held a press conference earlier today outside NBC29’s Charlottesville office to call for the station to stop airing the ad.

“We just think this is a pretty desperate and blatant attempt to focus the attention away from Virgil Goode’s terrible record about the economy to make up lies and smears about Tom Perriello,” said Barba.

On Sunday, local attorney Lloyd Snook sent the station manager a letter asking them not to run the ad. “This television station should not be taking money to air political advertisements that it knows are false,” wrote Snook. “You owe to your viewers a higher duty than simply to take every advertising dollars that is thrown your way.”

But general manager Harold Wright, Jr. responded with citations to the Federal Communications Act to show that “as to federal candidates, stations are not free to refuse to air time.”

At the press conference, Snook was satisfied with the legal issues, but Barba asked the station to consider the “moral” ground: “I understand that there may be a legal requirement for them to run the ad, but there is a moral and a fairness issue as well for stations that want to serve the public good to at least inform their viewers that this does contain libelous claims.”

Perriello’s campaign has been running its own television ads in recent weeks to familiarize voters with his name and background.