Archive for Heath Shuler
Exit Shuler
Posted by: | CommentsRep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) will not run for reelection after three terms in office.
“This was not an easy decision,” Shuler said. “However, I am confident that it is the right decision. It is a decision I have weighed heavily over the past few months. I have always said family comes first, and I never intended to be a career politician.”
Quadruple Down Economics: Serious or CYA?
Posted by: | CommentsWith the congressional supercommittee expected to fail in its attempt to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts over the next decade by next week, another group in Congress is urging even deeper cuts.
WASHINGTON — With the deadline for a supercommittee deficit-reduction deal closing in, more than 150 members of Congress from both political parties made a renewed push Wednesday for a $4 trillion package.
But that doesn’t appear likely to happen, since the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is struggling even to come up with its mandated goal of at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction.
As one of the organizers of the effort, NC-11′s usually media-shy Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) has been making the rounds on the Beltway media circuit this week, urging the committee “to be brave and go big.”
The show of fiscal breast beating from 150 members of Congress from both political parties is supposed to convince the public that Congress is serious about pursuing budget austerity. Without raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) told reporter John King, even though two thirds of Americans support that. Appearing with Shuler, Chambliss suggested that more corporate tax cuts would allow America to grow its way out of debt. Call it Trickle Down 3.0.
(Fool me thrice, shame on who?)
But if the supercommittee is already poised to fail and if, as some congressmen have suggested, the dreaded triggers may be “reconsidered” if the committee fails to deliver, wouldn’t it be strategic to have a high-minded-sounding stand on principle to wave before voters in the next election?
If the committee fails to deliver next week, you’ve proven your austerity bona fides by publicly pressing for deeper, less politically viable cuts than the smaller package the supers could not agree on.
Alternately, if in a clutch move the committee does deliver an agreement next week, you can vote against it and explain that it was too small to boost the confidence of “the markets.”
In Washington, that’s a win-win.
They Complain? Beat Them Harder.
Posted by: | CommentsWhen Buncombe voters turned out to express their alarm and dismay regarding the newly redrawn Congressional districts, some of us held out hope that the obvious illogic of dividing our mountain county would win out, that anyone could see the injustice being done and that political pressure to do the right thing would win the day.
We were wrong.
The latest version of the Congressional district map carves even more of Buncombe County into Rep. Patrick McHenry’s 10th District.
AC-T:
The latest Republican plan would include even less of Buncombe County in the 11th Congressional District. Buncombe County has [238,318] residents. Asheville has 83,939.
July 1 plan:
[Buncombe]
• 129,646, or 54 percent in 10th
• 108,672, or 46 percent in 11th
[Asheville]
• 63,600, or 76 percent in the 10th
• 19,793, or 24 percent in the 11thJuly 19 plan:
[Buncombe]
• 150,156 or 63 percent in the 10th
• 88,162 or 37 percent in the 11th
[Asheville]
• 72,053 or 86 percent in the 10th
• 11,340 or 14 percent in the 11th
UPDATE: A 3rd version of the Congressional map (Rucho-Lewis 2A) was released last night. It has only 54% of Asheville turned over to Patrick McHenry. I haven’t been able to dig into the numbers to know which precincts, etc. I’m looking forward to hearing from the folks who have.
Mountain Xpress has more:
Against that backdrop, all eyes are turning toward Rep. McHenry of the 10th District. A deputy majority whip, the powerful four-term Republican also serves on the House Financial Services Committee. Elected to Congress at age 29 after a short stint in the Statehouse, McHenry quickly became a fair-haired boy of the modern conservative movement, hailed by the National Journal recently as the “most conservative member of Congress from North Carolina and the 17th most conservative representative in the country.”
When it comes time to cast ballots for elected representation at every level from County Commission to NC Legislator to Congress it will be our responsibility to answer this insult with electoral injury.
Cecil – Democrat
Posted by: | CommentsI don’t have much time this morning, so I’m going to drop this topic and head out the door. Cecil Bothwell, who had previously announced an intention to run for Congress as an Unaffiliated or Independent candidate has changed his mind and is going to face Heath Shuler in the Democratic Party primary in May, 2012.
Here’s Cecil’s press release in its entirety:
Cecil Bothwell, who announced his congressional bid on March 27, has decided to enter the 2012 Democratic primary. “I originally believed that the best way to address issues too long ignored, and to challenge the corporate power over the national parties was to run as an independent,” Bothwell explained. “But I’ve heard from hundreds of people, from WNC to Washington, DC, who believe the most likely path to success is up the middle instead of trying for an end-run. Groups are smarter than individuals, and I’m following advice gleaned from a wide network of friends and supporters.”
National Republicans Against Shuler
Posted by: | CommentsI saw this ad today at a blog I frequent. I thought I’d share it here to add some context to the NC-11 Congressional race discussions we’re having. These guys are already running ads against Shuler and plan to target this district heavily in 2012.
Cecil Open Thread
Posted by: | CommentsAsheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell posted this comment to Scrutiny Hooligans this morning:
And this seems as good a place as any to be seen; (Note the deep breath I am taking as I post this …) http://bothwell4congress.wordpress.com/
Discuss.
Rethink Your Precinct – 2011 edition
Posted by: | CommentsThe annual precinct meetings of the North Carolina Democratic Party are coming up. They’re currently scheduled for Saturday, March 5, with a make-up/alternate date on March 8. Exact places and times should be available soon at the county party website, and will probably also appear in the Citizen-Times and Mountain Xpress.
There’s supposed to be one in every precinct in the state, and that includes the precinct you live in. At these meetings, the various precincts will start the process by which the party organizes itself every two years: they will elect precinct officers, elect delegates to the county convention, and maybe get a head start on grassroots campaigns to support Democratic candidates. They’re a great way to meet politically aware folks in your neighborhood, too, and offer an opportunity—through the process of drafting resolutions for the county convention—to educate your neighbors about the issues that are of greatest concern to you.
I’ve been a precinct officer for close to eight years now, having been first elected to that position (by five of my neighbors) in March of 2003. When I started, I thought that “precinct chair” had a romantic ring to it (though I was mildly disappointed that I wasn’t going to be a “precinct captain”). My election coincided with the beginning of the Dean campaign, and at that time I believed that if someone wanted to reform this country, then the only effective strategy was to work within the Democratic Party.
Honestly, that didn’t work out so well. Read More→
More Heath
Posted by: | Comments
There’s a serious debate going on regarding how area progressives ought best to interact with our Congressman. Some feel that offering him any support at all is a tacit endorsement of his conservative stances. Some feel that he’s the furthest to the left we can hope for in the 11th District. Still others feel that his persistently dissonant voting record is exactly what our district needs.
I’ve said that the only way to get more progressive leadership in WNC is to build progressive infrastructure outside of Asheville. There’s something happening out in Jackson County, but there’s no regional movement towards more progressive values. That being said, Heath Shuler has been a strong voice for environmental protection, workers’ rights, and education.
That conundrum laid plain, here are a couple more Shuler soundbites to get you cogitating.
Politico: Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), who challenged Pelosi for the leadership spot, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “there’s been really no communication whatsoever” between his group and the California Democrat. “We still have not had the connection between the Blue Dog members and the leadership.”
[...]
“We’re not about the ideologues of either political party. We’re talking about how we can bring our country back to the middle where we need to be and start with compromise,” Shuler said. “I think the Blue Dogs represent 80 percent of America. You look at the political structure on both sides — they only represent 10 percent on each side of the American people. Blue Dogs represent 80 percent of America.”
Shuler Notes
Posted by: | CommentsOur Heath has been making the headlines lately, and I thought I’d get some of the major items here in one place:
Heath Shuler Appointed to key Budget Committee in the House
Shuler’s in Doonesbury (Strip One) (Strip Two) for packing heat
In vote to repeal Health Care Legislation, Shuler sides with Democrats
As states move to redistricting, Shuler submits bill calling for bipartisan redistricting commissions
What’s your take, Hooligans?
