HEATH SHULER TURNING OUT BETTER THAN I THOUGHT HE WOULD BE

Rahm Emanuel's Heath Shuler hasn't been half as bad as I expected him to be. In fact, his voting record, while one of the least progressive of the freshman class (along with Donnelly, Ellsworth, Carney, Space and Altmire-- all of whom have been worse than Shuler), isn't terrible. Some progressives in NC-11 wish they had someone with values more in-line with our own but on the big votes (with a few exceptions like stemm cell research) he hasn't been abandoning the Democrats so far. The jury's still out but it doesn't look like he'll be another Jim Marshall, Gene Taylor or Dan Boren. Last week, for example, he voted with most Democrats to start the process of ending the war in Iraq. He explained his reasoning in an OpEd in a local newspaper:

Earlier this week, we entered the fifth year of the war in Iraq. Throughout that time this Congress has provided the President with all the resources needed to wage this war. However, this body failed to provide any of the oversight he needed.

Today, this Congress will correct that lack of oversight, while still providing our troops the funding they need and our military leaders the flexibility they require.Today we say an open-ended commitment to this war is no longer acceptable. We say that we will no longer grant the President a blank check.

The war in Iraq has already lasted longer than World War I, World War II, and the Civil War. Continuing this war in the same manner with no accountability from the Administration or requirements on the Iraqi government is unacceptable.

While the NRCC appears to be searching for a new candidate to challenge him, the problem is ole Charlie Taylor. All of the names being floated are so used to deferring to the corrupt old autocrat that no one will jump into the race until he says he's not going to try to regain his seat. And he's not ready to say one way or the other yet. He would like the seat back-- it was very profitable for him-- but he wants to figure out which way the wind is blowing before he commits himself.

Scrutiny Hooligans is keeping tabs on what the GOP plans to do about Shuler next year. They even went to the trouble of transcribing a hilarious resolution from the Buncombe County Republican Party Convention urging Taylor to run again. God only knows what they must have been serving at that party!!