JOHN McCAIN vs HEATH SHULER-- WHICH ONE OF THESE LIARS ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE?

Republicans call him "Captain Amnesty"

In a recent poll to pick the most hated and disloyal Democrat in the House, North Carolina reactionary freshman Heath Shuler came in second. His voting record is as close as you can be to being a Bush rubber stamp without actually switching parties. If you take a look at ProgressivePunch's "Chips Are Down" rankings of all the members of Congress, you will notice that only 6 Democrats-- Brad Ellsworh (IN), Joe Donnelly (IN), John Barrow (GA), Dan Boren (OK), Nick Lampson (TX) and Jim Marshall (GA)-- vote more frequently with the Bush-Cheney agenda.

Shuler, a well-known, if mediocre, ballplayer, and who wasn't a Democrat, was being courted by both parties in 2005. The Republicans wanted him to run in Tennessee and Rahm Emanuel wanted him to run in North Carolina. He picked North Carolina and beat Charlie Taylor, one of the most corrupt Republican congressmen still unindicted. We've been stuck with him ever since.

Heath made the news yesterday because of his horribly divisive anti-immigrant legislation that the Democratic leadership has bottled up and that Shuler and the GOP is trying to force out onto the floor with a discharge petition. The petition needs 217 signatures and already has 181, almost the entire xenophobic Republican caucus (172 out of 198) plus a small smattering of wrong-headed Democrats, only 9, despite the fact that the legislation has 49 Democratic co-sponsors.

Shuler, who has proven himself to be a dishonest and slimy political operative, blames John McCain on his inability to get the 217 signatures; McCain's staff has noted that Shuler is a liar. Shuler told a local Democratic Party meeting in Hendersonville, NC that the GOP has tried bringing his bill to the floor and "it was going great until McCain blocked it."

McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, called Republicans in Congress and asked them not to sign the petition, Shuler said. He said after McCain's intervention, Republicans in the House were less willing to sign onto the bill.

"We've really slowed down in the last week in Washington," Shuler said.

A spokesman for McCain denied any involvement, saying the senator has neither taken a position on the SAVE Act nor tried to block anyone from signing it.

Rahm Emanuel's boy Shuler, who at one point threatened to not vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker, also took the opportunity to denounce Hillary and Obama. "When I look at the presidential candidates, I don't think any of the three gives me a sense that we can come together." He claims "fringe elements" have too much influence on the process.

Mark Krikorian, an extreme right wing propagandist at the National Review believes Shuler and not McCain.

Rep. Heath Shuler, D-NC, sponsor of the bipartisan immigration-enforcement bill known as the Save Act (H.R.4088), said this week that Sen. McCain was calling Republican House members in an attempt to block discharge petition that would force a vote on the bill on the House floor... An unnamed McCain staff member denies it, but given Amnesty John's track record, that denial is not persuasive. The way to remove all doubt about McCain's stance on the Save Act, and on his ostensible commitment to enforcement before proceeding to an amnesty, would be to simply co-sponsor one of the Save Act's companion bills in the Senate, [David Diapers] Vitter's S.2366 or, since McCain doesn't like Republicans much, Pryor's S.2368. Don't hold your breath.

Watch this, Heath Shuler: