Blue Dog Heath Shuler Gets A Challenge... From The Left-- Meet Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell

Heath Shuler used to brag how he lives in the C Street cult frat house for authoritarian Jesus freaks and homophobes Jim DeMint (R-SC), Zack Wamp (R-TN), and Tom Coburn (R-OK)-- as well as sexual predators like John Ensign (R-NV) and Mark Sanford (R-SC). Now he brags how he votes more often with John Boehner and his C Street fellow cultists than with the Democratic Party-- and how he's on a mission. His mission goes beyond an anti-Choice, anti-working family agenda he has in common with his Republican allies. His mission is to make the Democratic congressional caucus a mirror image of the GOP. Since being defeated in his run for Democratic Leader by Nancy Pelosi (173-11) Shuler's been busy recruiting conservatives like himself to run for Congress as Democrats-- much the same way Rahm Emanuel recruited him. He's massively financed by the same corporate interests that finance the GOP... and he's the new Blue Dog whip.

A virulent anti-immigrant bigot and anti-Choice fanatic, Shuler has next to nothing to do with the Democratic Party. When it comes to ProgressivePunch's crucial votes scores, Shuler's 40.39 shows him among the 5 Democrats voting most frequently on key issues with Boehner and Cantor. He's the most right-wing Democrat in the North Carolina delegation and has had a profoundly negative influence on weaker minded Members Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell.

Yesterday I read about Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell's decision to challenge Shuler's 2012 reelection bid. A primary would have set up an impossible situation for Bothwell, mostly because of Shuler's gigantic corporate financial support. Last year he spent $2,212,737 to fend off a challenge from a little-known teabagger, Jeff Miller. When Shuler won reelection in 2006 he took every county in the district and beat Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower 62-36%. This past November Shuler didn't have as easy a ride, barely retaining his seat at all (54-46%) and losing in Cherokee, Clay, Henderson, Polk, and Rutherford counties. In fact, in crucial Henderson, he only managed 12,786 (35%) against 23,541 (65%) for Miller-- quite the comedown from 2008 when 27,535 (54%) of Henderson County voters pulled the lever for him.

Bothwell, anticipating a strong and well-financed Republican challenge next year (because of Shuler's weak showing), decided to forget about a primary and to run as a third party Independent, offering voters a clear alternative between a conservative Blue Dog masquerading as a Democrat and a reactionary Republican masquerading as a conservative. So who is Cecil Bothwell? On his blog and his website you get a very different kind of mindset than the Heath Shuler variety:

• Created the largest grassroots campaign in Asheville City Council history with over 500 donors (average $50) and over 700 willing to volunteer.

• 30 year resident of Buncombe County and lives near Five Points.

• 25 years as a “green builder”

• Member of the American Civil Liberties Union

• Founding member of WNC for Death Penalty Repeal

• Founding member of Asheville PARC

• Tutored at Asheville’s Hall-Fletcher elementary school for three years.

• Helped create a church jail ministry program at the Buncombe County Detention Center.

• Has owned and operated Brave Ulysses Books, a micro-publishing company, since 2000.

• Former managing editor of Asheville’s weekly Mountain Xpress.

• Author of the best-selling city guide, Finding Your Way in Asheville.

• Winner of national and regional awards for investigative reporting, criticism and humorous commentary from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the Society of Professional Journalists.

• Weekly radio commentator on WNCW 88.7FM for three years, DJ on WPVM 103.5FM for five years.

• Dubbed the Most Courageous Elected Official of 2010 by the American Atheists.

And, as his bio asserts, "He has brought an uncommon diversity of experience to bear on all of the issues addressed by Asheville’s City Council." After his election to the City Council in 2009, the validity of his election was challenged by several opponents, despite the fact that he won the most votes. They contended that an archaic provision in the state Constitution-- long ago overruled by the Judiciary-- doesn't allow for atheists to hold office-- and Bothwell has been one since he turned 20. Bothwell began serving with an affirmation of the oath of office, rather than taking an oath on a Bible. He would make a refreshing change from a religious fanatic like Shuler.

UPDATE

Bothwell has reassessed the political situation in western North Carolina and has decided to challenge Shuler in the Democratic primary. He's the first Democrat we added in the current cycle to Blue America's Bad Dog page and if you'd like to help... well every donation, no matter how small, will help combat Heath Shuler's huge corporate warchest.