Oct 29 2008
Three Candidates in 11th Congressional District
If you live in the Appalachian region of North Carolina, you’re going to have three choices on the ballot Tuesday when you vote for who your Congressman will be. Heath Shuler (D) is the incumbent Congressman who won the seat just two years ago when he ousted Republican Charles Taylor. Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower (R) and Keith Smith (L) are challenging to take the seat from him.
Shuler has had a fairly centrist voting record over the past two years. He voted against the $700 billion bailout and he was a vocal co-sponsor of Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act. Shuler received an A rating from the NRA and is also a pro-life Democrat. He is also a member of the Blue Dog Caucus which is a moderate to conservative Democratic caucus in Congress.
Carl Mumpower is a staunch conservative supporting ideas like the Fair Tax, smaller government, continuing our presence in Iraq, eliminating earmarks, strong support of the Second Amendment as well as pro-life choices. Mumpower has stood firmly behind his convictions throughout this race and has even rankled those in his own party throughout this campaign when he has felt they have not lived up to the principles that define the Republican Party.
In June, he said he would support the impeachment of President Bush over his failure to stem illegal immigration. In July he “suspended†his campaign for nearly a week (though he continued to send out press releases) until the majority of the 15 counties in the 11th Congressional District recommitted themselves to the Republican Party’s core principles.
Mumpower has raised very little money in this race partly in due to a pledge he took not to accept money from special interest groups. While his position is admirable, I don’t think it was a wise one. He already faced an uphill battle in defeating Shuler. By taking this position he handicapped himself even further because he has made it more difficult to get his message out. Additionally, there has been a lot of conflict between his campaign and local Republican organizations which has fractured the unity behind him.
Keith Smith takes the idea of limited government all the way home. He advocates more parental responsibility in education with a possible combination of on campus and home schooling. He also understands the need for developing several alternative energy sources, including wind, solar, and nuclear in addition to expanded oil drilling off of our coast. Overall, he is in favor of repealing most nanny state laws as he gives several examples here and there on his campaign site. I don’t disagree.
My opinion of this race is that Shuler will win handily. Overall, he has been a decent fit to the district and I have been saying since early last year that it will be next to impossible to knock him off in an election. The atmosphere isn’t ripe for picking this year and Mumpower has not run the necessary campaign to do so.
