Nov 16 2009
Shuler’s Land Deal May Cost Him His Seat
Heath Shuler (D-NC-11) may be in serious reelection trouble next year for a couple of reasons. For one, he’s a Democrat representing a district that voted for both John McCain and George Bush and was held by a Republican representative for 12 years prior to Shuler winning the office. The country has been slowly moving away from Obama and the Democrats after witnessing their destructive policies and radical actions and Republicans are sure to benefit from that growing disdain. That will work against him right there, but what might put the final nail in his political coffin could be the land deal and his involvement with the decisions made by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Basically, Shuler lied.
Shuler’s office points out that he has been cleared of wrongdoing in the case by the House ethics committee, federal authorities and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) inspector general. But a report released by that inspector general this week indicates he wasn’t truthful about the matter with the local press.
The report from the inspector general states that, contrary to Shuler’s claims, he contacted TVA CEO Tom Kilgore while the land swap was in progress. Shuler has told the local press that there had been no contact between him and the TVA, according to reports.
“Specifically, if all of this was above board, why did TVA and Shuler feel compelled to tell the media that there was no contact between the congressman and TVA in relation to the Maintain and Gain application?” the report said. “There obviously was.”
That was a pretty important detail for Shuler to divulge and yet for some reason it “slipped his mind.” You don’t forget important details like that in an ethics investigation and you don’t lie about it if you truly believe you have done nothing wrong. I simply cannot come to any other logical conclusion. The man had guilt on his mind. What other reason could there possibly be for his actions?
The RNC is going to beat this to death next year. If you live in the 11th District you are going to see ad after ad after ad about this land deal. The RNC will most certainly work to find a top tier candidate, but even a mediocre one may be able to take Shuler out next year as there may be people who will vote Republican as a vote against Shuler more than a vote in support of the GOP candidate. Either way, I don’t think Pete Sessions will particularly mind what their motivation is. They’ve wanted this seat back since they lost it in aught six. ( I could have typed ‘06, but I have really been looking for a reason all week to use the word aught.)
It’s sad that a candidate cannot run on their own merits but, instead, only point out the faults of their opponents. Ah, politics!
Shuler is a joke and deserves nothing less than to lose his seat. I doubt whether anyone believes his lie about the land deal anyway.