The Tennessee Liberal

I'm sure this won't be his first endorsement, nor will it be his last, but I love that Heath Shuler is running for Congress. The AP reported this week that Heath has filed papers to run for the NC-11 seat against Rep. Charles Taylor.

A follow-up analysis comes courtesy of Michael Davis in today's Chattanooga Times Free Press. The early analysis he picks up is mixed at best, with the traditional emphasis on the uphill battle of facing an incumbent.

I think that Heath Shuler brings a lot of things to the table that can counter that, however:

1) Wealth. He made a lot of money in the NFL and has made more money in real estate in Knoxville. He can seed his campaign with a lot of money, and like it or not, independent weath is a factor.

2) Name Recognition. Clearly his is a household name in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. I'm excited to see numbers start to leak out, but I'd imagine he is at least even with Rep. Taylor on name recognition. This takes a away a big chunk of the battle against an incumbent.

3) Moderate Politics. While Charles Taylor may have backed off of renaming French Fries into Freedom Fires, he still veers pretty far from the moderate end of the Republican party. Shuler has already talked about some of his policy aims, and they are right in line with what Southern Democrats are all about:

"Far too many families in western North Carolina are struggling to earn a decent living, educate their children, and pay for health care," Shuler said. "Congress is spending too much time playing partisan politics, instead of working to find solutions to the real problems facing our families."

One thing I don't love is how much he flirted with Republican politics while here in Tennessee:

In 2001, Shuler, then living in Tennessee, declined efforts by that state's Republican Party to recruit him for the 4th Congressional District seat vacated when incumbent Republican Van Hilleary entered the gubernatorial race. Shuler was to hold a fund-raiser for Hilleary that year, but it was canceled because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Flack said Shuler supported Democrats and Republicans while living in Tennessee but is now registered as a Democrat and has never been a registered Republican.

"He grew up a Democrat; his family is lifelong Democrats," Flack said.

But, in the end, he's with the good guys now. I'd like to think that life after 9/11 showed him that the Democratic party is the party of hope and security for America's future, but that could be a pipe dream.

So, everyone who was a Tennessee fan in the early 90s will join me as I say: Shuuuuuuuuler, Shuuuuuuler, Shuuuuuuler. (Poor Andy Kelly.)

PS: Aptonym of the the Century -

Shuler was traveling on business Monday and was unavailable for comment, campaign spokesman Randy Flack said.

Hehe.