nc-11

And just as quick, there's a horse race again for the Democratic nomination in NC-11. Hayden Rogers, Rep. Heath Shuler's Chief of Staff announced he would run today.

Hayden Rogers, a Robbinsville native and longtime chief of staff to Congressman Heath Shuler, announced his candidacy for Congress Wednesday for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.

WLOS in Asheville reports that Heath Shuler is taking a very long look at the governor's race, and is apparently leaning pretty strongly toward getting in.

Good news: he'd probably clear the field if he ran. Bad news--unless the congressional map gets thrown out, this makes NC-11 a very, very tough hold. For those who don't know, under the Ruchomander NC-11 is the most Republican district in the entire state.

A terrible thing happen today....I sign my 20 yr old sons back up on my private health insurance. I won't go into all reason why they did not have their own health insurance even though one works full time for a fortune 500 company in a small town and the other works part time while going to school. But, I am sure this horrible thing of me getting them back on my insurance is in some way commie Muslim plot to get our guns and raise our taxes ... what shall we do?

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/CongressmanShuler

{cross-posted from ScruHoo and DWT!}

For sixteen long years, the citizens of North Carolina's mountainous 11th District were represented in Congress by Charles H. Taylor. No matter the clouds of corruption allegations swirling around him, conservative voters returned Taylor to the House cycle after cycle. He had his Russian bank ties, his Jack Abramoff ties, his Savings and Loan scandal, and a remarkable antipathy towards the press and his progressive constituents. It was like an ill-considered, abusive relationship, and NC-11 voters couldn't tear themselves away.

Then along came Heath Shuler. Big, handsome, and aw-shucks honest, he had pretty words about labor unions, education, and the environment. He looked like our dragon-slayer. We knew about his social conservatism and Tennessee Republican registration, but we looked past those differences, ready for him to free us from the muck pond of Charles Taylor's reign.

It's almost too sad to talk about. I'd like to see a strong challenge to our incumbent Heath Shuler because spirited races make for good democracy. But with erstwhile Republican opponent Carl "Army of" Mumpower undecided as to whether he ought to be running at all and Libertarian candidate Keith Smith running on the sheer power of anonymity, it looks like Mr. Shuler will get to keep most of the money he raised for his reelection. The coverage of Mumpower's meltdown has been getting all sorts of fun coverage:

In the wake of Republican candidate Carl Mumpower's suspension and resurrection of his campaign, the Republican organizations of three counties in North Carolina's 11th district are formally severing ties with the "unique" candidate:

In surprisingly blunt language, U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler complained this week of "a lack of maturity" in the U.S. House.

The North Carolina Democrat accused some of his fellow lawmakers of thinking they're "Hollywood stars" and said many of them spend more time playing politics than doing what's best for the country.

Originally posted at Scrutiny Hooligans, this post touches on each of the three candidates in the race for NC-11's Republican Congressional candidate nomination.

Next Thursday, March 27th, I'll be one of the panelists asking questions of the three Republican candidates for NC-11's Congressional seat. The debate will take place at Asheville's URTV studios. There will be two other panelists, both, I assume of the Republican persuasion. The 90 minute debate duration means I'll get to ask three, maybe four, questions. I've got a couple cooked up already, and I'm looking for more good ideas.

That's where you come in.

An Asheville conservative contacted me last week to ask if I'd be interested in a unique opportunity. City Councilman and Congressional candidate Carl Mumpower had the idea that he'd like to have this Hooligan on the moderators' panel at the next Republican Congressional Candidate debate. People talked to people, and candidates John Armor and Spence Campbell agreed to take the plunge. After I spoke with the newly elected Buncombe County Republican Party Chair to ensure there weren't any hidden rules or restrictions, I said I'd do it.

The debate will take place in the URTV (public access) studio in Asheville on March 27th from 2pm to 3:30pm. There will be three or four panelists asking questions of the candidates. I'll be one of them. It will be recorded then played on URTV and available at Google Video.

It's a good political move for Mumpower to invite me. He's running as the straight-answers to tough questions candidate, so inviting a liberal blogger bolsters his tough guy cred. Armor isn't afraid to answer any questions either, so we'll see if he can swipe some of Carl's patina. Spence, I imagine, had no choice but to say yes (after saying, "Gordon who?") once the other two were on board.

In addition to being good for Carl, inviting someone from the opposite end of the political spectrum is good for democracy. I hope this move will encourage broader debates in all future contests. I realize that, to some extent, I'm serving as a useful fool for the Republicans, but their aims don't bother me and can be part of strengthening and adding integrity to this Congressional race.