Shuler Withers, Bothwell Blooms
By Byron Belzak, Publisher, DowntownAsheville.com
Third-term U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler has been on the downhill political slope for some time. So it came as no surprise to many, including Shuler's primary Democratic challenger and Asheville city councilmember Cecil Bothwell, when Shuler threw in the proverbial towel and declared that he would not seek re-election in November 2012.
On Feb. 4, 2012, Bothwell told DowntownAsheville.com: "I assume that his [Shuler's] polling was telling him what our informal polling was telling us. He was going to lose the primary."
Earlier, Shuler had challenged Nancy Pelosi for the post of Speaker of the House and lost. More recently, Shuler had received donations from only two individuals of Western North Carolina during the entire fourth quarter of 2011, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Shuler had hinted in more than one report that instead of seeking re-election as a Congressman that he was considering a run for Governor of North Carolina, since Gov. Beverly Purdue indicated she would not seek re-election in 2012.
All the while throughout 2011 there were whispers that Shuler was seriously considering a return to real estate development.
Furthermore, after the redistricting, some say gerrymandering, of Shuler's Western North Carolina district by North Carolina Republicans, some political pundits believed that the newly configured 11th District weakened Shuler's chances of beating a Republican in the general election in November 2012.
However the tipping point can be attributed, Rep. Shuler made his exit from political life a certainty on Feb. 2, 2012, when he announced that he was leaving the U.S. House at the end of his current term and would not seek the NC governorship, as reported by a number of media outlets, including Politico.com, NYTimes.com, and CharlotteObserver.com.
Now that Shuler has publicly announced he will refocus his life and concentrate on his family and business interests, the path for Cecil Bothwell is clear. He will concentrate his efforts on continuing to build support for his candidacy and remind voters that the U.S. Government has been mostly a blessing to the Western North Carolina region.
"I'm not surprised that Rep. Shuler dropped out," Bothwell told DowntownAsheville.com in a recent email. "We've seen the signs for the nine months we've been campaigning. Democrats in the 11th District are very discontent with Shuler's votes on the stimulus, health care, and jobs. They don't like his votes with the GOP to defund Planned Parenthood, cut Medicare and monkey-wrench Social Security."
There has been no doubt that Cecil Bothwell has been running an effective grassroots primary campaign, even though — or perhaps because of — his refusal to take any contributions from corporations.
"We have enlisted over 1,100 volunteers and we have active campaigns going in every county [of Western North Carolina]," said Bothwell. "We have hundreds of individual donors, far more than all of the Republican candidates and Shuler combined at this point."
Now with Shuler's political career withering on the vine, it is in marked contrast to Bothwell's enthusiasm, optimism, and colorful comments that bloom ever brighter as springtime approaches and the campaign season warms up.
"Our grassroots campaign is going to sweep the District next November [2012] as people push back against the Republican stonewalling in Congress and the Republican job-killing in Raleigh," said Bothwell.
"The 11th District may be socially conservative, but people here remember that government has been the solution to our economic problems in the past: the Blue Ridge Parkway and the TVA were federal projects that pulled us out of the Great Depression and are still enriching our communities today."
► For positions and views held by Cecil Bothwell versus Heath Shuler, Click Here>
Related news...Three-term Congressman Shuler throws in proverbial towel, challenger Bothwell picks up Democratic flag
U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11) will not seek re-election nor run for NC governorship in 2012 | Reports Politico.com: More> | Reports Charlotteobserver.com: More> | Reports NYTimes.com: More>
RELATED NEWS: On Feb. 1, 2012, The Washington Post listed fundraising winners and losers in the 4th quarter of 2011, noting that WNC's U.S. Representative Heath Shuler was a "loser... his most recent FEC (Federal Election Commission) report shows he got contributions from just two individual North Carolinians" For more political fundraising winners and losers as called by Washingtonpost.com, Click Here>
MORE RELATED NEWS: What does Cecil Bothwell, the Democratic challenger of Heath Shuler, stand for? | The views of Bothwell versus Shuler through the eyes of Bothwell as posted on Bothwell2012.com, as of Feb. 3, 2012: More>
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