Hendersonville Times-News Endorses Shuler

From this morning's Hendersonville Times-News:

Give Shuler a chance in Congress

U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor represents himself as a paragon of mountain values who has used his power in Congress to help the 11th Congressional District.

But the accumulation of questions over his 16 years of service raises questions as to whether he is serving himself first or his district.

A list of questionable actions includes improper loans at Blue Ridge Savings Bank that led to prison sentences for the bank president and two others, failure to file necessary paperwork for a Jackson County property tax break, campaign donations from Jack Abramoff, the convicted influence peddler; and earmarks turned up by the Wall Street Journal that seemed to help his business interests while also serving the district.

In defense, Taylor strings together a parade of tired cliches. The Democratic attack machine is churning out the charges. If he took Abramoff money, so did Democrats. The liberal Democrat-supporting press -- the Wall Street Journal, yeah, right -- is behind the charges.

Taylor's supporters will say that his value is so great voters should keep him on, whatever the charges may be. That's the same argument made by state Rep. Jim Black, the corrupt Democratic House speaker who is trying to save his own political hide by arguing that Mecklenburg County needs his clout in Raleigh.

The unfortunate truth is, there is very little evidence left of the reform spirit that Taylor took to Congress 16 years ago, and a pile of evidence that he has become part of the problem.

Clearing out a hundred or more incumbents in both parties would be fine with us, chips falling where they may. Voters of the 11th District should give Heath Shuler the chance to see what he can do in Congress.

Taylor, a Brevard Republican, has done some good. He has obtained grants for universities, road improvements and area hospitals. He has brought broadband to the mountains. His work to improve the VA Hospital has been outstanding.

But he has also ignored opportunities, such as expanding the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site. He supports a new visitors center and parking lot but talks like he's never heard of the request to buy 100 acres to protect the park from development -- a request endorsed by the Flat Rock Village Council, the Henderson County commissioners, the Chamber of Commerce and the county Travel and Tourism board.

His much-touted broadband network originally skirted this county. Only after Henderson County officials raised a stink did he bring broadband here, a poor way to treat a county that delivers heavy Republican support in a Democratic district.

A self-styled fiscal conservative, Taylor stubbornly clings to his support of the $500 million "road to nowhere" in Swain County, a project Shuler opposes.

One argument in a conservative Republican county is that a vote for Shuler is a vote for Democratic positions that are well to the left of the county's philosophy and values. If he votes a straight Democratic caucus line, Shuler will validate that point and doom his own political future.

Both candidates deserve low marks for the deplorable slop they're running on television.

Their jockeying to out border-hawk one another on immigration is an embarrassing sideshow of pandering, demonstrating how little either understands the comprehensive approach needed to actually solve the problem.

Shuler did voters a disservice when he backed out of a televised debate with Taylor. Yet Taylor is far from pure, having spent the last four campaigns assiduously avoiding candidate debates while he held a comfortable lead in the polls. And, as Shuler notes, the incumbent has passed up plenty of opportunities to appear alongside the challenger in forums across the district.

This may be the year that voters take control and cleanse the Congress of its complacency over ethics, out-of-control special interest spending and holding power. Heath Shuler has shown he has the desire to help bring about that fresh start while serving the voters back home.

The Times-News offers candidates not recommended by its editorial board an opportunity to reply. Replies from the candidate in the Nov. 7 election for the 11th Congressional District must be received by 5 p.m. Tuesday.