The Southern Highland Reader

REGIONAL–The Smoky Mountain News’s Julia Merchant has a look at the voting inclinations of 11th District congressman Heath Shuler.

Shuler, a first-term Democrat, recently climbed to the top of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s no-no list by voting against the stimulus, among other things. He served as whip for the Blue Dog Democrats in 2008.

Shuler can afford to appease his rural, conservative district with these votes, Merchant points out, because of the way the numbers break out in congress — the Dems have a big majority.

Here’s an excerpt:

As testament to the “different breed [of Democrat]” idea, Shuler won the 11th Congressional District in the last election by a landslide – but every county except Buncombe and Jackson voted for John McCain in the presidential race.

Not surprisingly, Shuler garners support from a number of Republicans as well. He was the first candidate in years able to do so, said Haywood County Commissioner Kevin Ensley, a Republican.

“The district is conservative, and when I was watching the Democrats fill the candidates, they’d get these liberals from Asheville and Hendersonville,” Ensley said. “When they got a conservative Democrat, I knew they’d do real well.”