Erick has pointed out the Rep. Heath Shuler situation, so I won’t duplicate the information here. I’ll simply say that first-term Democrat Congressman Shuler appears to have a scandal brewing at a very bad time…and I’d like to tell you a bit about his opponent.

Shuler is holding a seat that was in GOP hands for many years, and it has been considered safe for Democrats to hang onto in this election. That may change though if these allegations of malfeasance have legs. And the man running to unseat Shuler is a very rare sort of Republican these days. He is a committed, Conservative with firm principles.

If that sounds like an urban myth, then you might want to continue reading below the fold…

Allegations surfaced today about North Carolina Democrat Rep. Heath Shuler seeming to misuse his office for personal gain. No matter what the outcome of the investigation into that turns up…assuming there is an investigation, of course…Shuler is a first-term congressman holding a seat that had been in GOP hands for a number of years.

Shuler’s opponent in the election this fall is Carl Mumpower, a psychologist, conservative activist and a member of the Asheville city Council. This summer, Mumpower suspended his campaign because he did not think that the NC GOP (or the national GOP) was conservative enough.

The Republican Party hierarchy went ballistic, but enough county Republican committees agreed to Mumpower’s conditions that he reactivated his campaign within a week. However–and this is a Very Big However–his campaign reported just $1,000 left in its treasury as of June 30. Well-heeled “Blue Dog” Shuler, in contrast, has $965,000 in his piggy bank.

Mumpower is running what he calls a “Lincoln Campaign”–he’s asking for literal Lincolns ($5.00 bills) as contributions and is committed to not taking money from Special Interests, Party Hierarchies, etc. He calls himself a Maverick, but he is a Maverick who is standing on firm Conservative principles that you can read about by clicking on this link.

At the moment, Mumpower is at a significant financial disadvantage. In heavily liberal Asheville which is the major city in the district he’s running to serve, the news media is not paying a lot of attention to him. If you’d like to help him out in his run against Highrolling Heath Shuler, then Here is a Link to Donate to Carl Mumpower’s Campaign

And no matter what you decide, take some time and look around Carl Mumpower’s website. Hey, a guy who is running on Principle. What a concept!

Just for the record, I have no connection to the campaign of Carl Mumpower (nor to any other campaign), nor am I connected with the Republican Party (or any other party) except as a voter. I simply live in western North Carolina, am aware of the situation here, and am trying to get some attention focused on this race.