WASHINGTON (BP)–Heath Shuler is that rarest of Democrats in Congress –- the pro-lifer.
The congressman from western North Carolina established himself last year, his first in the House of Representatives, as one of the half-dozen most reliably pro-life Democrats in that chamber. Shuler and five other Democratic members compiled 85 percent voting records, according to the scorecard compiled by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), making them the top pro-life congressmen in their party.
In contrast, 197 House Democrats received ratings of 0 from NRLC.
Despite his status in a party that is overwhelmingly committed to abortion rights, Shuler, a Southern Baptist, says he feels no pressure to conform when a vote on a “life” issue approaches.
“They know who I am, how I stand, and they never ask any questions,” he told Baptist Press. “They can go find someone else to push on, because they know they’ll never get it out of me.”
Even some of the leading pro-life Republicans rated no better than 85 percent in NRLC’s 2007 ratings. New Jersey’s Chris Smith — widely considered the pro-life leader of the House -– along with Ohio’s Steve Chabot and Virginia’s Frank Wolf all received scores of 85. Like Shuler, they voted for a Medicare prescription bill that NRLC opposed because it believed the measure would prevent the elderly from spending their own money on drugs.
Shuler, though, extends his pro-life stance beyond such issues as abortion, embryonic stem cell research and cloning. To be pro-life, for him, means voting for government proposals in support of prescription benefits for the old and health care for the young. Also unlike many conservative Republicans, he has declined to endorse a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman, though he opposes “gay marriage.”
There is no question Shuler, 36, is one of the more conservative congressmen in a party dominated by liberals. He defeated an eight-term Republican congressman, Charles Taylor, in 2006 by winning 54 percent of the vote in a district where, he says, “in some instances there’s very few differences in some of our rural areas in western North Carolina that separate the two parties.”
He is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, which focuses on fiscal responsibility and describes itself as a group that gives “moderate and conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives a common sense, bridge-building voice within the institution.”
Shuler made a name for himself in western North Carolina as the star quarterback of state championship teams at Swain County High School. He also excelled at the nearby University of Tennessee, winning Southeastern Conference Player of the Year honors in 1993 and finished second in Heisman Trophy balloting. He was a first-round selection in the National Football League’s 1994 draft, but after five years in the league and a series of foot injuries, Shuler retired.
The member of Biltmore Baptist Church in Arden, N.C., succeeded as a small business owner, opening a real estate brokerage firm and several real estate companies before running for Congress.
Shuler discussed politics and his policy positions in a March interview with Baptist Press in his Capitol Hill office. Here is a portion of the edited transcript from that interview.
BAPTIST PRESS: Why did you decide to go into politics and run for Congress?
SHULER: Well, I saw a true need. I think in my life I have had many blessings bestowed upon me, and I feel that [I have] an opportunity to help people and to give back. You know you can do a lot individually in your community, as so many people do. And this was a way that I felt like I could even give back even more. We had gone through a lot of job losses in North Carolina. The textile industry basically continues to fade away, and we lost a significant number of our jobs…. The more people I talked to the more they said, “Hey, why don’t you run for office?” And I said, “Why, I’ve never had any idea of running for office. I’ve never served in a public capacity in that aspect.” I recognized pretty quickly … the ways that you could help here in Washington and get our country back on the straight path. Our national debt continues to be a thorn in America. Whether it be in the Bible or anything, debt’s not good. We don’t practice it at home. We don’t practice it in our churches. We don’t practice it in our businesses. But unfortunately our government’s practicing it’s better to borrow than it is to save and cut wasteful spending. So we’ve got some challenges ahead of us…. I don’t want to get political, but if you look at these last seven, eight years, we’ve borrowed more money [in] this administration than all other administrations combined from foreign countries. We spend more money in paying our interest on our national debt to foreign countries than we do in education, veterans’ health care and conservation combined. And that’s just unacceptable — that we put our country in such a bad situation. We’ve got to get a handle on it.
BAPTIST PRESS: Why did you choose to run as a Democrat?
SHULER: Well, I grew up as a Democrat. My grandmother was very, very influential in my life, just as my parents were. I asked my grandmother. I said, “Grandma, why are you a Democrat?” She says, “Look, just as we’re taught in church to help those who cannot help themselves.” And she says, “Jesus surrounded himself by being able to be with the people that He needed to help most.” … I felt like that it best represented who I am as a person is to help those who cannot help themselves, I mean, those who are less fortunate, those who are poor. You know, people beat the system. I’m not the one to judge them. At a later day, there will be someone else that they’ll have to answer to. But I want to be able to help people. A lot of it, in a district like mine, it’s which family you’re born into. Obviously there [are] differences, but in some instances there’s very few differences in some of our rural areas in western North Carolina that separate the two parties.
BAPTIST PRESS: You know there’s no Democrat in the House of Representatives who has a better pro-life voting record, at least in this session of Congress, according to National Right to Life’s voting scale. Of course, you’re part of a party, though, that supports abortion rights. How does that play out for you on that issue, especially in your interaction with the leadership?
SHULER: It’s like my first conversation with Nancy Pelosi…. I said, “Look, never ask me how I’m going to vote when it comes to my faith.” And a lot of things that I vote on is based upon that. So, she’s never once asked me to change my view when it comes to voting, whether it be pro-life issues or other issues that pertain to that. She’s never asked me, and I don’t think she ever will. She’s kept her word. She believes in me, and she knows my belief. And so I think it’s made it a good working relationship.
BAPTIST PRESS: When those kind[s] of votes come up, like on funding for embryonic stem cell research and abortion, do you feel pressure anywhere from within your party?
SHULER: No. They know who I am, how I stand, and they never ask any questions. They can go find someone else to push on, because they know they’ll never get it out of me. We haven’t had an abortion vote per se in the House, you know.
BAPTIST PRESS: About restricting abortion? You’ve had funding [votes on abortion].
SHULER: We’ve had some funding ones, but we haven’t had [votes to restrict abortion]…. One of the things we need to do is we need to make sure that people aren’t making these decisions based upon not having someone to help them, to love them, to care for them. They need support; they need help; they need guidance. And where we’re going to get that is in our churches, in our communities. And we’ve got to spend more of our time building our relationship with our communities and less time worrying about how large our churches are and our building funds…. If … health care is a crisis and an issue in our community, let’s take that money that we’re [using to build] these new churches and let’s help provide people [with] health care, education. Let’s do those things that matter to people that’s going to impact their life and the longevity of it. And I think those blessings will be bestowed upon our churches…. We talk about all these groups of people talking about pro-life issues. Score SCHIP [the State Children’s Health Insurance Program] one time. You know, when you’re talking about the needs of a child needing access to health care, if there’s not a pro-life issue, I don’t know of one…. So to me there’s other areas that we could score … that I feel are pro-life issues. And so, sometimes I get frustrated, because that should be scored, you know. Having an opportunity for our seniors to have access to medications…. [W]hen I look at pro-life, I don’t want to look at pro-life just from an embryo standpoint. Pro-life, it starts at conception, but it also goes all the way through our seniors. And if we’re truly going to be pro-life, we need to look at all aspects of life. We need to look at health care. We need to … ensure that people aren’t having abortions based upon their personal wealth, that they don’t have a security net. You know, they may be a single mom, but yet we have support groups. So many of our churches are doing that. They’re outreaching to people to make sure that they have the support group and the stability and they have that foundation for them and they’re witnessing to them. They can make those decisions that abortion is not a part of the equation anymore. But that’s got to come from our communities.
BAPTIST PRESS: I noticed you voted against a bill to protect homosexual rights in the workplace, the Employment Non-discrimination Act, last year. Do you favor a constitutional amendment to protect or define marriage as [between a man and a woman]?
SHULER: When I was married in North Carolina, I mean, I was married in the presence of God. That’s who put us together. And the Bible doesn’t say that [same-sex marriage is] correct. So whether it be a constitutional amendment, it really gets down to your personal beliefs. And I don’t believe that that’s right. I mean, the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman — that’s what I believe in. [Y]ou can do anything you want to — constitutions, laws and stuff — it really becomes at the end of the day: “I answer to God.” At the end of my time here on earth, that’s who I’ll answer to.
BAPTIST PRESS: [O]f course, the amendment hasn’t been brought up in this Congress. It has in the past, and there have been votes. Would you support such an amendment?
SHULER: Once again, we look at the hypotheticals…. That was the power vested upon the states…. North Carolina is one of the states [where] we don’t recognize [a same-sex union] as being a marriage, and that’s the way it should be.
BAPTIST PRESS: Do you have any plans to work for change in the party platform on the abortion issue and the marriage issue?
SHULER: I can talk loud, and I can say as much as I would like, and I think we need more people that are Blue Dog-like members in this House, whether it be more Republicans who are moderates and more Democrats who are moderates. If you look at our society, if you look at our district, there’s 10 percent on each side who do a lot of talking on a lot of issues, and you’ve got 80 percent of America in the middle. And so, we need more Blue Dog-like members in this House that we can get some things done, and it’s not about political parties. It’s time that we get to the point where it’s about what’s right for America and not what’s right for the majority party or the minority party. And there’s way too much politics here in Washington, way too much. We need to start doing what’s right for America. If you look at my voting record, I’m a very independent voter. When it comes to the issues, I vote how I feel the people of my district want me to vote, not [how] any particular party would like for me to vote. So we’ve got to get to the point where we’re in the middle where most of America is. The fringe groups aren’t acceptable. It’s just not acceptable, because the majority of our America is in the middle.
BAPTIST PRESS: Do you have hopes the Democratic Party one day will be pro-life on the sanctity of life issue?
SHULER: Sure. I hope so…. If you talk to some of my colleagues and how they stand on those issues…, I don’t think any of them are for abortion. They don’t want unborn children to be aborted. They don’t want that. I think what we have to do is really make sure that we have a support cast…. [L]et’s make sure we support the people who are having to make these decisions and have an opportunity to witness to them. Some people don’t know what love’s about. You put your arm around them and you tell them that you love them and that you’re here for them and you can help them. We don’t have enough of that in this country.
BAPTIST PRESS: With your pro-life view, pro-marriage view, do you struggle with your party’s position on those issues in particular and your obligation to the party but yet your voting record?
SHULER: My obligation is to the people of western North Carolina…. Are there some areas I disagree with my party? Absolutely. Are there some areas I disagree with the Republican Party? Absolutely. I truly feel that we have to start doing what’s right for America first and put these political parties aside. We are going off a cliff here … fiscally with our country, and we’ve got to get control of it. And I think that impacts all walks. You know, we talk about having that support cast. If we can’t provide some funding for some of the groups to support these women and to be able to have the assistance that they need because we’re having to borrow money…. That’s unacceptable…. We’re going down the wrong path. We’ve got some wasteful spending that we need to take care of. We have to put political things aside. People know how I feel. I’m very outspoken about it. I will disagree with my party on some of those issues, just as I disagree with the Republicans on some of their issues. But that’s why I find myself as a Blue Dog, in the middle. So we’ve got to get more members of Congress who, I think, think in the middle…. We get too one-sided, you know, whether it be the Republicans when they were in charge or when the Democrats are in charge. We’ve got to start working together. We can’t just talk about it. We have to start doing it.
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Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press.
