A leader of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog caucus, which dropped from 54 members to 26 members after the 2010 elections, Representative Shuler challenged outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi for leadership of the Democratic caucus.
He won only 11 votes in the first vote of the 112th Congress for speaker of the House, but this unusually public challenge sent a message to party leadership that moderates expect a change in course after Democrats lost their majority in the midterm drubbing.
While Shuler opposed health-care reform when it passed in 2010, he voted with all but three Democrats to oppose its repeal.
“This effort simply continues the divisive nature of our political discourse and does nothing to address the needs of American families and businesses,” he says.
Still, Shuler and the Blue Dogs are potential swing votes for the new GOP majority in its quest to rein in government spending and reduce federal deficits.
