As an NFL quarterback, Health Shuler had a reputation for making bad throws. As a politician, he may have just thrown himself out of the 2010 Senate race.

Shuler voted against the stimulus bill in the House, one of a handful of Democrats to cross party lines on the vote.

That’s not inconsistent with the Blue Dog credentials that made him an attractive candidate for Democrats in the 11^th District.

But it may be the kiss of death in the new Democratic Party. The stimulus bill has become a party-line war, thanks to Republican obstructionism. Democrats, seeing President Obama besieged, have closed ranks behind him.

Anyone breaking ranks, like Shuler, would face the wrath of Obamacrats in a Democratic primary. Nor would Shuler get any encouragement from Washington Democrats, the kind of encouragement that translated into big bucks and lots of TV ads – which added up to victory – for Senator Kay Hagan.

You can bet that Senator Chuck Shumer will not clear the field for Shuler the way he did for Hagan.

It’s beginning to look more like an open field for Attorney General Roy Cooper in 2010.

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