Heath Shuler is using Charles Taylor's refusal to return Abramoff funds as a reason that he should replace Taylor as the 11th district Congressman, and getting good local press in the process. Here is a glowing piece, which apparently is on the front page, from the Smoky Mountain Sentinel. From the piece:

Shuler also called into question Rep. Charles Taylor’s refusal to return contributions made to his campaign from felon Jack Abramoff. All but a handful of members of Congress have returned or donated Abramoff’s contributions. “If Mr. Taylor is not willing to return dirty contributions like the ones he took from Jack Abramoff, how can we expect him to be fully committed to changing the way Congress conducts its business?” Shuler asked. “Charles Taylor has a track record of supporting unethical lobbying practices, and lacks the motivation to clean up a system that has been so generous to him. It’s like hiring a fox to guard the henhouse.”

For those of you wanting a Democrat with "balls", we have one here.

And Shuler is imposing limits on himself that are even stricter than those called for in recent proposed bills:

Shuler also pledged that when elected, the following rules will be in place in his office:
1. Ban Gifts from Lobbyists: Neither my staff nor I will ever accept any gift from a federal lobbyist.

2. Eliminate Conflict of Interest: I will increase the “waiting period” to lobby me or any member of my staff for any former staff member or member of Congress.

3. Fully Disclose all Lobbyist Meetings: Any meeting taken by me or my staff with a federal lobbyist will be made public via my website.

4. Fully Enforce the Rules: Any member of my staff who violates these rules will be dismissed immediately.