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September 16. 2006 12:00AM

Rep. Taylor calls out Shuler over immigration ads

Harrison Metzger
Times-News Staff Writer
harrison.metzger@hendersonvillenews.com

U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor is branding as false the campaign ads of his Democratic opponent, Heath Shuler, that say Taylor voted for amnesty for illegal aliens and weaker border security.

In the latest volleys in an increasingly bitter race to hold the 11th District Congressional seat he has held 16 years, Taylor called several print-media representatives to his office Friday to, he said, set the record straight.

"Why would anyone who has worked as hard as I have on immigration (legislation) up and vote for amnesty?" Taylor said, adding that the press "would have been all over it."

The 1998 legislation cited in one Shuler TV ad, HR 4328, contains no provisions of any kind that would grant amnesty to illegal aliens, Taylor said. The ad also cites a House roll-call vote on May 5, 2005, on HR 1268 as evidence of Taylor not supporting hiring more Border Patrol agents.

Taylor began attacking Shuler over illegal immigration in radio ads as early as July, said Andrew Whalen, a Shuler spokesman.

He said voters should know Taylor's voting record on the illegal immigration.

Taylor voted for a bill on Oct. 20, 1998 that included the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act - HR 4328, Whalen said. The U.S. Immigration Support lists the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act as one of several laws that have granted amnesty to illegal immigrants.

Numbers USA, a conservative immigration reform group, states on its Web site that "the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act is an amnesty program for Haitians."

The Shuler ad also cites Taylor's vote on May 5, 2005, against spending $284 million to secure U.S. borders with more Border Patrol agents, immigration investigators and unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the borders (HR 126.

Concerning that legislation, Taylor charged Shuler, a Swain County native and former NFL quarterback, is misleading the public over a "vote to recommit" immigration legislation. He said he voted not to send the legislation back to committee but instead to bring it to the floor for a vote, and then supported it, but that Shuler's ads claim the opposite.

"That goes beyond being sloppy," Taylor said. "What you have in this campaign is a candidate that doesn't have a clue, and it's being paid for by the Democratic National Committee."

The congressman said he has long supported tighter borders. He cited his support of HR 5441, which provides $19.6 billion to add 1,200 new border security agents, 1,212 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and 4,870 new detention beds for illegal aliens. He also said he supported HR 2360 last fiscal year to provide $1.7 billion to increase border security and HR 4567 in 2005 to provide vehicles, including unmanned aerial vehicles for border patrols.

Friday, Shuler defended the ads and reiterated his support for building a border security fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"I am glad that after watching over 11 million people enter our country illegally and a decade of inaction, Congress is finally taking steps to make America more secure," Shuler said in a press release. "America must secure its borders against illegal immigrants and potential terrorists and this fence is one important step in that process."

The bill, HR 6061, creates a 700-mile fence as well as a virtual fence of unmanned aerial vehicles, ground sensors, cameras and other surveillance technology, according to Congressional Quarterly. Taylor voted in favor of the bill, which passed the House on Thursday but faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

"Throughout this campaign I have called on Congress to get to work and secure America with stronger border protections," Shuler said. "In Congress, I will fight to make sure our nation is secure and that we stop the flow of illegal immigrants into our country.

"The Republicans control the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives and they have failed to secure our borders. They have failed to stop illegal immigration. Charles Taylor has been a part of this failure," he added.

Shuler has clearly laid out his position on illegal immigration from the start of his campaign for the 11th District seat.

"I strongly oppose illegal immigration and amnesty for those who have broken our nation's laws," he said. "I support all measures to secure our borders and stop the flow of illegal immigrants."

Taylor used Friday's meeting with reporters to attack Shuler as a tool of liberal national Democrats. It is a strategy designed to undermine Shuler's campaign persona as a conservative Democrat who opposes abortion and supports gun ownership.

In a campaign in which Democrats have attacked Republicans for supporting President Bush, the GOP counterpoint is to tie Democrats such as Shuler to liberal national politicians and groups who would be anathema in their districts.

"Most of the people he has gotten money from do not share the values of the people of Western North Carolina," Taylor said.

For instance, Taylor called on Shuler to say if elected whether he would support liberal Democrat Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

"Maybe he's not going to vote for Mrs. Pelosi. But in another few months, if he's elected, that question is going to be put before him," Taylor said. "The people of Western North Carolina ought to know before."

Asked if he was more worried about Shuler than he had been previous challengers, Taylor responded that past polls have shown he and challengers within a few points of each other a week or two before the election, only to have him win by 11 or 12 points.

Taylor has not faced an opponent in a TV debate in years, and no group has offered to sponsor such a debate in this campaign. Asked if he would be willing to debate Shuler, Taylor responded: "What is a debate? What is the format?"

"We're out across the district. We're willing to do anything to answer any questions our constituents have," he said.

After the meeting, Taylor's spokeswoman Deborah Potter said the campaigns had not been asked to debate, but that Taylor's campaign would probably agree to a debate "if the terms were fair."