U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler has made an interesting enemy.
Washington-based newspaper The Politico writes that the Waynesville Democrat is No. 1 on the bad list of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Shuler got on her bad side by voting against both bank bailout bills and the stimulus package and telling a Raleigh audience that House leaders "failed."
The thing that riles Pelosi most, according to several House aides, is that she believes Shuler's motives are as much political as they are ideological — and that he's picking a fight with her to position himself for a run against Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) next year.
As the paper notes, Shuler was portrayed as "a Pelosi acolyte" by his 2006 opponent, then Rep. Charles Taylor.
He beats out conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, Republican Rep. Eric Cantor and another Blue Dog Democrat, Rep. Jim Cooper, for the top spot on Pelosi's list.
U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper will tour North Carolina for Barack Obama.
The Tennessee Democrat, a member of the conservative Blue Dogs, will addres economic issues in stops in Pinehurst, Sanford, Rocky Mount and Chapel Hill.
He is a member of the House Budget Committee and the Armed Services Committee.