Football Fan Targets Shuler's Campaign

Washington Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler puts his hand to his helmet during the Redskins 14-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in this Nov. 26, 1995 photo at RFK Stadium in Washington. In the mountains of western North Carolina, former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler and the man he is trying to oust from Congress, Rep. Charles Taylor, R-N.C., are debating issues like illegal immigration, foreign trade and the war in Iraq.Thousands of miles away, in San Diego, Jason Woodmansee worries that one crucial issue is being overlooked in one of this year's most competitive U.S. House races:"From an objective, quantitative viewpoint, Shuler was a terrible NFL quarterback," Woodmansee writes on his blog www.StopShuler.com.(AP Photo/Doug Mills, File) (Doug Mills - AP)

"(We) are sick of standing idly by while Taylor screws up this campaign. If he is afraid to talk about the REAL issues in this campaign, we aren't. Here is our TV ad," he wrote on the blog, next to the first of his two anti-Shuler "attack ads."

With the requisite ominous music and voiceover and grainy black-and-white photos, the ads _ which Woodmansee also posted on YouTube.com _ are pitch-perfect satires of a dark political art. They've helped draw attention to his site, which Woodmansee says "is obviously a joke."

"The ads are very funny, and Heath had a good laugh at them," Whalen said.

Now living in San Diego, where he works for Digitaria, an interactive ad agency, Woodmansee is a Democrat and recognizes that a Shuler win over Taylor could help Democrats take control of the House.

But he places Redskins loyalty ahead of party loyalty.

In the end, whether Democrats or Republicans control the House doesn't matter, he said. "The really important thing is football. A Redskins Super Bowl vs. a Democratic Congress? That's not really that hard of a choice."

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On the Web:

Stop Shuler: http://www.stopshuler.com

Shuler's campaign site: http://www.heathshuler.com