He got canned more for (oops!) "forgetting" to vote "nay" on CAFTA than any other single thing. Not everybody up there can work for a resort hotel, and the mills are going down the tubes. They're not going to elect a business-as-usual Republican over this Shuler, who campaigned in opposition to trade deals resulting in job loss, and the elephant in the room, illegal immigration. It remains to be seen, if Shuler will actually vote as he campaigned, though. If he goes along with his party, he'll be out.
He'll do just what the article says, make show votes for the folks back home when Pelosi doesn't need his vote, and vote with her the rest of the time. All smoke and mirrors.
Trade is an easy issue for him, the Dems have been anti-free trade for decades.