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I decided to contribute to this campaign myself and sat down to write a profile of Chet Edwards, the erstwhile member from Texas. Chet Edwards represents TX-17. He was first elected in 1991 to represent TX-11, but after Republicans redistricted a plurality of his constituents in 2003, Edwards decided to run in TX-17 in 2004, taking on ultra-conservative State Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth. This was part of the huge redistricting project by the Texas Republicans who aimed to maximize Republican representation in the U.S. House, spearheaded by Tom DeLay. Unfortunately, the plan was successful and four of the five representatives targeted by the gerrymandering were defeated. Despite having to change districts, Chet Edwards was the only Democrat to keep his seat in the House.
Today, Edwards represents the district that is home to President Bush as well as a PVI that favors Republicans by 18 points. It stretches from the suburbs of Fort Worth to College Station, and includes all of Waco. Despite Bush capturing 70% of the vote in TX-17 in the 2004 election, Edwards was able to hold on with a narrow 4 point victory. In 2006, Edwards solidified his hold with a convincing victory, picking up 58% of the vote.
Not surprisingly, given the district, Edwards has voted with Bush quite a lot. He voted yes all the way in supporting and reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act as well as voting yes to the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Bill and to permanently repeal the estate tax. In addition, he was one of many Democrats to vote with President Bush in the original vote to go to Iraq and Edwards was one of few to vote for HR 2206 in May 2007, which would have funded the war without the timetable proposed by Democratic leaders. Edwards has a weak environmental record, voting for drilling in ANWR and recently joining just 8 other Democrats in opposing the recently passed House renewable energy bill. Again, given that this is a district with a lot of oil drilling, this is not a big surprise.
Edwards has done a fair number of good things as well. Although up until recently he supported the war and its funding, Edwards has finally amended that position and voted for H.R. 2956, the Redeployment from Iraq Act, this past July. He voted against extending the Bush tax cuts and against making them permanent. He also voted "no" to CAFTA in 2005. Given his district, he gets lots of courage points for that one from me. "Burnt Orange Report" blogger Phillip Martin wrote of Edwards:
Congressman Edwards fought hard against the administration's recent cuts to Pell grants, college work-study and federally-insured student loans. He's fought for affordable prescription drugs, and the protection of social security funds. He's done excellent work for our veterans, so we can honor the men and women who have sacrificed so much for us. He recently has voted against his own congressional pay raise, and helped secure millions of dollars for economic development in his communities.
One other important thing to note for someone like myself who gets really antsy about messing with the First Amendment to the Constitution: he's been a strong champion in terms of fighting the flag-burning amendements.
Progressive Punch, a group that rates voting records in comparison to those of the Progressive Caucus, gives Edwards an overall Progressive Punch rating of 69%, making him the 18th most conservative Democrat in this Congress.
In his tight 2004 race, he received massive help from labor PACs like the Carpenters and the AFL, along with ATLA, as well as the usual local-district business PACs. But in 2006, when he had a much easier time of it, he received little labor support. Nearly all of his contributions came from PACs like TXU Corporation and Kirby Corporation. His support from local trial lawyer firms and ATLA continued to come in.
Edwards doesn't face any opposition for the Democratic nomination. In the two years he has run in TX-17, he has been unopposed in the Democratic primary. Edwards is very well-liked among local bloggers and the media. Phillip Martin calls Edwards "One of our best leaders here in Texas." In 2006, Edwards was endorsed by both the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The Star-Telegram wrote, "Chet Edwards brings experience, understanding and the closest thing to statesmanship one can find in Washington these days."
Chet is a lot more conservative than I would like him to be, but given the numbers in his district and Bush's relative popularity there, I think he's a pretty good guy.
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