Pelosi’s Pick for Veep: Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002907209

Pelosi’s Pick for Veep: Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas
By Edward Epstein, CQ Staff


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has added a new name to the mix for Sen. Barack Obama ’s vice presidential running mate: Rep. Chet Edwards , the nine-term Texas Democrat whose east central Texas district includes President Bush’s ranch in Crawford.

“I think Mr. Edwards is an extraordinarily talented person,’’ Pelosi told reporters Thursday.

She said she put forward the name of Edwards, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, because she wanted the House Democratic Caucus to be represented in the ongoing speculation about Obama’s November running mate. “I thought it was important to have some selections from the House, so I started with Mr. Edwards,’’ she explained.

In touting the 56-year-old Edwards, she praised his legislative work in the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, which has sharply increased funding for veterans’ programs. “I particularly admire the work he has done on veterans. He is Mr. Veteran in Congress. Veterans know him and love him. I think he would make a great addition’’ as Obama’s running mate, the Speaker said.

Pelosi said she is confident Obama will select a good vice presidential partner and promised that whoever he picks will have her support. “Any nominee that Sen. Obama chooses is A-OK with me,’’ she said.

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, asked if he had any vice presidential advice for Sen. John McCain , the GOP’s prospective presidential nominee, said, “I think Sen. McCain is entirely capable of picking his vice presidential candidate. ... If he asks my opinion I’ll give it to him. Until then, I’ll keep my opinions to myself.’’:rofl:

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Edwards
Chet Edwards
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Thomas Chester "Chet" Edwards (born November 24, 1951) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing a district based in Waco, Texas. He represented Texas's 11th District from 1991 to 2005, and since 2005 has represented the 17th District. A resident of Waco, his district includes the town of Crawford,<1> the home of President George W. Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch, meaning that Bush is represented in Congress by a Democrat.

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1951, Edwards graduated magna cum laude<2> from Texas A&M University in 1974, earning a bachelor's degree in economics. Upon graduation, he received the Earl Rudder Award, which is only given to two outstanding seniors.<3> After his graduation, he worked as an aide to Congressman Olin E. Teague for three years.<3>

When Teague announced his retirement in 1978, Edwards ran in the Democratic primary to succeed him. He lost by only 115 votes to future Senator Phil Gramm.<4>

In 1981, Edwards earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.<5>

Edwards was elected to the Texas Senate in 1983, and served until 1990, representing District 9.<5> In the Texas Senate, Edwards was a member of the Senate Education Committee, and helped reduce class sizes in public schools. He was named by Texas Monthly as one of the "Ten Outstanding Legislators" during his tenure.<3>

Currently, Edwards is a member of the House Budget and Appropriations Committees. He is one of only six House members to serve on both the Budget and Appropriations committees. He is also the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction. As the only Texan to chair an Appropriations subcommittee, it can be argued that Edwards is the most influential Texan in the House. Appropriations subcommittee chairmen are often known as "Cardinals" because of their control of the budget.

The 11th District had been trending Republican for some time, but Edwards had been able to hold onto his seat, albeit with increasingly narrow margins.<6> In the controversial 2003 Texas redistricting, however, Edwards' district was renumbered as the 17th District, and the U.S. Army post Fort Hood was removed from the district. His district absorbed College Station, home of Texas A&M, a longtime bastion of conservatism. It also absorbed several heavily Republican Fort Worth suburbs. Despite the heavily Republican nature of his redrawn district, Edwards still defeated conservative State Representative Arlene Wohlgemuth by 9,260 votes, or approximately a 3.8% margin. This came even as Bush carried the 17th with a staggering 70 percent of the vote. Edwards and Lloyd Doggett were the only Democrats targeted by the redistricting effort who retained their seats. As a result of the redistricting, Edwards is one of two Democrats to represent a significant portion of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, along with Eddie Bernice Johnson.

Edwards ran for reelection against Republican Van Taylor, a former Marine Corps reservist and Iraq War veteran, in 2006, and was re-elected with 58% of the vote to Taylor's 40%. The other 2% of the votes went to Independent candidate Guillermo Acosta.<7>

Rob Curnock (R) has challenged Edwards in the 2008 election.

Edwards endorsed Barack Obama during the March 4th primary.

Can't help but wonder if she is trying to put Texas in play. :evilgrin:

Any reference to Texas will automatically make us recall Bush and his crooks. I would like to avoid that best I can.

suggests

A good guy who could be a Harry Truman type veep. But he would be hard to replace with another democrat. The district is way conservative. It includes Fort Hood and lots or military retirees, hence his strong support for veterans. Could do worse. He's no Dan Quayle.