Chet Edwards For Congress

October 6, 2006
U.S. House District 17

Fort Worth Star Telegram
| Star-Telegram Editorial Board

Chet Edwards brings experience, understanding and the closest thing to statesmanship one can find in Washington these days.

In his more than 15 years representing Central Texas, Edwards has distinguished himself through his passion for the men and women who serve in the armed forces.

From championing investments in the nation's military infrastructure to voicing concerns about healthcare for veterans, Edwards has been a constant advocate for the country's military personnel. He is the senior Democrat on the Veterans Affairs and Military Quality of Life Appropriations subcommittee and co-chairs the bipartisan House Army Caucus. He also serves on the Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee.

Van Taylor of West, Edwards' Republican challenger, is a personable and likable young man who deserves thanks for serving his country in the Marines, with duties in Iraq and along the Texas-Mexico border as part of Joint Task Force 6. Taylor, 34, should be encouraged to continue his education into the issues beyond the war on terror that are important to District 17 -- land and water use, agriculture, environment and education.

Although military affairs have been a hallmark of Edwards' political work, his interests extend to other areas. He is a member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees key homeland defense and university research programs, and he has long been outspoken on the issues of church-state separation and open government.

What Edwards is not is a party ideologue.

Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that collects voting information on elected officials, releases annual evaluations from special interest groups that indicate how often a member of Congress votes with the groups' preferred positions. Edwards' score card makes clear that the Waco congressman thinks for himself and is not a functionary of the party.

In the 2006 Voter's Self-Defense Manual published by PVS, Edwards received 100 percent ratings on educational issues from the National PTA, senior and social issues from the Alliance for Retired Americans and veterans' issues from Disabled American Veterans.

The conservative Eagle Forum rated Edwards at 53 percent; the liberal Americans for Democratic Action rated him at 85 percent. (For context, U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, rated a 20 percent from Eagle Forum and 100 percent from the ADA; U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Abilene, rated a 87 percent from Eagle Forum and 0 from the ADA.)

Edwards, 54, received that Eagle Forum rating in part for votes such as the one he cast right before lawmakers headed home for pre-Election Day campaigning. Edwards was part of the majority in the House vote that would make it a federal crime to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion to evade a law in her home state.

The Star-Telegram recommends Chet Edwards for U.S. House District 17.