Posted on 10/28/2004 1:35:38 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana
COLLEGE STATION - Three decades after earning his bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University, U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards was back on campus this week trying to convince a new generation of Aggie students that he is still one of them.
"If college students and high school seniors voted with the same intensity as our senior citizens, you guys would be the most powerful voting bloc in the state of Texas," the seven-term Waco Democrat told an informal assembly of about three dozen students who peppered him with questions about whether the draft might return, whether student loans would be available and whether he supports the U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Just remember that I'm an Aggie, class of '74, and I want to continue to be able to help A&M," Edwards said.
About 200 miles to the northwest, state Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth mingled with about 50 supporters in a historic town-square cafe in Granbury and warned them that their rock-solid Republican enclave could be hijacked by the Democrats should complacency shackle them on Election Day.
"This race, as we predicted from the beginning, is going to be one of the closest in the country," said Wohlgemuth, a five-term state lawmaker who has emerged as one of the leading conservative voices in Austin. "I need you to go the extra mile to make sure that this district is represented by a Republican."
Edwards, 52, and Wohlgemuth, 57, are fighting to represent Texas' newly redrawn 17th Congressional District, which largely straddles the Brazos River from Hood and Johnson counties in the north down to Grimes County east of Bryan-College Station in the south. Also in the race is Clyde Garland, a Libertarian.
On paper, the largely rural district looks like a Republican paradise. In the 2002 elections, GOP candidates statewide trounced Democrats in the district by an average of nearly 2-1. And some observers predict that President Bush, whose ranch near Crawford and his father's presidential library at Texas A&M are in the district, could carry up to 70 percent of the district in his own re-election bid on Tuesday.
But Edwards, who spent nine years in the Texas Senate before going to Congress after the 1990 elections, is considered the Democrat most likely to survive last year's congressional redistricting effort designed to bring as many as seven new Texas Republicans to Washington.
Even though almost two-thirds of the district contains areas that were not part of Edwards' old domain, the Democrat did manage to hold on to his power base in McLennan County.
Wohlgemuth, meanwhile, is hoping to undermine that strength in the new district's northern reaches. She hopes to capitalize on her close ties to the Republican president, sporting yard signs carrying the message "Bush-Cheney-Wohlgemuth." She's an outspoken opponent of abortion and an unapologetic critic of government spending who carried last year's legislation that pared back the social service rolls by hundreds of thousands of Texans.
"We need Arlene Wohlgemuth up there," said Granbury Mayor David Southern, who campaigned alongside the candidate Tuesday. "She understands business and she'll be a real player because she already knows the players and she's in the same party as the players."
Edwards, meanwhile, said that he has the advantage of more experience. Before the new districts were drawn, he said, he represented Fort Hood and developed a rapport with military families and veterans. He was able to work on their behalf, even though most were Republicans, he said.
Speaking to a student wearing an "Aggies for Christ" T-shirt, Edwards bristled after being told of reports that he opposes public prayer on behalf of soldiers in the war zones.
"I represent the largest number of Army troops in Iraq and I don't want people to pray for our troops? Ah, come on," said Edwards, who technically keeps his Fort Hood constituency until the new Congress is seated in January.
Because the district leans Republican, Edwards spends a lot of time on the stump honing a conservative message. He opposes gay marriage and late-term abortions, and he likens the burgeoning federal budget deficit to "putting a billion dollars a day on our national credit card."
When he chides Wohlgemuth for authoring the legislation that trimmed the rolls of the state-funded Children's Health Insurance Program by more than 100,000, he attempts to put her at odds with the Republican president.
"President Bush said in his State of the Union that he wants more kids on CHIP," Edwards said. "And she's writing laws that are kicking kids off CHIP."
The legislation, Wohlgemuth countered, reins in government spending and safeguards the public-assistance rolls for those who truly need help. And, she reminded supporters at the Granbury luncheon, the president will be casting his vote for her.
"Why would anyone vote for President Bush on the top line of the ballot then cancel out their vote by voting for Chet Edwards on the second line of the ballot?" she said.
Thomas Myers, a political science professor at Baylor University, said most voters in the Waco area, which is the largest population center in the district, have grown accustomed to siding with Edwards even though they'll pick the Republican in races for governor, U.S. senator and president.
"Maybe it's civic pride, but they want their congressman to have Waco after his name, Republican or Democrat," Myers said.
Edwards drew about 56 percent of the McLennan County vote in 2002 against Temple businessman Ramsey Farley, but many observers say he'll need a larger margin to prevail in the new district. But Wohlgemuth may have helped him last year when she sided with area dairy farmers over a drinking-water quality issue involving Lake Waco.
Wolhgemuth and the farmers opposed tougher pollution standards, angering many McLennan County residents.
"On that issue, I guess you could say that water is thicker than blood," Myers said.
With Wohlgemuth running strong on her home turf and Edwards secure in his base, the race may come down to the Aggie vote, said Harvey Tucker, a Texas A&M political science professor.
"Chet Edwards has to get the message through that 'I am an Aggie, I am an Aggie,"' Tucker said. "Arlene just has to see how many times she can say George Bush's name in the same sentence."
IN THE KNOW
U.S. House of Representatives, District 17
Arlene Wohlgemuth
Party: Republican
Age: 57
Experience: 10 years in the Texas House, including one term as chief budget officer on the Health and Human Services Committee; a flight instructor in private life.
Chet Edwards
Party: Democrat
Age: 52
Experience: 14 years in the U.S. House and the senior Democrat on the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee; nine years in the Texas Senate.
Clyde Garland
Party: Libertarian
Age: 58
Experience: Currently retired; a one-time owner of a design and construction company.
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We need Arlene Wohlgemuth, a pro-life conservative, in the House. The only current Republican Congresswoman from Texas, Kay Granger, is for the most part pro-abortion (although she voted for the PBA ban).
I just emailed this to my Aggie son and told him to forward it to his friends.
Good for you. Aggies and indeed all Texans need to know that Chet Edwards is by no means a "moderate"---he is one of the most liberal Congressmen to represent a district carried by Bush in 2000. Chet Edwards' career rating by the American Conservative Union is a paltry 28 (out of 100)! The new 17th district is heavily Republican, and it would be an outrage for someone as liberal as the pro-abortion Chet Edwards to represent its residents.
Indeed, Chet Edwards is a LIBERAL ... that rating is MORE LIBERAL THAN EVEN RINO senators like Arlen Spectre, etc.
ABSOLUTE BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edwards has voted AGAINST the Partial-birth abortion ban EVERY TIME it has come to the House floor!!!
Typical rat media lies!!
Arlene's strongest ads are the ones that hang Edward's support of partial birth abortion around his worthless neck. That should end his charade of being a conservative, to have the blood of infanticide on his hands.
Edwards has been my U.S. Rep. for years, but has been re-districted out. Thank God!
No conservative should ever vote for Edwards. He is a huge phony. He always tows the line for the Dems, and then pretends to be a moderate come election time. When it came to voting against the assault weapons ban, or to seeing that military votes were counted in 2000, Chet was AWOL. He doesn't care what his constituents think, but always manages to get lots of favorable media coverage. Don't be fooled.
Good riddance.
"Edwards has voted AGAINST the Partial-birth abortion ban EVERY TIME it has come to the House floor!!! "
I am an Aggie Class of '83, and I can assure you that a Dumbocrat will not get any traction on that campus. That place was conservative when it wasn't cool.
Goooo Ags, WHOOOOP!
He opposes gay marriage and late-term abortions.....
In fairness, Edwards did break ranks with the majority of Democrats and voted with Republicans on gay marriage. Whether it was because of an election year or not, who knows!
If Edwards is counting on Brazos County in this election, he might want to start looking for another job. I think the telling remark in this story is in the second graph where it states there were only "three dozen" at an informal gathering.
Aggies are conservative! Most Aggies I know are also Republicans. While we Aggies are also loyal to each other, don't count on the fact Edwards being an Aggie having much impact on this race.
The fact is he is also a Democrat and at the top of his party is John Kerry. That's all a lot of Aggies need to know.
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