I would expect the McCain campaign to go after him on spending.
Edwards sits on both the House Budget and the Appropriations
Committees, and if you check out his official campaign website,
it's filled with links to stories boasting about how many earmarks
Edwards secured for his Texas district (see an example here). In fact, the site even features an
interactive map inviting constituents to "click an area on the map
for more about Chet's Accomplishments" -- and wherever you click,
it produces another example of money he "secured" for a local
project.
UPDATE: Edwards has a 19 percent rating with Citizens
Against Government Waste, a score which they define as "hostile" to
taxpayers. In its database for 2007 alone, CAGW lists 73 earmarks with Edwards's
fingerprints on them, totaling $128.4 million. A quick glance at
some of the projects include money for pecan research and for bee
research. This was just a quick search on my part. I would guess
that over the course of his 18-year career, there's plenty more
fodder.
topics:
Earmarks
