Despite big-spending backlash, pork may aid lawmakers in elections

Tom Benning reports from the DC bureau:

WASHINGTON – Rep. Chet Edwards has survived year after year as a Democrat in an increasingly Republican Central Texas district.


That prolonged tenure can be explained by any number of factors, including his standing as a generally conservative "Blue Dog" Democrat and his longtime support of the military. But as Edwards stares down another tough re-election effort this year, friends and foes alike point to another reason for his success: federal pork.