General Wesley K. Clark

Chair, WesPAC

I'm really grateful for y'all coming. I'm very proud of your support.

I just want to introduce you to our three panelists here.

(Applause)

My wife used to.... she always said “You're using that term in a special connection, aren't you, because look what they did to you.”

(Applause and laughter)

Jim Kessler

Vice President for Policy, Third Way

Mr. Kessler served as the Director of Policy and Research at AGS for nearly four years.

He joined AGS after a 12-year career on Capitol Hill, where, after serving as Legislative Director for Representative Chet Atkins and Rep./Senator Charles Schumer, he became the leading congressional expert on gun policy.

As the top policy aide to Rep./Sen. Schumer, Mr. Kessler drafted dozens of newsworthy reports, including those on the GOP Contract on America, Medicare cuts to local hospitals, college tuition increases, energy shortages, and mortgage discrimination in New York.  Mr. Kessler also has extensive campaign experience, including service as policy director for Charles Schumer’s successful Senate bid in 1998.

Congressman Chet Edwards (TX-17)

U.S. House of Representatives

Chet Edwards was the Democratic congressman representing the Texas 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991.

He has been representing the 17th congressional district since 2005. His seat includes the town of Crawford, which makes him President Bush's Congressman.

Congressman Edwards received his bachelor's degree in economics from Texas A&M University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Edwards was elected to the Texas State Senate in 1981, serving until 1991 when he became Representative for the 11th district. He is a member of the House Budget and Appropriations Committees, the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee (of which he is the ranking member), and the Energy and Water Subcommittee. Edwards is one of only six House members to serve on both the Budget and Appropriations committees.

Following Texas redistricting, Edwards was moved from the 11th to the 17th congressional district. He then won a close race in 2004 against Republican Arlene Wohlgemuth, winning by less than 10,000 votes. Starting in the 109th session of Congress, Rep. Edwards is one of only two House Democrats serving on three subcommittees, Military Quality of Life (formerly known as Military Construction), Energy and Water Development and Homeland Security.

Senator Ken Salazar (CO)

U.S. Senate

Kenneth Salazar is an American politician, rancher, and environmentalist from the U.S. state of Colorado.

Salazar, a Democrat, served as state Attorney General before winning a U.S. Senate seat in the 2004 Senate elections.

He has been a member of the U.S. Senate since January 2005. He and Mel Martinez are the first Hispanic U.S. Senators since 1977.

Salazar was born in the town of Alamosa in the San Luis Valley area of south-central Colorado. Five generations of Salazar's family had farmed and ranched in San Luis Valley, since before Colorado was a state; before that, Salazar's ancestors had farmed and ranched in New Mexico.

Salazar attended St. Francis Seminary and Centauri High School in Conejos County, graduating in 1973. Hereceived a BA from Colorado College and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan's law school in 1981. Salazar was awarded honorary degrees (Doctor of Laws) from Colorado College (1993) and the University of Denver (1999). In 1986 he became chief legal counsel to then Governor Roy Romer; in 1990 Romer appointed him to his cabinet as Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

In 1994, Salazar returned to private practice. In 1998, he was elected state attorney general; he was reelected to this position in 2002. In 2004, he declared his candidacy the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Salazar considers himself a moderate and has at times taken positions which are in disagreement with the base of his party. Salazar narrowly defeated beer executive Pete Coors of the Coors Brewing Company to win.