Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., spoke Wednesday about the failures of the Republican Party at a small ceremony in the Social Sciences Building to present the Walter B. Jones Campus Defender award.
The congressman gave the prize to senior Stephen Miller, executive director of the Duke Conservative Union.
Jones, a staunch conservative who led a charge to require House cafeterias to relabel french fries "freedom fries" in 2003, presented his eponymous award after criticizing both liberalism and the George W. Bush administration.
"This country, whether you be a college student or [regular] American citizen, is under attack," Jones said.
As examples of encroaching liberalism, he cited the cases of military chaplains who were reprimanded for praying to Jesus Christ and the conviction of two border agents for shooting a drug dealer.
"The federal prosecutor gave the drug smuggler immunity, and the two agents were both convicted and sentenced to 11 years in Federal Prison," Jones said.
Jones said he sent letters to President Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking for an investigation into the officers' case but added that Gonzales denied receiving his letter in a Wednesday radio interview.
"If God allows me to get home tonight, I'm going to jump over the Attorney General's butt at 11:30 tomorrow morning," Jones said.
When an audience member asked Jones why he thought Republicans had lost the midterm elections, he laid the blame squarely on the Bush administration and congressional leaders.
"I blame Bush and I blame my leaders," Jones said. He added that Bush and party leaders abandoned conservative principles by invading Iraq and expanding the Department of Education through the No Child Left Behind Act.
"I said to [House Majority Leader] John Boehner, 'If this was Bill Clinton's legislation, you never would have voted for it,'" Jones said, adding that he rolled his eyes when he later heard Boehner give a speech saying he wanted to reduce the size of government.
The congressman also criticized the Iraq war, calling it a "failed policy" and noting that he is conducting an investigation of pre-war intelligence.
"The neoconservatives like Douglas Feith, Bill Kristol and Paul Wolfowitz, they manipulated the intel to get us into Iraq," Jones said.
Despite his frustration with current Republican leaders, Jones said he still believes keeping the GOP in power is America's best chance for redemption.
"Our party, and I still bitch and complain about it constantly, is still the best hope for the future of this country-but not unless we stick up for our principles," the congressman said.
Miller, a Chronicle columnist, did not criticize Republicans in his short acceptance speech, but he said he agreed with Jones' concerns about liberalism and people he called "the ACLU-ers."
"All of us know we're dealing with a small minority of people that is trying to hijack America," Miller said. "The fight to keep American heritage and Judeo-Christian values mainly has to be fought on campus."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.