When asked what it means to be a Republican, Tom Fetzer, chairman of the North Carolina Republican party and former mayor of Raleigh, responded with another question.
“What does it mean to be an American?” he asked.
Addressing a small group of students, Fetzer spoke both about the state of the Republican Party and American politics in general in a speech Tuesday night. The event was hosted by Duke Political Union as part of its Super Tuesday speaker series.
Fetzer noted that Americans must become better acquainted with their nation’s history to tackle the political issues of today.
“One of the problems in America is we don’t know our own history well,” he said. “I think if you [look back at history], it brings difficult issues like healthcare reform and... bailouts into a sharper focus.”
Fetzer drew parallels between the tax-related decisions of former President Woodrow Wilson and the current administration and compared the Constitution to the controversial health care reform bill.
“It’d take three of you to carry [the health care bill],” he said, referring to the bill that totals more tzhan 1,000 pages. “You could fit the Constitution into [a] little pamphlet.”
Aside from the bill’s sheer length, Fetzer said health care reform does not honor individual freedom.
“The biggest danger facing this country right now is that the principles of limited government are being threatened,” he said.
But in criticizing the largely partisan health care reform bill, Fetzer neither proposed an alternative solution nor suggested that any Republican leaders had better ideas. Instead, he said the party needs “better candidates,” noting that there are no individuals who have represented the ideal Republican candidate in recent memory.
To emphasize this notion, Fetzer mentioned a recent misstep Republican congressman-hopeful George Hutchins made in comparing President Barack Obama and his family to characters on the TV show “Sanford and Son.” Fetzer sent Hutchins an e-mail in response, in which he told Hutchins that by making such a comment while carrying the Republican logo, he was not properly representing the Republican party.
In the question-and-answer session following Fetzer’s talk, an audience member asked if he could name a Republican candidate well-qualified to run for president in 2012. Fetzer said he could not identify any Republican candidate that could defeat Obama.
Senior Vikram Srinivasan, co-chair of DPU, said DPU invited Fetzer to bring diversity and a unique perspective to the series. He spoke of Fetzer as “a veteran of North Carolina politics.”
Junior Ben Bergmann, president of Duke Democrats and DPU’s other co-chair, added that it is important to monitor “the state of the Republican Party.”
Fetzer also discussed topics of more levity such as his frivolous ties to the University, which included memories of car-pummeling Duke cheerleaders, attempted goat-nappings and romantic encounters.
“I dated a co-ed here once,” Fetzer said, referring to Melinda Gates, Trinity ’86.
Correction: A previous version of this story attributed an incorrect title to Vikram Srinivasan. Junior Justin Robinette is the chair of Duke College Republicans. The Chronicle regrets the error.
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