The Daily Campus

Issue date: 4/8/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Matt Lin Former Connecticut Representative Chris Shays speaks to students about life after Washington at the Dodd Center Tuesday evening.

Former Congressman Christopher Shays discussed politics in Washington at the Dodd Center Tuesday night in a lecture titled "Principle, Politics and Leadership: The risks and rewards of staying true and speaking honestly in Washington."
The talk covered everything from Shays' long career to his views on the current administration to the state of the economy.
Shays, a Republican who spent 21 years in Congress representing the fourth district of Connecticut, was defeated by Democrat Jim Himes last November. Shays had a moderate stance on many issues and often collided on issues with members of his own party.
"I came in expecting to hear only about politics, but he [Shays] also talked things like leadership skills that can be applied to our development as future leaders," said 6th-semester health care management major Akina Warner.
Shays talked about the difficulties of representing such a diverse district with the extreme dichotomy between the social classes.
"He was very true to his constituents," said Jean Nelson, events coordinator for the Dodd Center and the person responsible for bringing Shays to UConn.

As Shays neared the end of his talk, he discussed the events leading up to his election loss. He was told by his public relations consultants not to sit in an aisle seat at a presidential speech, because they did not want him to be seen shaking hands with President Bush. Shays reserved an aisle seat, thanked the president for his service to the country, shook his hand, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"A lot of people will do anything to be elected, especially as incumbents," said Brinley Franklin, UConn's vice provost for university libraries. "He was too sincere to do that."

Shays spoke briefly about the Obama administration, both praising its positive work and criticizing their downfalls thus far. He said the United States needs a government of many different faces, and said the current administration is doing a good job representing all Americans. He complimented the current administration on reaching out across party lines, but criticized their lack of compromise after reaching out.

He also discussed the state of the economy, saying he would have voted against the current stimulus package. Shays expressed his concern, saying that is altogether being used improperly and "widening social programs that we won't be able to afford in the future."

Shays said that if he could have all of his listeners leave the auditorium with one message, it would be to "go wherever the truth takes you. Do it graciously, but wherever it takes you, go."

While he may be done with Congress, Shays plans on continuing to work in Washington. He is going to be a part of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq, which is charged with improving fiscal responsibility.

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