Former Utah Senator Bob Bennett addresses an audience at the Hinckley Caucus Room Oct 28th. Senator Bennett discussed the current political landscape, as well as the state of the Republican Party.
//Christopher Samuels
The Hinckley Caucus Room was overflowing with rows of students on Monday.
They came to see former Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) speak. Although the crowd was full of political science majors and political enthusiasts, many of the lecture’s attendees had ulterior motives — the seminar also offered extra credit and lunch.
“I am interested in politics, but I’m mostly here for the extra credit,” said Hunter Maxfield, an undeclared freshman. Much of the rest of the room felt the same.
Bennett, however, managed to capture the audience’s attention, even while the crowd continued to move toward the pizza line in the back of the room. Bennett, who is currently a part-time political science lecturer at the U, tackled several issues but he focused mostly on the future of politics and where he thinks the Republican party is headed.
“The tea party will split [the] Republican vote and allow more Democrat victories. We may have a period of turmoil within the party,” Bennett said. “I would predict that the Republicans will lose five out of the next six elections, just as the Democrats did [after the conflicts surrounding Vietnam].”
Bennett also dedicated some time to potential situations regarding the 2016 presidential election. He believes that the Republicans’ possible split involving the tea party could be disastrous and could affect the Republican party’s campaigns for years to come.
“If New Jersey governor Chris Christie becomes the nominee, Republicans could have a chance to recover. If [Sen.] Rand Paul [R-KY] or [Sen.] Ted Cruz [R-TX] does, the Republicans will be in the wilderness for many years,” Bennett said.
Besides discussing the current state of politics, Bennett also gave some advice regarding what it’s like to be on the inside of the government. Bennett said the Senate is much different now than it was while he was in office and that there was much less tension between the Democrats and the Republicans during the time that he served.
Bennett said that kindness is the key to high-functioning bipartisanship.
“I would never have insulted one of my colleagues,” he said.
Although Bennett looks back fondly on memories of his colleagues in the Senate, he does not think that a unanimous agreement in American politics will bring any success.
“The Democrats are the party of government — they believe in government. If you give a Democrat a problem, his first solution is to ask what the government can do about it. Republicans are the party of free market — if you give them a problem, they’ll ask what the market can do if you get the government out of the way. It is the tension between these two positions that has turned out to be the strength of America over time.”
Following the lecture, many students seemed to have a much higher interest than when they initially arrived. Eli Lecates, a junior in political science, was grateful that the Hinckley Institute invited Bennett to speak.
“I really like when speakers who are actually involved in politics come in,” Lecates said. “We have professors speak all the time, but this is the Hinckley Institute of Politics, and I really like hearing from someone who has such real experience.”