Congress To Campus Event Comes To Stonehill College

Monday evening, Stonehill College hosted two former Federal Congressmen, Robert Simmons, Republican of Connecticut, and Richard Stallings, Democrat from Idaho, in the semiannual Congress to Campus event.

The two Congressman convened in the Martin Institute with approximately one hundred Stonehill students and a number of local area residents. Each speaker briefly gave a short summary of their political career and then took questions from the audience.

Richard Stallings served as the Democratic Congressman from an extremely Republican electorate from 1985 to 1993, while Robert Simmons served as the Republican Congressman from an extremely Democratic electorate from 2000 to 2006. Both Congressmen provided remarkable accounts of their political victories in predominately opposite party districts and offered a unique look behind party lines.

Answering questions ranging from political pressures, the Constitution, Native American rights and treatment , Immigration, and Republican Line Item-Vetoing of the Health Care Reform Bill, these veteran Congressmen stayed consistent with sending the message that all public officials must vote with their heart and with the wishes of their constituency and not with their political parties’ ideology.

Mr. Simmons, a former member of the CIA, said that his fervent wish is that "our country keeps up with our intelligence operations around the world." Based on his experience, and the news from Egypt, he is afraid that “America cannot afford to be surprised in the future” and that he expects “we will be surprised”.

In response to a question about the ever increasing tension within America’s political system, Mr. Stallings could only say that he thinks that political parties “are putting the well being of the country in second place” to political partisanship.

The night ended after an hour of great political talk and the Congressmen took private questions. The Congressmen will be in residence at Stonehill today.