Constitution and citizenship
Michael Castle delivers annual James R. Soles Lecture on Constitution Day
2:29 p.m., Sept. 22, 2015--Michael N. Castle opened the fifth annual James R. Soles Lecture on the Constitution and Citizenship at the University of Delaware on Sept. 17 by telling the audience that he was not a constitutional scholar.
“I know as little about the Constitution as any lawyer you’re going to see,” he said, adding that he planned to focus his Constitution Day talk on citizenship.
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And Castle did just that, drawing on his long career of public service and political expertise to discuss a range of subjects from the successful 50 State Quarters Program of commemorative coins that he introduced in Congress in 1997 to the Obama administration’s improved relations with Cuba.
“My judgment is that ultimately Cuba will be a friend,” Castle said in support of the diplomacy that led to closer ties between the two nations.
A self-described moderate Republican, Castle was a two-term governor (1985-92) and nine-term U.S. congressman (1993-2011) from Delaware, who previously served as the state’s lieutenant governor, a deputy state attorney general and a state senator. He currently is a partner in the government affairs practice at DLA Piper, a global business law firm.
He told the audience at the Soles Lecture that, if Delaware had not had term limits for the governorship, “I would have kept running for governor until they kicked me out.” When the state’s current U.S. Representative, Democrat John Carney, recently announced that he would run for governor next year, Castle said he told him that job was a much better one than serving in Congress.
In his talk and, later, in answer to questions from the audience, Castle shared some thoughts on today’s political landscape, including:
- A prediction that no third-party candidate will be successful at the national level for the foreseeable future and that about one Republican presidential candidate each month will begin dropping out of the 2016 race.
- A recommendation that voters try to assess candidates’ ability to manage and willingness to listen to constituents, independent of their party affiliation.
- A concern that both parties are allowing partisanship and sometimes extreme ideology to dominate their actions and interfere with getting things accomplished in Washington. This has been especially problematic for Republicans, Castle said, but he sees it beginning to affect Democrats as well.
- A call for politicians and citizens to combat voter apathy by encouraging young people to work for a candidate or volunteer for a cause and by supporting potential new candidates to run for office,
“We should not turn our backs on the good that government can do,” Castle said.
The James R. Soles Citizenship Endowment and the Soles Lecture
The Soles Lecture honors the late James R. Soles, who was a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and International Relations for more than 34 years. The annual lecture also commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 1787, and is generally held on that anniversary date, known as Constitution Day.
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, a UD alumnus, delivered the inaugural Soles Lecture in 2011. Other speakers have been U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.
Dr. Soles, who died Oct. 29, 2010, received the University’s Excellence in Teaching Award twice and its Excellence in Advising Award, as well as the University’s Medal of Distinction. He received many honors and recognitions in his distinguished career, but he is still best remembered for his personal dedication to teaching and to his students.
In introducing the 2015 lecture, Edward Freel, a policy scientist and instructor in UD’s School of Public Policy and Administration, described Dr. Soles as having “almost iconic status as a friend and mentor to literally hundreds of students” and to numerous public officials and politicians in Delaware.
The Soles endowment was established 15 years ago and supports a named professorship, undergraduate citizenship stipends and graduate fellowships.
The first stipends were awarded more than 10 years ago, and recipients have used that support in a wide range of accomplishments. To see more about recent recipients and the work they have done, visit this site.
Article by Ann Manser
Photos by Evan Krape