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The Daily OrangeMother of 9/11 victim discusses creation of political lobbying firm
By Bryan Young
Posted: 3/26/08, 1:31 AM EST Section: News
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"This right to petition, which we are here today to acknowledge and celebrate, is the forgotten right," said event sponsor Robert McClure, the Chapple family professor of citizenship and democracy in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. "It's the last one, the one that nobody knows is there, but it is. I would want to argue that the right to petition is the most fundamental right. It is the right that makes all the others possible."
The citizens' right to petition the government has been a fundamental right associated with free governments throughout history, McClure said to the audience.
The panel featured "both prongs of the right to petition," McClure said.
Experts on the panel included Mary Fetchet, a grassroots advocate and Dr. Terry Hartle, a professional lobbyist. Each guest spoke about his individual experiences in petitioning the government.
Mary Fetchet, motivated by the death of her 24-year-old son, Brad, in the attacks on the World Trade Center, founded the non-profit organization Voices of September 11.
With her organization, Fetchet petitioned the government to establish the bi-partisan 9/11 Commission and helped write intelligence reform legislation.
She spoke to students about becoming civically engaged.
"I look at you all in college and the opportunity you have here to really make a difference," Fetchet said. "So I would just encourage you to become actively involved."
Fetchet cited her own experience and passion as proof that normal citizens can successfully petition the government.
Going into her first Washington rally, Fetchet explained she previously had no idea about politics.
"I didn't know when Congress was in session," Fetchet said. "I certainly didn't know how to legislate a bill. We were certainly untrained at that point."
But she attributed her group's success to its collective passion for the subject they were dealing with.
"You really have to become part of the solution," Fetchet said.
Terry Hartle, the senior vice president of the Government and Public Affairs Division of American Council on Education, spoke after Fetchet. His professional's insight into lobbying complimented her experience. Hartle petitions the government on behalf of colleges and universities and their students.
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