Time to Say Goodbye

It is amazing how time flies! It has already been 15 weeks? I still can’t believe it that I was just walking into my apartment and meeting my roommate for the first time. Now Grisel, Elena and I have become the best of friends! It has been a sad last few days because we started the week with TWC graduation! It was great to see everyone for the last time to say goodbye.

TWC Graduation

Also, it was a time for several of the other students to show off what they have been doing for the last few months here. Wow, what some of the other students were doing was amazing! One group called LEAF, an environmentally friendly organization created from interns from TWC, created a video to show people how wasteful we are. Not only did I feel lazy because I did not turn in a big project, but now I felt wasteful too! It was a great video, very well put together, incredibly funny, and most importantly it was very informative. Also, they gave out the Civic Engagement Awards and have several speakers. It was a short but sweet ceremony because we were able to see every person from the program all at once. My friends after the program were holding signs that said “free hugs and kisses,” it almost made me cry!

Free Hugs!

In addition, it was my last day at my internship on Wednesday. We had a going away and a holiday party at a nice restaurant near DMG called Tuscana West. Open bar, appetizers, lunch, and dessert and of course spending the last few hours with my co-workers! The other intern and I had to give a speech about our best and worst moments. I shared with the group that my best night was the Vice Presidential Debate and my worst was the day after. Yes, I fessed up to two former Congressmen that I came into work incredibly hungover, but in my defense nobody had any idea! It happens, it is how well you are able to cover it up that matters. Also, we all brought in a $10 gift for the gift exchange. I came home with a nice variety of candles and the other intern, who is headed back to Florida, got hand warmers! He probably will not be needing those! Me on the other hand, I am just trying to mentally prepare myself for how cold it is going to be at home! Yikes! It was really sweet DMG gave us gift cards to Barnes & Noble. I am a big reader, so I will have no problem using it! I am also graduating, so I am going to need something to do! Clearly I am not ready for a full-time job without getting time off for spring break and summer vacations!

I also had the opportunity to go to a Georgetown vs Savannah State basketball game. It was one of my goals at the beginning of the semester because I am a huge sports fan. I got free tickets from the person I went to campaign with in Ohio who has season tickets and then went to the game after work! I wish I was able to stay longer to watch them play a good team. It was a complete blow out like 100-38. The sweet part of the game was when they put their senior walk on into the game and he scored the last two points to make the score break 100. The crowd went wild, other than that it was not much of a game at all. My team is Marquette so I will be home soon enough to watch them play!

Georgetown Basketball

It has been a great 15 weeks and I only hope that my experience will help you to decide to come to Washington DC. If your experience is half as good as mine, I can assure you it is worth it. If you have any questions at all you can find me on Facebook: Krysta Carlson, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Setting up for the holidays

Downey McGrath set up the office for the holidays. The interns and the assistants were in charge of setting up the Christmas tree. We had hot chocolate with marshmallows and we listened to holiday music as we set up the tree. It was very difficult setting up a fake Christmas tree because in Northern Minnesota we always have real trees. This tree was intense. Cords all over the place for the lights, it took us forever to figure out that we had to plug in all of the lights before every string would work. It was really fun though and it got me in the holiday spirit.

Putting the star on the tree at DMG

Also, because it is the last weekend before we leave I decided to make my roommates dinner. I have to tell you living with Mexicans is amazing. I came home to prepared meals all of the time and I told them one time I was going to surprise them and cook. I never even cook for myself, but for an audience? I was nervous! I googled everything from cutting avocados (not recommended) to making fajitas. I made way too much food, but after 14 weeks of being here, there is nothing wrong with leftovers. It’s been a few days and I can tell you that nobody has died from my cooking so I consider that a success.

My food--I'm so proud!

Eating dinner

When I went to Ohio to campaign for McCain I met several people that work at another lobbying firm. They invited me to their “small” Christmas party. I was expecting a little bit of appetizers and a small group of people, not exactly. I walked into a room full of hundreds of people! It was a little bit intimidating, but in my last week here I felt confident I could mingle my way around. Not to mention there were free drinks, appetizers, and a sushi bar! My two favorite things: not drinking, silly! People and food! =)

Turkey Overdose!

What better way to celebrate than to eat mounds of food?! That’s my kind of holiday! The RA’s at Fenestra had a pre-thanksgiving feast in the clubroom. It was really sweet because a lot of people in my building did not have family to spend time with so it was an opportunity for all of us to hang out and eat. The RA’s made turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie just for us! It was amazing! We spent the night hanging out, talking, and playing pool. Oddly enough Thanksgiving eve is a big night to go out! Americans will make any excuse to throw a party! My friends and I decided to paint the city red because nobody had to work the next day. Fun times!

Fenestra Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Eve

The next day I took the metro to the stop closest to Baltimore, New Carrolton, and my Aunt picked me up! I had not seen her in ten years! I was even more excited for my sister and my grandma to fly out for the holiday and three infant cousins that I had never met. When I got there it was amazing! How do you catch up on ten years? There is so much that has happened, I didn’t know where to begin. The funny thing about family is that they don’t really care what you have been doing, they just want your company. Forget about all of the amazing things I was doing in DC, this was by far the best weekend that I had this semester. My family and food, what more could a girl ask for?!

The crew

Alyssa and me

I’m so blessed. You come to realize living in a big city that there are so many people that are less fortunate. DC has one of the highest homeless rates. Hearing the statistic is one thing, but witnessing it everyday is much more difficult. My internship, Downey McGrath Group, was located next door to a homeless shelter until they closed it down. For the first few months of work I saw several homeless people a day lying next to buildings and by statutes. They may ask you for change, but they are for the most part harmless and are the people that need to be remembered the most in the season for giving. I spent the Tuesday before Thanksgiving boxing up canned foods for needy families. It reminds you how important it is to volunteer on a regular basis and not just during the holiday season, because homelessness and poverty continues to rise.

A Day in the Life with a Lobbyist

Today TWC had an event called “A Day in the Life with a Lobbyist.” When I got the e-mail I wasn’t really interested because I work at a lobbying firm. However, when I saw it was at Downey McGrath Group, Inc. with one of the vice presidents, Sloan Rappoport, I was really excited! Don’t get me wrong, I love my internship, but spicing it up a little bit is always a good thing! And they brought free Potbelly's, and after a few months on an unpaid internship and blowing money you don’t have, free food is greatly appreciated.

I told my boss that I was going to sit in the meeting and just respond “No, you don’t” to everything he said and ask difficult questions, just to make it more fun. I behaved, though, and the program went really well. It was very interesting and I actually learned a lot more about what he does. What was more interesting was seeing the other students ask questions and hearing how he answered them. He should've mentioned that kitchen duty is a perk to being a lobbyist--DMG rotates the person on duty each week, as Sloan told me after the session.

In addition, the Big Three from the main car manufacturing companies were in DC today. The other intern got to go to the meeting (we normally swap every other one), but I watched it in the office. It was fascinating. It’s amazing to me how after the bailout passed everyone thinks they deserve a little piece of the cake! Is following normal bankruptcy laws no longer an option?! It just seems like a band-aid to me and will not help the infrastructure of these companies. What was worse is they were talking about people losing jobs and their retirements, but those attending the meeting flew in on private jets on the company's dollar?! Take away a few luxurious trips and they could probably pay for most of these people's retirements! Americans! We don’t know how good we have it sometimes!

DC Nightlife

I thought I would dedicate one entry to the nightlife in DC. DC definitely is mostly work, but there is a little time for play too. Of course for the 21 and up group DC’s nightlife is amazing. There are 4 main areas that we like to go. Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, and K Street. My favorite area is Dupont Circle. It is a mix of Georgetown and Adams Morgan. My roommates go to this place called The Front Page, which is right next to the Dupont Metro. My roommates are Mexican, and it seems as if they are always traveling in crowds of 10-20. A group of 5 with them is unheard of! But always a great time! Also, since my roommates are Mexican they like going to Latin American clubs. Café Citron and Sesto Senso are also in Dupont Circle. Reeeally fun! Warning lots of sombreros and loud Spanish music. I’ve made it out there a few Thursdays, but I try not to go out during the week because I’m one of those people that don’t function without 8 hours of sleep!

Playing the bongos at a Latino bar

Adams Morgan isn’t really my style. I like to get dressed up and go out. I felt like it was a very “fratty” area and everytime I’ve been there the street has been loaded with police officers on standby. To me it means they are there for a reason, so I didn’t feel that safe there. But a lot of people like it because there aren't too many lines and the drinks there are really cheap compared to the rest of DC. My favorite place there is Madam’s Organ. Live bands, great crowd, really fun time. Adams Morgan also has Jumbo Slice Pizza that normally wouldn’t sound good any other time of the day other than when its time to go home! I would recommend Adams Morgan during the day and hit up there shops and restaurants. Night, not so much.

Out with my Roomies!

Georgetown is awesome if you can afford it! I would say the drinks there are double the price at most places. Also, the Metro doesn’t go directly to Georgetown. They did this on purpose because they didn’t want the “riffraff” coming into Georgetown. So ladies if you are wearing heels carry a big purse and some flip flops because you will be walking a lot!

K Street is also very fun. This is the street to go out and get really dressed up on which is one of my favorite things to do. We go to this place called The Park, which is 4 floors, and each plays different kinds of music. It is also right across the street from the McPherson Square Metro, so no walking necessary, which you’ll find is key in DC. If you are traveling with males, beware that it is not easy to get them in everywhere. But a group of ladies? That’s a different story. This is by far one of my favorite places. Lima and Butterfly Lounge are across the street which are both classy clubs, but they are much more relaxed.

Oddly enough, the rain has kept us in Rockville or Bethesda quite a bit. The traveling and commuting gets to you, so when the weather is bad its hard to be motiviated to take a long train ride. But Gordon Biersch and BlackFinn are a ton of fun! Definitely your jeans and T-shirt kind of places, but when its raining, who really cares about looking cute anymore?!

The girls out for dinner in Rockville

I’m still on a mission to find my favorite restaurant. So far it is still Sushi Damo out by my apartment in Rockville. Surprisingly enough Baja Fresh is up there too. This isn’t really a restaurant, it's more like a Qdoba or Chipotle, but I LOVE IT! Don’t stand between a girl and her burritos. I’m a classy girl what can I say! It’s also conveniently located next to The Front Page in Dupont, so is great for late night cravings.

Dinner with TWC friends

Off to Ohio to campaign for McCain/Palin 2008

Planting signs!

When I was at the Vice Presidential debate at ESPN Zone in DC, I was introduced to several people. One of these was Marc Lampkin, who was assembling a team from DC to go to Ohio to campaign the week before the election. I got the ok with my boss and headed out to Columbus, Ohio, which I think is the most important battle ground state in this election and normally a must in order to win the presidency. Random fact, JFK is the only President who has ever won without Ohio. I flew out on Halloween night, so I wasn’t able to dress up. However, I had my hair pulled back and someone said “Hey guys look that girl over there is dressed up as Cindy McCain!” So YES I did have a costume and I didn’t even know it. She is a beautiful woman, but 30 years my senior--not exactly a compliment! It was far from a wild night because we had to be up early to begin intensive campaigning for a candidate we all knew needed a miracle.

This was my first campaign so I didn’t know exactly what to expect. When I arrived, I met Team Lampkin, and it was everyone from Senior Bush Appointees to military officers, lobbyists, and college students--a very diverse group of people. I was pretty nervous just because I know how frustrating it is having strangers calling and knocking all day before an election! We started out in Westerville, a cute quaint neighborhood that had street names like walnut and birch. It was a great first day for me because I knew a lot of doors were not going to be slammed in my face because it was suburban America, which is predominantly Republican. After going door to door, the positive reactions from the constituents there made me start to get awkwardly optimistic about the election, and as we said we “started drinking the kool-aid.” The next day we went to a Republican area, but they had low voter turnout, again signs in every yard and they came to the door with open arms. Interesting.

Door to door trying to win Ohio!

We spent the next several days canvassing until it got dark out and then we did phone banks. It’s amazing how pleasant people are to you when they can put a face to a message, but on the phone it is a different story. I had my life threatened several times! As much as people say they hate the calls and will not vote because they are annoyed, statistically they still vote. So even if they threaten your first born you have to keep on keepin on!

Phone banking's finest

What made me even more optimistic was standing outside by voter precincts and holding McCain/Palin signs. I didn’t get flipped off once, so you know campaigning that’s a good day! The worst I heard was “UGH you’re voting for Mclane?! OBAMA!” Yeah, she probably shouldn’t vote if she doesn’t know who is running against Obama. Also, the 8-12 year olds on buses were rather ruthless too, but again not our target audience and their bus driver gave us the thumbs up so that’s all that matters. We spent election night calling the West coast after the Ohio polls closed and listening to updates on the news (Fox of course, which is drinking the kool-aid even more!). The first update we heard was the Virginia exit polls, where McCain took the first lead, and that Republican voter turn-out in Pennsylvania was at 200%. It was game on from there and I’ve never gone through phone lists so fast!

Of course, we all know how the night ended up. God bless Obama and Axelrod, they ran one of the best campaigns this nation has ever seen and the historical significance of his victory is incredible. To think only four decades ago the Civil Rights Act was passed. Now, do I think this country is better off electing him? No. The people yelling “Yes we can” at Obama’s victory party still make me nervous, as I'm not sure what they're talking about. To be honest, I don’t think they even know exactly, but change is definitely going to come in the next four years with a Democratic supermajority and no checks; I can only pray it’s positive change. The election was a Bush referendum in the midst of a collapsing economy; an uphill battle would be an understatement, but there was no way I would have been able to sleep at night if I knew I didn’t do everything in my power to get McCain elected. We did what we could, but in the end it didn’t go our way. So is life. Back to work!

I shook hands with Dana Perino

TWC sent us an e-mail saying our speaker had changed. The last time this happened, it changed from a Congressman to the motivational speaker, so I groaned before I read on. BUT then it said we would be going to the Eisenhower building to hear White House Press Secretary Dana Perino speak to us! So then a lot of other people groaned, but Democrat or Republican, it was truly an honor! She spoke for several minutes and took the rest of the time for questions. I was able to ask her what advice she’d offer to the next President of the United States in regards to the first steps they need to take in the War on Terror. She had just finished talking about Bi-lateral FTA’s, so I was able to squeeze in a work related question about whether she thought the USTR would advance trade negotiations with the UAE and Oman. One of the students tried to sarcastically comment on the low approval ratings of President Bush. She shut him down and said President Bush does not wake up in the morning and ask himself what his approval ratings are; his job is to make sure Americans are safe. Since September 11, 2001 there has not been a terrorist attack. What was even better, at the end of the hour of questions she said she would take pictures with us individually. Considering she is such a busy woman, that was an amazing gesture.

Eisenhower Building

A few feet away from Secretary Perino speaking!

Dana Perino and me

People in DC celebrate Halloween early. We started seeing costumes out several weeks before the actual weekend of Halloween!? Don’t get me wrong I think Halloween is fun, but a few weeks before is a bit ridiculous. The Senior Vice President at my internship told me about an annual Drag Queen Race they have the week of Halloween every year in DuPont. My roommate and I decided to go check it out. I don’t know what was worse, the fact that men were dressed up in heels and costumes to race or how many people turned out to watch them?! It was packed! I saw several “Sarah Palins,” one had labels all over the coat and the other was with her husband and her infant son. A group of men did the Victoria Secret fashion show, you know the one with the big wings?! Hilarious. My other favorite was Princess Diana and her bodyguards. It got really cold, so I only made it through the parade and I missed the high heel race! Nuts?! I don’t think I’ll ever need to go again, but it was definitely worth seeing once.

Drag Queen Race

Philadelphia: Only a 3 hour bus trip from DC

Philadelphia

The great thing about DC is that it is a short trip away from several other big cities, unlike where I am from in Northern Minnesota, where it’s a long trip to civilization! I took the bus to Philadelphia, and for $30 round trip, who cares it picked me up in Chinatown?! For that price it was a steal. I stayed with a friend and she took me around the city. I had no idea that the steps Rocky Balboa ran in the movies were in Philadelphia?! I know I’m a disgrace, but we made up for it and looked like tourists taking pictures running up the stairs!

Looking tough...Not so much!

The fountain in Love Park was dyed pink to represent October Breast Cancer Awareness month. There were lots of couples taking pictures by the fountain--those men were scoring points with their ladies! Soooo sweet, good job guys!

Love Park

I also experienced my first Philly Cheesesteak in Philadelphia! I’m ruined, now I’m going to be very high maintenance with my cheesesteaks. Also, I got into a big discussion with someone in a Philadelphia bar about the colonies' first capital. He said Philadelphia, I said New York; 2 hours later, we figured out I was right! Booo-ya! I will probably be making my way back there this weekend because one of the World Series games is on Saturday! Hopefully my conversations out on the town will have nothing to do with my majors this time around--just reminds me of how dorky I really am! Man!

This week began on an interesting note--“Networking for Neanderthals” with Shawne Duperon. She is a media expert and a speaker that focuses on the importance of networking and relationships. I thought it was interesting and probably helpful for people that are introverted, but boring for those of us who don’t hide at events or put on our “party mask” as she called it. A party mask is when you are nervous at an event and you either start rambling to people, stand against the wall, or run straight to the food line. I’ll be honest, most of the program she made me feel like I was in the third grade. For example, everyone had to raise their hands in order to be quiet. Really? YES REALLY! Anyway, she drove home some good points. “A conversation is not about you!” and also “Don’t just throw around your business cards.” A little elementary but everyone needs to be reminded not to be an idiot sometimes.

In addition, I was able to attend the House Financial Services Committee hearing on "The Future of Financial Services Regulation." It got pretty heated when Chairman Barney Frank and a Republican Congressman from New Jersey started arguing about the causes of the financial crisis. Considering that Frank is the Chairman he has control over he gets to speak in the hearing, so he kept giving “the Gentlemen from New Jersey” one to two minutes and after he was finished speaking he would give himself five minutes to rebut his statements, which in the House is an eternity. It’s fascinating to go to these meetings, but frustrating because I don’t feel like they are trying to find a solution. Even though the Emergency Stabilization Act passed, there is more work to be done to fix the financial crisis and I feel like Congress is still trying to blame each other for how this mess started. NOBODY IS INNOCENT, STOP FIGHTING AND SOLVE THE PROBLEM! Unfortunately, you can’t exactly stand up and say that in a meeting and if I did I’d probably get fired from my job and banned from the Hill.

Anyway, World Series tonight!!! GO PHILLIES!

Democrats vs. Republicans

For this week's programming, we were invited to watch Close-Up on C-SPAN at the Newseum. Clarence Page, syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune and David Brooks, reporter for The New York Times, discussed the media’s role in the presidential election. They asked us before the show started who wanted to ask questions, so those that raised their hands were selected for questions in specific topic areas. A few of our peers were able to introduce the show and the speakers, which aired on C-Span already. I don’t do so well in front of a camera, (I was worried I’d faint or something stupid) so I just sat back and enjoyed the show. Page and Brooks were from different sides of the aisle ideologically, so it was interesting to get to listen to their opinions. As syndicated columnists, they are full of them! Brooks, the Conservative, said he cannot watch Ann Coulter and Bill O’Reilly because they play for a different team?! Haha, no hard feelings, I would actually agree on that with Ann Coulter, but whether you love or hate Bill O’Reilly he is still a brilliant man. Of course this was Page's opportunity to attack Governor Palin. I’ll be the first to say she has been less than impressive in her interviews, but not everyone can be “the Messiah.” Anyway, it was a great experience to get to watch a live taping of a show and it was a nice change of pace from the other speakers.

Megan and Naveed Introducing Close-Up

As for my internship, it’s been pretty slow since Congress is out of session. If we aren’t attending hearings, we are researching for our clients. Even though Congress is out of session, they are starting meetings important to our clients next week involving the economic situation. Should be interesting! I actually meant that in a non-sarcastic tone, I love going to these meetings.

Have I mentioned that I am taking a class? I didn’t find out that the Washington Center involves a class before I got here. It was a pleasant surprise (supposed to sound sarcastic) one day a week for three hours. I’m sure it said it in the literature, but let’s be honest, who can read everything? My class, "Presidential Leadership and Transition," has about six people in it, so it definitely encourages class participation and discussion. We just finished up analyzing the Constitution, especially focusing on the Executive branch in Article II. Since election day is so close, we have been getting into several discussions about the race. I don’t know how this happened, but before the class started the class naturally divided itself--3 on one side of the aisle and 3 on the other. It only takes one political discussion to figure out where people factor in ideologically-speaking and we found that we'd already divided ourselves by liberals and conservatives. It was really funny when we figured it out. I don’t know what physics law that is, but there has to be something that draws you to similar like-minded people? Who knows, that’s why I study History.

A Perk to Being in DC, Getting invited to California!

Did I say last week was the best week of my life? Hands down this week topped it off! I’ve been talking a lot about my time in DC but this is a great time to tell you about opportunities that may arise while you’re living in DC. I was invited to attend the Young America’s Foundation in Santa Barbara California for the Enemies of Freedom Seminar. My senior thesis is Reagan’s impact on ending the Cold War, so I really lucked out being able to attend and hear both sides of the story during the Cold War. We also got 7 books about this subject so I barely need to check out additional sources at the library! I was apprehensive about the seminar because for the first time in my college career I had someone paying for my flight and all of my expenses to hear amazing speakers, and on a minor detail it was in California! I wondered to myself is this a vacation or a seminar? I’m so confused!

When I arrived there was a group of students waiting to be picked up by the organization. We made small talk and I came to realize that the majority of the people there were from elite institutions like Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley, Pepperdine, etc. I was immediately intimidated. Not because I’m ashamed to go to the University of Wisconsin, but Harvard has a much nicer ring to it! In one word it tells everyone how hard you’ve worked which is well deserved for the few thousand students that get to attend there each year.

Group Dinner at the Center with John Aquilla

We started out the weekend taking a tour of Ronald Reagan’s ranch. You’d be so surprised how humbly the Reagan’s lived. Especially considering how much heat Reagan got about him corrupted by greed. Gorbachev made it up the winding mountain once to meet with Reagan and he even didn’t understand why a President would live so simply. Random fact: he has a liberty bell as a shower head. A fascinating thing about going to a persons home is getting to see their reading materials. Reagan was such a well rounded person and it showed with his book collection. My favorites were books by Barry Goldwater and Whittaker Chambers. We also got to see Reagan’s rides, not just cars but his horses too. There were tons of trails for him and Nancy to go riding on around the land. Apparently it drove the Secret Service nuts because they couldn’t keep up with them.

Entrance to Reagan's ranch

We had several speakers throughout the weekend from very diverse backgrounds. We had every one from former General of the KGB Oleg Kalugin to Chief speech writer in the Reagan administration Tony Dolan. In my pictures you’ll see a picture of me and these two gentlemen having lunch together in the airport because both of them live in the greater DC area so we were on the same flight home! We all exchanged information, so I can ask them more questions for my research paper. Dolan invited me to two upcoming events with Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich! I’m already predicting that that day may be the best day of my life. Tell me I didn’t land a Royal Flush?! We also heard from several other speakers such as Michael Reagan, Tomas Pompowski, John Aquilla, Nonnie Darwish, and Peter Schweizer. If I went through their credentials this blog would be 5 pages long!

The speakers

After this long exciting weekend, I’m headed back to DC. I loved California, but I definitely didn’t need to be pulled out kicking and screaming because DC is more my speed. And we have off of work tomorrow for COLUMBUS DAY??? We acknowledge Columbus Day in the Midwest but I’ve never had a day off because of it. I’ll be the first to say I don’t think he’s worthy of a holiday, but if it means I can walk around DC and be a tourist again I’m all for it!

Always making time for fun...

One of the best weeks of my life

How many times can you say you’ve had the best day of your life in one week? I’ve had several this week and every day I think that it can’t get any better another amazing event happens.
One of my main political issues is reducing the United States dependency on foreign oil. I had the opportunity to attend a seminar at the Newseum with several high ranking officials that discussed what needed to happen in order for this to be practical. They discussed the need for funding advanced battery technologies, among wind, solar, and other alternative forms of energy. As much as I love reading, it’s much more entertaining and informative to hear it directly from the experts!

Securing America's Future Energy Seminar

We had the Presidential lecture series on Monday and Majority Whip Congressman Clybourn came to speak with us. This isn’t included in the best days of my life, but he was very funny and informative. He started out the lecture with “when I was in jail” which normally captures college student’s attention very quickly. His advice, stay in contact with every person you meet, be humble, and don’t try to work hard only to get credit for everything that you do.

Presidential Lecture Series: Majority Whip Congressman Clybourn

Another amazing day was when my boss took the other intern and I out to dinner at the Capitol Hill Club. My boss is the President of the Capitol Hill Club, which is a Republican bar and restaurant near the Capitol. He was concerned that nobody would be there because it was the night before the bail-out, but he wanted us to have the chance to go there before Congress went out of session. He was mistaken. We were among Minority Leader John Boehner and several other Congressman who I had the pleasure of meeting. Watching the Congressman and staffers interact with each other in the restaurant was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They greeted us with the utmost respect and were very interested with what we were doing with our lives.

New fan of Senator Lieberman

How do you top a room full of Republicans? An even larger room full of Republicans to watch the VP debate on big screens at ESPN zone. The Republican National Committee threw the event and we were able to watch Sarah Palin get “all mavericky” on Joe Biden. We were invited through our internship to go and it was amazing to be surrounded by a room of people cheering. Which lets be honest, lately it hasn’t really been the case for the GOP ticket. Its like watching my Green Bay Packers at a Maryland bar, if its even playing on a T.V! There were several high level people in attendance, but among my favorites was John McCain’s mother, Roberta! I also met George Bush’s Chief speech writer John McConnell! When I thought the night couldn’t get any better, I was recruited by the RNC for a victory deployment to campaign in the final days of the election in Ohio! So I am definitely looking forward to spending my Halloween through the election in Columbus. More word on that at the end of the month!

What an exciting time to be in Washington DC!

I feel bad because I get to blog to you all about this semester but there is no way of knowing the events that will take place during your semester. Who knew that the election was going to be so hotly contested? How about the failures of several banks and other institutions on Wall Street and bearing witness to the bail-out package? And it’s failure to pass the House! Or how about protesting Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Then again, I would never have imagined that my semester was going to be so unpredictable before I left home, Amazing!

As you can tell it’s been an exciting week and it only seems to get better. This week we had a former TWC Alum, who is currently the mayor of Santa Cruz, speak to us about how he got to where he is today. I wasn’t all that enthused about meeting him only because his bio said that he was the vice president of a bookstore (yawn) and a mayor (yaaay). There are a lot of mayors in the U.S but what made him interesting is that he was once sitting in our seats and going through the same motions that we do here as interns through TWC. Not to mention, he ended up being hilarious explaining the crazy requests he gets from his constituents. He also mentioned something that had already been on my mind for a while, and re-assured me that going to law school without the desire to become a lawyer is an expensive bad idea and tax law isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

Thankfully the Mayor of Santa Cruz didn’t come right after our next speaker: MR. ROBERT MCFARLANE. I didn’t put it in caps because I think you can’t read, but to make sure that you didn’t skim this paragraph. Lets see here, National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan, among many other accomplishments, speaking to us about national security, foreign policy, and the election?! I know this is going to sound so cliché, but it was one of the best days of my life! I’m a political junky, what more can I say?! Our contact doesn’t stop there; he said we can e-mail him if we have any further questions about anything. This man is a legend, what an honor to have him speak to us! Well I can’t say everybody had the privilege because he only spoke to Senator McCain’s civic engagement group. Every group had a speaker, but it’s safe to say that we lucked out. It seemed to me like bad karma for Senator Obama’s group, who were next door laughing at the fact that they had more students than we did. It’s a basic fact that college students are typically Democrats; not rocket science, so no hard feelings :)

In addition, the annual Black Caucus was held last Friday. Since one of our clients from my internship was speaking, they sent me to attend the conference. One of our speakers was actor/activist Danny Glover! They should have waited to have him speak last, because the second his speech ended half of the room cleared out! Bad logistical planning! It was great though because as I was leaving I came within an arms length from controversial Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, not your average American citizens!

As for this week, I have no idea what to expect! All I know is that I am cautiously excited for the VP debate on Thursday. Godspeed Sarah Palin!

Washington Monument and Iwo Jima Memorial

Finally Feeling at Home

In my third week in D.C I am finally feeling at home. I am becoming a champion of public transportation, which is something that is nonexistent where I’m from, and am able to find places with ease. I am also on a mission to find the best restaurant in D.C; so far Sushi Damo is at the top of the list.

Out to dinner

In addition, my internship is still going GREAT! It’s a small office, so the other intern and I are really getting to know the people at the firm. I have never worked with such a diverse group of people and they all have very different, distinct personalities. Also, I was invited to a book signing party with Senator Conrad (D-ND) and his daughter, Jessamyn Conrad. Her book is “The Things You Should Know about Politics but Don’t.” We also attended a fundraiser for Congressman Serrano (D-NY) who is running in the upcoming election. I am a Republican, but it was interesting to listen to a room full of Democrats discussing everything from the economy to the election. Both were great experiences that I would never have dreamed of attending anywhere else but D.C.

The Hill

The Political Leadership Program held a joint event with the International Affairs Program about “The Future of the Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” Ori Nir, a spokesperson for Americans for Peace Now and Ziad Asali, president and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine, spoke to us about the origins of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and what the necessary steps are to achieve peace.

Additionally, we started the Presidential Lecture Series, where TWC brings in prestigious speakers to speak to all students in the program. Dr. Lawrence Korb, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress spoke to us about the Iraq War and the problems that the Bush administration has faced since the initial invasion. Honestly, I did not care for the speaker. The speaker could have just started out the lecture with “Hi, please vote for Senator Barack Obama.” I felt it was incredibly inappropriate for a high level official to use his title to persuade a room full of students about his position on the 2008 election. It’s one thing to subscribe yourself to listen to a speaker whose purpose is to campaign, but it’s another thing to have to attend a mandatory lecture thinking the purpose is to discuss the Iraq War. The Political Leadership advisor and I discussed this and he told me there will be plenty of speakers to follow that are controversial, those of which I may agree with but other students will not. We will see next Monday.

Next week is going to be very busy considering the economic turmoil challenging the United States. I am looking forward to the Senate Committee hearings about the federal bank bailout.

Being goofy at the Newseum

The Internship Begins...

I could not sleep the night before the first day of my internship because I was overwhelmed with excitement. I stayed up all night ironing my clothes ten times over and checking and double-checking my bag to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. In fear of massive train delays, I left my apartment at a ridiculous hour to make sure that I wouldn’t be late. Early is better than late, but two hours early? Well that called for Starbucks, which, like every other city, is thankfully on every corner. When I arrived at Downey McGrath Group, I met the other intern who like me was incredibly early and very nervous. We were introduced to the staff, who greeted us very kindly, which calmed my nerves.

We spent the first day in a meeting learning about lobbying and their specific clients. I became fascinated by the amount and diversity of clients that sought their advocacy. We also came to find out that one of the Vice Presidents was featured in “Politico” described as a former McCain staffer turned lobbyist who now advocates for the legalization of online gambling and offshore drilling. That’s not exactly all that he does, but it was funny to hear your boss being smeared. He’s a good sport.

As the week progressed I was able to attend two Capitol Hill meetings, one was a mark up involving criminal background checks for healthcare employees. The other was an energy summit intended to foster bipartisan dialogue on how to achieve a more secure, reliable, sustainable and affordable energy future for the American people. It was fascinating watching the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a panel of expert witnesses discuss America’s energy future. As an intern, my job is to record the high points and specific statements that directly affect our clients and then write a memorandum.

A great thing about working for former Congressmen and lobbyists is that they get invited to great events and pass along the invitations to us. In my first week, I was invited to a book release party where I was in the presence of Carol Browner, former Administrator of the EPA, and Senator Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader. I have a long list of upcoming events, several a week, that I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend. In addition to working 9-5, DC has a lot of great volunteering opportunities. The Washington Center and Greater DC Cares have been very effective in sending out e-mails notifying us of very diverse and fun volunteering events. Since I have arrived I’ve spent a day in the rain distributing sandbags during Hurricane Hannah, working at the Pentagon Memorial ceremony, food drives, homeless shelters, and beautifying the city (a nice way to say picking up trash). Next week I start volunteering at the Republican headquarters for John McCain’s campaign. All in all, it's been a very exciting and productive week! Now for a not so productive weekend starting with happy hour!

Out to dinner with new TWC friends

Newseum!!!

Amazing view of Capitol Hill and the crew

Helping set up the flags at the Pentagon Memorial

Blog Entry 1

Today is Labor Day and it is a day of reflection to remember the social and economic achievements of Americans throughout history. Since it has been one week since I arrived, it is a day to think about my own plans during the next fifteen weeks and to reflect on my personal anxieties during the process of applying to The Washington Center.

As Fall semester 2007 came to an end, it concerned me that I had not had any hands on experience in my fields of study. As a senior in Political Science and History, it is important to apply what I have learned in the classroom to real-world experiences. I was intrigued by the information a representative from the Washington Center presented during a Political Science course and I knew that an opportunity to intern in Washington D.C. would be unmatched to any other experience during my undergraduate education.

It is amazing to think that it has already been six months since I filled out my application to the Washington Center and now I am here! I was incredibly nervous during the application and interview process. Many questions came to mind. When would future employers call me? What were they going to ask me? What if nobody calls me? Are they going to discuss my political ideologies? Are they not going to like me because of my partisan affiliation? And most importantly how do I know which internship would be best for me? After employers began to call, I was amazed by the diversity in my choices. After discussing the internship duties and comparing them to my goals for the semester, I chose Downey McGrath Group, a bi-partisan lobbying firm.

In addition, I was apprehensive about the living situation in Washington D.C. Many friends told me that D.C was very dangerous outside of Capitol Hill and I was concerned for my safety. After the housing assignments were posted, I was able to check out the location and the building online. I also learned that I would be sharing a room with a fellow Washington Center student. I have lived on my own since I moved out of my parents house, so I was worried that my roommates and I would have conflicting personalities or habits. My nerves were subsided when I met my roommates. It has only been a week; however, they are from all over the world and I am confident we will be able to learn a lot from each other. They are even trying to teach me Spanish! My apartment building (Fenestra, located in Maryland) is also great, and it's near a town square with lots of shops and restaurants.

The first day of the program kicked off with a competitive scavenger hunt beginning at the Lincoln Memorial and directed us with a series of questions around the Capitol Hill area. Unfortunately, it was raining but that did not stop us from taking as many pictures as possible at the historical sites on the list! Some were wise and had rain coats, others like me just toughed it out. I had not checked the forecast so I was completely unprepared for the weather conditions! I could have bought an umbrella, but lets face it from the train stop to the Lincoln Memorial the damage had been done; I was destined to be drenched all day! Rain or shine it was a great ice breaker and an exciting opportunity to check out the main historical attractions in the Greater DC area! I am looking forward to starting my class and my internship next week! Until then I am going to be a tourist; floral shirt and camera around my neck!