Early Days in D.C.

So I’ve been in D.C. for about a week and a half now and I feel the need to document this journey (that and multiple people have asked me to and Vitz started her own China blog). I’m really not sure how I’m going to condense about ten days of action into this entry, but here goes:

Why am I here? Being someone mildly obsessed with politics, I decided that with the election coming up, this summer would be a great time to intern in D.C. So here I am, interning with the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Sounds glamorous, eh? Since that name isn’t really descriptive of what the organization actually does, I’ll try to explain: we’re the part of the national Republican Party that is responsible for Senate campaigns. This being an election year, I decided that I wanted to get some experience campaigning and, being in love with the U.S. Senate, I decided the NRSC was a good place to work. Working here has been an interesting experience. It’s cool to see and be a part of the excitement of the election and especially to see Republican Senators walking around the building. I’m working in the finance/fundraising department, which has been a challenge for me, being a more political/strategy driven guy. I’ve definitely learned a lot about what it takes to raise money for a campaign. I spend a lot of my days on the phone with donors asking them for money. That pretty much makes me a glorified telemarketer (this job has definitely given me a new found respect for telemarketers and I don’t think I’ll ever be mean to them again). Most calls go to voicemail, but occasionally I'll get to talk to an actual person. Usually I get a polite "no" then a hangup, but sometimes I get a grouchy person who blames me for all the problems in America or with the Party. Those are probably my favorite calls because those people make me feel that I'm actually making a difference somewhere in America. Oh well. Other than making calls I spend the rest of my time either going through mail, writing letters, or G-Chatting.

I’m not going to lie, I try to get out of the office as much as I can (one can only sit behind a desk for a limited amount of time). Last Wednesday I had a few adventures. It started when one of the office assistants asked me to go get ice cream for Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa (small vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles on the side), who was coming in to make some campaign calls. When I got back, someone asked me to make a delivery to the Russell Senate Office Building. Being the starry-eyed intern that I am, I took advantage of that chance to do some Senator stalking. After dropping of the package to an office on the fourth floor I decided to walk around the building on the off chance that I see someone cool. Went up and down a few hallways, passed by the offices of John McCain, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy. Then I walked down one hall and saw Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who I had seen the previous night on CNN, walking towards me. You might remember Senator Dodd as one of the 59823750 people who ran for President this year. I didn’t really know what to do or if I should/could talk to him, but, being me, I decided to go balls out and take action. Here’s how that ordeal went:

Me: “Hey Senator Dodd!”

Senator Dodd: “Hi” (or some other form of acknowledgment, I can't really remember)

Me: “You looked good on CNN last night, Senator!”

Dodd (walking into his office): “Thank you!”

I know, that was cheezy and lame...but so am I. I relish those types of conversations, especially when they're with a Senator/ex-presidential candidate. Later that day I ran into Senators Olympia Snowe and Lindsey Graham, two of my Senate HEROES (for being moderate Republicans, like myself), when they were walking around our building. Downside, I wasn't able to talk to them. Oh well, I'll get a chance sometime this summer. Goal for the summer: see as many Senators as possible. Four down (Dodd, Snowe, Graham, and John Ensign of Nevada), ninety-six to go!

Moving on to life here in D.C.

All of us Michigan interns (the PSIP-ers) are staying together at George Washington University. There are about fifty of us staying here, taking up about two floors of this dorm (City Hall). Being Michigan students, we try to make our presence known around here. Upon stepping off the elevator onto our floors you feel like you're back in Ann Arbor with the loud voices echoing through the halls and the Michigan-themed door signs hanging on all of our doors. Brings back sweet memories of Markley. The place is pretty sweet; it’s a converted hotel and the rooms are triple apartments. My room isn’t too bad. My roommates, Matt and Mike, are really cool and we get along well (I knew Mike coming in, but had no idea who Matt was). While Matt and I get along well, we get into daily political debates which makes life interesting, especially when it comes to the election (yes, we’re nerds, but hey, we’re in D.C.). The highlight/focal point of our room is our beautiful black-and-white TV. Let me tell you, watching the NBA finals in black-and-white is quite the experience. Who needs a flat-screen HDTV when you've got this bad boy?

Hanging out in D.C. has been really been an adventure. Not much has changed since the last time I was here four years ago (yes, on the infamous Band trip). I still feel the need to go around, take in the sites, and do touristy stuff. On Saturday we went around site-seeing (White House, Old Post Office) and went on a nighttime monuments tour. You really can't appreciate those monuments until you see them at night. We went to the Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, WWII and Korean War Memorials and the Washington Monument, all of which look SPECTACULAR at night. It was a good chance to reflect and remember these brave heroes of our nation and also a chance to aspire to make the same impact the made on our nation. Afterwards Matt and I left to group to take a look at the Capitol Building at night. THAT was cool! I'm always amazed when I see that building, but seeing it at night was even more awe-inspiring. It really deflates the head a little bit when your marvel at the Capitol and what it stands for. I would not mind working there one day...

Whenever I'm away I always enjoy the free/down time spent with friends. Brady came down last weekend and we chilled in Bethesda with the Horvitz and Michelle. "The Crew" was reunited. Bethesda is a really cool town that reminds me of a much larger Birmingham/Ann Arbor. I could definitely see myself living there in the future. This past weekend was our student coordinator's 21st birthday, so we went out and celebrated. Lots of good times were had with Neil (and we may or may not have obnoxiously started singing "The Victors" and "It's Great to be a Michigan Wolverine" in a few crowded restaurants and bars...).

One interesting note about D.C. is how much life here revolves around happy hour. You get off work, everyone goes to happy hour. Got a meeting? Let's go to happy hour. Bored? Go to happy hour. For people like me who are underage, it makes for an interesting experience, usually spent sitting at the bar acting cool and sipping Coke.

Those have been my adventures here in D.C. It's uber hot and humid here which makes it difficult to do anything outside. This weekend we hit the upper-nineties with heat indexes of over 100! To give you a frame of reference, the only thing hotter than a day here in D.C. would be myself.

I do miss home a little bit, especially in light of the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings were one of my first loves in life and I wanted so badly to be home to celebrate with everyone else. Oh well, we'll do that next year!

Right now I'm sitting at my desk and the people who work around me are either on Facebook, G-chatting, or doing a crossword. Yes, much work gets done here in D.C.

That's all for now. I'll try to keep y'all updated on what's going on here.