parting thoughts
So my tenure in D.C. has brought me to meet some influencial people (none of whom I hold any influence over if you think that's where I'm going ). But I've been able to get a feel for these characters. And how I feel about each one. Let's go down the list.
Richard Lugar--Good guy in that he is a senior sponsor of the congressional fellowship program which staffs republican and democratic offices. Very nice man to meet. Reminds me of a muppet but all the more warm, right? However, he is a staunch stained through republican who votes the way of the president and the party. So I disagree with him on most things (all things), but I'm fond of what he does for the young people.
Barbara Boxer--Previously my favorite Senator, she still ranks pretty high. I saw her speak on the Senate floor where she indicted Frist in front of his face. It was very cool and very ballsy. However, at the photo opp while she gave little banters with the other people, she said 'hi,' *click* 'bye.' She coulda done better. And then I found out she went turncoat--she went to Connecticut to campaign for JOE LIEBERMAN! What?! Lieberman is basically a republican, and is what's wrong with the spineless democratic party--and she's going to support him. Is it about keeping the incumbants in power? Did she owe him a favor? What the fuck? So anyway, she drops on my list.
Barack Obama--Rankin pretty f'in high on my list. I was iffy going in, wondering if he was just exciting because he was young and black. But his voting record has been pretty darn good. His lecture was ok, but he's a very engaging answerer of questions. I'm gonna watch him with a careful eye, but for now he's good. Mostly I think because he was a small handful of dems who voted agains the 'energy bill' I referenced before.
Arlen Specter--He's a republican alright. But he's a pretty straightlaced one. He's not into breaking the law and is pretty good about people getting their fair-share. He called the president on the illegal wiretapping (though he's helping him make it legal now) and he's still bringing suit about the signing statements. THAT's what I like. He has enough respect for himself as a legislator that he won't be run over by the administration. He's also pro-choice and was a big supporter of the Voting Rights Act. Like I said, pretty straightlaced old guy. My fav republican. BUT WAIT? I thought every democrat's favorite republican was...
John McCain--Nope. I lost a lotta respect for him. He was all about the war. And has backed everything the president has done, sans climate change policy. He's not the maverick the media makes him out to be. His answers also weren't very straight-forward. And he got testy with the interns when they called him on being evasive.
Tom Daschle--Not an engaging speaker, and very generic. He seems like he'd be a strong, passionate guy behind closed doors, but he gets out there with a mic and a vote and he goes with the flow. So still pretty 'meh' on my list.
Dick Durbin--My new favorite Senator. He has a perfect record on gay rights votes. He answered my question with a straight answer backed with sincerety. He knows where he came from and does what he does cause he loves it. He worked his way up in the heartland, without money, with a ton of local elections that he lost time after time. I get the sense he loves what gets to do. The pay of course isn't bad, either. I'm not saying he's a saint, but I get the impression he's doing what he does because he believes in all those progressive American ideals. Also, one of only THREE to vote against the war.He has firm ideas that he stands beside that he doesn't abandon to be popular. Great guy.
Dana Rohrbacher--Some of you may be his constituent. He was a shmuck on the Bill Maher show, he's a shmuck when it comes to votes, and he's a shmuck in the elevator.
Ed Royce--Some others of you may be his contituent. He's a shmuck on votes, and real McCarthy when he's chairman of a subcommittee. Angry little man.
Jean Shmidt--You may have seen her on TV, the wrinkled 50-something woman who wears sleeveless sweaters looking like American Flags. The one who called the Marine Corp vet, Murtha, a coward for favoring withdrawl from Iraq. Yeah, she's no better in person.
Newt Gingrich--Nice guy. Disagree with a lot of his policies, but he's a lot more reasonable since he's been humbled. He's big on health care efficiency, and while he's a bit into Syriana [restructuring of the Middle East to suit our interests], he seems like he's open to ideas. And he laughed with me about my being a liberal who liked him. Giant hands.
Be home soon.
p.s. TC, Devon, Adam, Robyn--D.C. sucked in comparison to Chicago without you guys.
Richard Lugar--Good guy in that he is a senior sponsor of the congressional fellowship program which staffs republican and democratic offices. Very nice man to meet. Reminds me of a muppet but all the more warm, right? However, he is a staunch stained through republican who votes the way of the president and the party. So I disagree with him on most things (all things), but I'm fond of what he does for the young people.
Barbara Boxer--Previously my favorite Senator, she still ranks pretty high. I saw her speak on the Senate floor where she indicted Frist in front of his face. It was very cool and very ballsy. However, at the photo opp while she gave little banters with the other people, she said 'hi,' *click* 'bye.' She coulda done better. And then I found out she went turncoat--she went to Connecticut to campaign for JOE LIEBERMAN! What?! Lieberman is basically a republican, and is what's wrong with the spineless democratic party--and she's going to support him. Is it about keeping the incumbants in power? Did she owe him a favor? What the fuck? So anyway, she drops on my list.
Barack Obama--Rankin pretty f'in high on my list. I was iffy going in, wondering if he was just exciting because he was young and black. But his voting record has been pretty darn good. His lecture was ok, but he's a very engaging answerer of questions. I'm gonna watch him with a careful eye, but for now he's good. Mostly I think because he was a small handful of dems who voted agains the 'energy bill' I referenced before.
Arlen Specter--He's a republican alright. But he's a pretty straightlaced one. He's not into breaking the law and is pretty good about people getting their fair-share. He called the president on the illegal wiretapping (though he's helping him make it legal now) and he's still bringing suit about the signing statements. THAT's what I like. He has enough respect for himself as a legislator that he won't be run over by the administration. He's also pro-choice and was a big supporter of the Voting Rights Act. Like I said, pretty straightlaced old guy. My fav republican. BUT WAIT? I thought every democrat's favorite republican was...
John McCain--Nope. I lost a lotta respect for him. He was all about the war. And has backed everything the president has done, sans climate change policy. He's not the maverick the media makes him out to be. His answers also weren't very straight-forward. And he got testy with the interns when they called him on being evasive.
Tom Daschle--Not an engaging speaker, and very generic. He seems like he'd be a strong, passionate guy behind closed doors, but he gets out there with a mic and a vote and he goes with the flow. So still pretty 'meh' on my list.
Dick Durbin--My new favorite Senator. He has a perfect record on gay rights votes. He answered my question with a straight answer backed with sincerety. He knows where he came from and does what he does cause he loves it. He worked his way up in the heartland, without money, with a ton of local elections that he lost time after time. I get the sense he loves what gets to do. The pay of course isn't bad, either. I'm not saying he's a saint, but I get the impression he's doing what he does because he believes in all those progressive American ideals. Also, one of only THREE to vote against the war.He has firm ideas that he stands beside that he doesn't abandon to be popular. Great guy.
Dana Rohrbacher--Some of you may be his constituent. He was a shmuck on the Bill Maher show, he's a shmuck when it comes to votes, and he's a shmuck in the elevator.
Ed Royce--Some others of you may be his contituent. He's a shmuck on votes, and real McCarthy when he's chairman of a subcommittee. Angry little man.
Jean Shmidt--You may have seen her on TV, the wrinkled 50-something woman who wears sleeveless sweaters looking like American Flags. The one who called the Marine Corp vet, Murtha, a coward for favoring withdrawl from Iraq. Yeah, she's no better in person.
Newt Gingrich--Nice guy. Disagree with a lot of his policies, but he's a lot more reasonable since he's been humbled. He's big on health care efficiency, and while he's a bit into Syriana [restructuring of the Middle East to suit our interests], he seems like he's open to ideas. And he laughed with me about my being a liberal who liked him. Giant hands.
Be home soon.
p.s. TC, Devon, Adam, Robyn--D.C. sucked in comparison to Chicago without you guys.