In the Office of Rand Paul -- An intern's perspective

[jct74]

In the Office of Rand Paul

by JOSH JONES on SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

My anxiety and curiosity increased as I walked down the hall of the first floor of the Russell Senate Office Building. What was this job going to be like? Was the internship coordinator going to be intense and over-the-top? What about my fellow interns? Surely they’d be just as driven and ambitious as I was. Were the next six weeks going to be filled with competition, one-upmanship, and unbearable obsequiousness?

Despite having just rushed from the airport—hot, sweaty, and burdened with luggage—the reality of where I was and what I would be doing hadn’t really hit me yet. It seemed ages ago that I’d been accepted to Senator Rand Paul’s summer internship program and even longer ago since I’d spent all those late nights typing away at my computer, looking up email applications on the government websites of no less than three Senators and half a dozen congressmen. I only heard back from a few offices. After what I believed to be a slightly disastrous fifteen-minute Skype interview with a Rand Paul staffer, I had felt more certain than ever that I was not going to be accepted to my first choice.

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried about my companions’ dispositions. Although the other five interns were silent as I entered the reception area, it only took one awkward stab at an introduction to realize my co-workers were kind, friendly, and down-to-earth. With the exception of one returning intern from the previous year, everyone seemed just as surprised to be there as I did.

The only people more refreshingly genuine and levelheaded than my fellow interns were the regulars in the office. My supervisors—including the press secretary and the senior communications director—instantly made me feel like a part of the team and didn’t hesitate to give me interesting tasks to complete. They had me do everything from compile the day’s media mentions of the Senator to translate medical phrases into Spanish for his upcoming pro-bono trip to Guatemala.

...

read more:
http://stanfordreview.org/article/in-the-office-of-rand-paul/

[specsaregood]

Gonna have to save this quote to reuse over and over:


Not only did everyone expect Rand Paul to be sympathetic to their specific position, they demanded that he have a position on any event they managed to pick up in the daily news, foreign or domestic. Speaking as an intern who literally spent the day with the news playing constantly in the background, I have no idea how they imagined a Senator could simultaneously vote, draft legislation, give an interview, and at once be totally aware of all the goings-on in the world. At times it was downright infuriating to feel you were working so diligently and sincerely only to be met with skepticism and criticism at every turn.
http://stanfordreview.org/article/in-the-office-of-rand-paul/

[Brian4Liberty]

Gonna have to save this quote to reuse over and over:

And it is interesting that often when calling your Senator or Reps office, the person answering the phone will not have heard of the issue you are calling about. Often, it will be a vote happening very soon or that day.

One could surmise that on a certain percentage of votes, members of Congress are told how to vote by their party Whip, and really don't know anything about the topic being voted upon.

[philipped]

A lot of collectable statements made in this article.

[LibertyEagle]

And it is interesting that often when calling your Senator or Reps office, the person answering the phone will not have heard of the issue you are calling about. Often, it will be a vote happening very soon or that day.

One could surmise that on a certain percentage of votes, members of Congress are told how to vote by their party Whip, and really don't know anything about the topic being voted upon.

Or, maybe that the person who answers the phone isn't aware of the issue, while Rand and his legislative aide in charge of that area, is.

[KCIndy]

And it is interesting that often when calling your Senator or Reps office, the person answering the phone will not have heard of the issue you are calling about. Often, it will be a vote happening very soon or that day.

One could surmise that on a certain percentage of votes, members of Congress are told how to vote by their party Whip, and really don't know anything about the topic being voted upon.



Or, maybe that the person who answers the phone isn't aware of the issue, while Rand and his legislative aide in charge of that area, is.


I hope it is just a lack of knowledge on the part of the person answering the phone. If I were ever to hold office, I would not feel comfortable voting on *anything* without having at least a basic grasp of the issue in question.

But one would think that even the flunkies who answer the phone could be issued a list of the next ten or fifteen items coming up for a vote. The list could include a basic statement from the Senator or Rep displaying their awareness of the issue and which way they are leaning toward voting, and why. Would that be hard? I could whip out a similar form in a couple of hours, tops. And since not every issue on the list would be voted on in a day's span, the list could be modified quickly by adding or discarding just a few topics.

As someone who has called political offices plenty of times, I can certainly say there have been plenty of instances where I feel like I've been wasting my time. Getting "uh huh" and "I don't know, but I'll make a note of your call" as an answer to where a politician stands on a particular issue is pretty damn frustrating.

[specsaregood]

And it is interesting that often when calling your Senator or Reps office, the person answering the phone will not have heard of the issue you are calling about. Often, it will be a vote happening very soon or that day.

One could surmise that on a certain percentage of votes, members of Congress are told how to vote by their party Whip, and really don't know anything about the topic being voted upon.

fwiw, the quote I gave wasn't referring just to legislative issues, let alone a bill coming up for a vote:


Not only did everyone expect Rand Paul to be sympathetic to their specific position, they demanded that he have a position on any event they managed to pick up in the daily news, foreign or domestic.
So something happens in bumf*ck anywhere and callers are demanding Randal to have something to say about it. that happens here on rpfs ALL the time.

[jbauer]

I don't know that its feasible. In the time this guy was there Rand drafted 6 bills. There are 99 other senators and 435 House members. If they drafted legislation at the same pace that's 3204 pieces in 6 weeks PLUS all the stuff that isn't going to be voted on soon. On top of that you've got an entire state that has a whole bureaucracy.

Seems daunting to say the least.


I hope it is just a lack of knowledge on the part of the person answering the phone. If I were ever to hold office, I would not feel comfortable voting on *anything* without having at least a basic grasp of the issue in question.

But one would think that even the flunkies who answer the phone could be issued a list of the next ten or fifteen items coming up for a vote. The list could include a basic statement from the Senator or Rep displaying their awareness of the issue and which way they are leaning toward voting, and why. Would that be hard? I could whip out a similar form in a couple of hours, tops. And since not every issue on the list would be voted on in a day's span, the list could be modified quickly by adding or discarding just a few topics.

As someone who has called political offices plenty of times, I can certainly say there have been plenty of instances where I feel like I've been wasting my time. Getting "uh huh" and "I don't know, but I'll make a note of your call" as an answer to where a politician stands on a particular issue is pretty damn frustrating.

[JohnGalt23g]

I hope it is just a lack of knowledge on the part of the person answering the phone. If I were ever to hold office, I would not feel comfortable voting on *anything* without having at least a basic grasp of the issue in question.



I have no problem voting on something I didn't have a basic grasp of.

If I don't know what it is, I'm just going to vote "No", until somebody takes the trouble to inform me...