Goodness Gracious!

I have had another amazing week. I was able to get out of the city for a while, receive some amazing training, and I met my personal hero who just happens to be our nation’s next President. Things are going great!

Last Saturday I had a case of the blues. My wife had gone home and I was content to just sit and sulk, but I remembered that I had secured a spot on the bus to Atlantic City for the day. TWC had put the trip together and around 40 or so interns were lucky enough to go. We left at 8:00 am and got home at around 11:00 pm. I had no idea it was a 4-hour drive, but it was a nice change of scenery. I do not enjoy gambling so much but I was able to get a haircut and eat some crab cakes, so I ended up having a good time.

Beginning last Monday, I and another intern from the NRCC started a week long Campaign Manager School that was conducted by The Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia. There were around 30 or so political activist from across the country in attendance, which made it a great networking opportunity.

I can definitely say that I was completely ignorant of what a well-run, legitimate political campaign looks like and needs to have to win. We had experts ranging from Congressional Chiefs of Staff, who had previously run high-dollar campaigns, to industry leaders dealing in everything from direct mail to the newest internet ads giving lectures.

We also had a 3-hour class which was titled: Advanced New Media Workshop. It mostly dealt with how to effectively manage a candidates Facebook and Twitter accounts. It is all a little overwhelming right now, but I have another Campaign Manager School in November that is being conducted by the Republican National Committee. It is supposed to be more hands on with many situational exercises. I’ll do my best to hone my skills then.

On Wednesday of last week, I met Congressman Ron Paul who is a candidate for President! He was in town for a lunch which was held at the National Press Club. My Professor Steve Scully knew the lady who was coordinating the event, and was able to get me and 3 other students in, to stand in the back during his speech and the question and answer segment which followed.



The day got progressively better which each passing hour though. At around 10:00 am we got an email from Steve indicating his friend was able to get us all tickets to the lunch. Then, almost 30 minutes after that great news, another email arrived. We were now being allowed to participate in the VIP reception being held prior to the lunch with Rep. Paul.

Throughout this time we all met the Congressman, took multiple pictures with him, spoke with him individually, and I was able to get my pocket Constitution signed. It goes without saying that I was on Cloud 9 for the rest of the day. I even made a side trip to the National Archives, on the way back to my campaign class, to see the original Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Just caught up in the moment I guess.

Next week it’s back to my internship at the NRCC. So far there isn’t anything that really stands out about the week. But if this last one is any guide, I know that could change on a whim!