Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 3 days out of the week where I see firsthand what the political process is all about. Since September 8th, I've been fortunate enough to work on a congressman's staff here in Washington, D.C. I see the congressman everyday and although we haven't yet had a heart to heart, I've seen enough to give me impressions about the office, but I'm choosing to talk about all that sometime in January. For now, I'll talk about what I see on a daily basis outside of just the office I work.
Sincerity
Call me naive or fickle, but I can truthfully say that I believe these people I see everyday are very involved and hope to change the world we live in; contrary to what many people might believe as living for the status quo. The people I speak with don't come off to me as wanting to keep the world the same. Some people may look at our U.S. Capitol with scorn because they believe the people in power aren't trying to get anything done and quite frankly, I've seen otherwise. Yes, some people may not agree with these ideas, but there are a diverse set of ideas nonetheless and to say that no one on Capitol Hill cares is a misconception. Again, I haven't met everyone on congress but I've met and spoken with enough people to get the impression that people typically care for the condition of society and the country. The fact that everyone has their own set of concerns for the community is an indication to me of that. There are a few things I have reservations about but again, I'll talk about that come January.
Expertise
The people here on Capitol Hill are, needless to say, very intelligent and it's something I'm glad I'm able to be a part of. Unlike casual conversations between people, there is a wide amount of competence shown in people here and if you just like to hear the sound of your voice, Washington D.C. is not the city for you. You will be called out and made a fool out of. I enjoy being challenged through debate here and even if I'm wrong about something, I value the conversation's ability to better shape my own ideas. If you're the person who shows more intellect in the debate, let it reinforce you. If you're the one on the wrong end of the spectrum time after time, maybe it's time to revamp the way in which you view politics. The fact alone that I can change someone's whole perspective about something means more to me than just the title that comes along with working for a congressional office
Networking
Everyday I go to work, I am surrounded by people who will one day contribute significantly to the political process; either as lobbyists, legislative directors, representatives, senators or chief of staff's. In one way or another, the group of people I speak with frequently are either already in a prestigious spot or are well on their way to becoming that. There's a quote that goes by "It's not what you know, it's who you know." I give great respect to that and because of it, I make sure I never burn bridges with anyone and take it upon myself to really make an impression on everyone that lasts and serves as a positive way of allowing them to open up. In the world of politics, it's all about who you know and how they can help you with whatever you're trying to pursue; sometimes this can serve to the advantage of corruption and greed. More often than not though, it's a matter of resources and knowledge. In politics, You don't have to be a cronie to maintain a form of friendship with people in power; it's a matter of what you do with that ability that makes all the difference.
I wish I could put this all in one summary but I've been here about a month and I can't compile all I've learned in one sitting so I hope you're looking forward to coming back and reading more about what it is I do and what things I've seen, learned, despised, loved, ridiculed and complimented here on Capitol Hill. Here are a few things I've eventually get around to talking about:
- Racism on Capitol Hill
- Impact of money (Greed and Corruption)
- How lobbyists can affect political process
- 'Average Joes' involved in politics
- Capitol Receptions
- Background of ppl I see everyday
- Conversations I've had with big name people
- Constituencies and their opinions
- Congressional hearings + what you see (or don't see)
- Impressions on the Hill
- Institutions surrounding congress
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
The Start of Something Truly Remarkable
August 30th, 2009; the start of something truly remarkable. I came to here to Washington D.C. with my girlfriend, two parents , youngest sister, niece and nephew. We drove in my mother’s Nissan Quest and even with that size, I’m sure my family thought it was pretty crammed in the back. Regardless, we were here and after about 6 and a half hours, we finally got into the city of politics. I remember the look on my mother’s face as we drove into the city and saw the poverty. Coming from civil-war era Nicaragua, I was surprised to see the reaction on her face and I knew in her head that the poverty really made an impression on her; negative as it may have been. “David, this is worse than Nicaragua” she said to me. I just laughed and shrugged it off believing in my head that she was just exaggerating and not yet able to come to terms with the fact that this city was where I’d spend the next 4 months of my life. After seeing the poverty stretch on and on, it hit me like I ran into a brick wall; all these agents of “advocacy” and “representatives” in this city of Washington D.C., and no one here to stand for the men in the cardboard boxes or the families in the rundown buildings. This city radiates opportunity and power and yet no one seems to mind the lack of opportunity or power among the communities we saw on our way up. And I thought MY poverty was bad growing up; these people truly were the ‘have-nots’ in this country. They had NOTHING but clothes on their backs and their families by their side.
I figured that we leave Thursday night so that we get to D.C. Friday morning and have plenty of time to sleep and tour the city come Friday night. My parents weren’t major fans of the city on Friday so they opted to just stay in the hotel and watch after the girls and my nephew in the hotel pool. It was a beautiful hotel, I must say; far more illustrious than what we’re used to. The area the hotel was in wasn’t bad; it was in downtown D.C. and one or two blocks from Chinatown so there was plenty to do and see. My girlfriend Jeanelle and I got dressed to go site see. Little did I know that this night would bring me motivation I’d never experienced and inspiration I’d never known. There was something glorious about everything I saw that night; the lights, the buildings, the Potomac, the statues, the memorials, the nightlife; everything gave off an aura that I had only vaguely imagined in the past. I was like a child in a toystore; I wanted to see everything. Everything was much more beautiful than in the textbooks. Photos didn’t do them justice.
Come Saturday morning, we were up and out. My parents had realized that this part of the city wasn’t all that bad; it was actually beautiful and exemplified a side of American culture that they had never known in Danbury, Connecticut. My nephew, Isaiah was a grumpy little one that day, he didn’t want to do ANY walking and had we brought a stroller, no doubt in my mind he would’ve been in it all day. We saw the Lincoln memorial which really made an impression on my mother and I. Those words written in stone had me thinking all day and reinforced the idea of liberty. I couldn’t make out an impression from my father; he tends to keep his thoughts to himself and as great of an impression he might have attained from the Lincoln memorial; he kept it all in his head and just decided to soak it in and keep it in. My sister Sheyla, even at 13, was too young to understand the significance of political figures like Abraham Lincoln and the significance of historical events like the civil war or slavery. Even today, I’m not sure what went through her head. She has an imagination all her own. My niece Natalya on the other hand, enjoyed it and marveled at just how big the Lincoln Memorial was.
From there, we went to the Vietnam Memorial. Of all memorials I had seen on this day, none came close to how much of an impact the Vietnam Memorial made on me. I got there and as we were walking up, it hadn’t looked very large in size but as we got closer, we saw how big this was becoming and what really blew my whole family away was how we worked our way from the outside in and realized how big the wall was and how small the names were. The small sized names bothered me; not because they were small but because even at its size, it needed a large space to get all the names of the men and women who died. These weren’t just names or casualties of war; these were real people with real lives and real families that they left behind; never to live or see again. An old teacher of mine that I kept in touch with had a roommate who passed away during the Vietnam war. He told me once that ever since he passed, he felt guilty over his death. I wasn’t sure if he had his closure but I wanted to do something for him since I was in the area and visiting the memorial myself. Jeanelle told me that the park rangers give out Vietnam Memorial letter-headed papers and graphite for visitors to sketch over the names of the fallen men. I found the man’s name on the wall. Thomas Carothers. I never knew the man; I’ve never even seen a picture of him or a story about him. I just know this man, Thomas Carothers, existed and people like Mr. Scalzo truly missed him and remember him to this day. I sketched the name and gave it to Jeanelle to give to Mr. Scalzo for me.
After the Vietnam Memorial, we all walked around the city for a little while just seeing what we came across. We eventually got to the Air and Space museum. Now my child-like fascination with the city on Friday night was nothing compared to my father’s fascination and admiration for what he saw there. This wasn’t a family event for him; he wasted no time and ran off without us to see all the planes, spaceships and machinery the museum had to offer. He didn’t want to take any pictures of us but he was quick to ask us to take a picture of him with the Apollo module or a spy plane behind him. What a nerd. When I told him I found out there were flight simulators in the museum, he ran like we didn’t have 2 hours before the museum closed. I decided I’d fly and he’d control the turrets. That day, I realized I have no business even thinking I could become a pilot. I flew horrible. It was fun until my dad kept going back and forth about how he would have done better. I stood my ground and told him I’d pay for us to do it again and we’d switch places. So we did and needless to say, he did worse than me. Of course he wouldn’t admit it though, we’re talking about my father here.
The night came to an end and before I knew it, Sunday morning was here and it was time that I finally moved into my apartment. It went by fast. Too fast. I didn’t get a chance to put my thoughts together and come to the realization that this was going to be home for 4 months. Regardless, as soon as everything was put into the apartment, that was that; we said our goodbyes, good lucks, see ya soon’s, and love you’s. That moment, although I had not known it at the time, was the moment I had waited for my whole life. I’d been waiting for this my whole life. My dreams had become my reality. The American Dream is alive; maybe not alive and well, but alive nonetheless and I am living testament to that. I’ve worked so hard to get here to have this opportunity. My parents have worked endlessly to grant me opportunity and I’ve worked tirelessly to make something of myself and get my foot in the door. Now that I had done just that, I thought to myself, “Now What?” August 30th, 2009; The start of something truly remarkable.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Can we sustain?
We are in a time of political, social and economic turmoil. That much is clear. What is more evident is the need and demand for a resolution to the problems which we are dealt. Forget the political affiliation one poses; an effective idea is neither blue nor red. If we want to fix our issues in this country, we must first LISTEN. Someone once told me that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. Sometimes you must speak in support of the very policies being proposed; sometimes you must speak out against the lies being fed to the people. Before you decide to speak though, it is imperative that one listens. Don't just hear what your opposition has to say; Listen to what they have to say.
We come to a point in the maze called politics where we decide which path leads to a dead end and which leads us to the way out. With that being said, we need a way out of our deficit and debt. The problem with this predicament is the one solution comes with it's own complex set of details. Here's an idea folks; why don't we offset the tax cuts with spending cuts? If we're going to stimulate the economy, why don't we spend hundreds of billions of dollars in helping the American families with their debts and mortgages as opposed to writing off the "toxic assets" of the banks? This way, these very families wouldn't have the anxiety of wondering if they can afford a home or say, healthcare. Healthcare as we all know, is the major theme in this great city of Washington D.C. If it's not the intentions of the government to overhaul healthcare and nationalize the industry, let's talk about making health care cheaper. Here's some simple math:
Public Option + Tort Reform + Right to purchase health insurance across state lines =
CHEAPER HEALTHCARE
There it is Folks. I just solved the American mystery of effective healthcare reform.
Some of you might say "Oh no, what about the unfair advantage government is going to have in a public option" or "Gee golly, that means I can't sue my doctor for 100 million dollars if there's tort reform". Guess what? Too Bad.
Some of these companies can make it through depressions and recessions; they'll be fine. These trial lawyers won't be out of a job either; they'll survive. These opposing barriers to Universally accessible healthcare in the United States is the reason for the millions of families medical and financial hardships.
A few paragraphs up I mentioned the deficit and the national debt. First; let's stop making money out of thin air through the Federal Reserve. We CANNOT spend our way to profit; I don't care WHAT the Keynesian theory says. Second; let's stop borrowing money from foreign countries for the time being; it's as if we're spending away our national sovereignty and American way of living.
In conclusion, our country should be very careful of becoming the very thing we've passionately condemned; a feckless nation.
- David Javier Solis
We come to a point in the maze called politics where we decide which path leads to a dead end and which leads us to the way out. With that being said, we need a way out of our deficit and debt. The problem with this predicament is the one solution comes with it's own complex set of details. Here's an idea folks; why don't we offset the tax cuts with spending cuts? If we're going to stimulate the economy, why don't we spend hundreds of billions of dollars in helping the American families with their debts and mortgages as opposed to writing off the "toxic assets" of the banks? This way, these very families wouldn't have the anxiety of wondering if they can afford a home or say, healthcare. Healthcare as we all know, is the major theme in this great city of Washington D.C. If it's not the intentions of the government to overhaul healthcare and nationalize the industry, let's talk about making health care cheaper. Here's some simple math:
Public Option + Tort Reform + Right to purchase health insurance across state lines =
CHEAPER HEALTHCARE
There it is Folks. I just solved the American mystery of effective healthcare reform.
Some of you might say "Oh no, what about the unfair advantage government is going to have in a public option" or "Gee golly, that means I can't sue my doctor for 100 million dollars if there's tort reform". Guess what? Too Bad.
Some of these companies can make it through depressions and recessions; they'll be fine. These trial lawyers won't be out of a job either; they'll survive. These opposing barriers to Universally accessible healthcare in the United States is the reason for the millions of families medical and financial hardships.
A few paragraphs up I mentioned the deficit and the national debt. First; let's stop making money out of thin air through the Federal Reserve. We CANNOT spend our way to profit; I don't care WHAT the Keynesian theory says. Second; let's stop borrowing money from foreign countries for the time being; it's as if we're spending away our national sovereignty and American way of living.
In conclusion, our country should be very careful of becoming the very thing we've passionately condemned; a feckless nation.
- David Javier Solis
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Woes of my Republican Party
What has my Republican Party of Lincoln become and where do we go from here?
Since the birth of this independent country in 1776, our political system has primarily been a two party system which puts both factions at odds with each other in all forms of debates; some social, some political, and some for just the sake of bickering. In a little more than two centuries, our nation has made strides that even our forefathers may have not foreseen. We've made history with various forms of movements that gave the people more power in their hands. We've developed a country that understands national sovereignty in the hands of the people works best; the problem with this though is that we've had far too difficult of a time distinguishing who is part of the American people.
The Democratic party does an effective job in bringing in young voters, college-educated voters, minority voters, catholic voters, union voters and other categories. For my Republican party unfortunately, these voters are typically Democrat-leaning and the numbers will only rise in the future as the minority population goes up, college-education enrollment goes up and various other group populations skyrocket. It's no secret that the recent election in 2008 exposed the not just the weaknesses of my party, but its flaws and mistakes it's accumulated over the past few decades. We abandoned the fundamentals that brought us to the national spotlight in the 18th century. Unfortunately, our party of Reagan and Lincoln is no longer with us and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Politics is an ugly sport; and like all ugly sports, one must prevail and one must falter. My party has done too much of the latter for the past few years and there is reasoning behind it. I'd like to address just a few of the many reasons why this is so and present what I feel may serve as solutions, difficult as they may be, to my party's predicament.
'Rich White Man's Party'
This belief is the one major barrier to keeping minority groups from voting for several Republican officials. Unfortunately, sincere and selfless Republican officials don't even get acknowledged due to the generalizations made by Republicans past who have not quite embraced the movements of minorities in the past (i.e. Civil Rights and Immigrant protests). While this does not mean all republicans opposed these movements; too many did and failed to acknowledge the future predicaments. The fact of the matter is that most African Americans and Hispanics identify themselves as a group to be more traditional and associate many of their beliefs towards family values and more conservative-minded; something that would typically be an asset and advantage for my Republican party but is canceled out by the grim history of the party towards these two groups. While it is true a Republican president won the civil war and was much of the reason for the emancipation of the slaves, the dire history of the Republican party in the south during the civil rights does away with that. While it is also true that Ronald Reagan signed an amnesty program in the 80's which legalized several undocumented immigrants, the racist remarks and demonizing of the Hispanic community (whether intentional or not, it happened) in the past few years completely erases some of that Hispanic support in states like Florida. My party has come off as too offensive, insensitive and xenophobic in the past few decades and that must change in order to make progress in the future of a nation whose identity is changing. This issue can't be shelved or tabled to be dealt with in the future; that time is now and I urge any Republican who happens to be reading this to acknowledge the mistakes and misconceptions made and created over the past few years. We need to act because the democrats know the situation of the everchanging country and they've jumped on that quite effectively as shown in the statistics of the past election
'Party of Bush'
It's as simple as understanding that Bush was no great president by any means and although there are some things he deserves credit for, it's important to just move on from the Bush era and get back to the drawing board. We need another Reagan revolution where people come to the polls excited to keep a Republican in power. The party of Newt Gingrich, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan were far different in comparison to the Party of Bush. Let's move on and get to work on portraying the message of accountability and modernity to America. We need innovation and while it may be true that some of the Republican values should stay intact, some need to be done away with and some need to be revamped. Again, we've seen that the past few years and in terms of survival, we must represent the needs and interests of the changing constituency in America.
'Too many oximorons'
Why can't a Republican be both a Republican and progressive? These two things do not need to mean two different things. To be progressive means to obviously make progress in society and the communities; is it so difficult for our Republican representatives to exemplify that and confidently say they do just that?
'Fiscal Conservatism'
The best Republican political victories happened when we ran on a fiscally conservative platform and held that as the message of our entering power over the Democrats. The country appreciates responsibility in our economy and the expenditures of tax money so we must keep true to our platform unlike the years of Bush.
'Focus more on State Rights'
Americans all around the country are infuriated with the increasing size of federal governments; even in blue states is this seen. We must put back more power in the hands of the states and run with that because this is what many concerned Americans are looking for. Federal bureaucracy is growing FAST and as seen in recent poll numbers, this isn't quite a blessing for the majority of Americans.
Since the birth of this independent country in 1776, our political system has primarily been a two party system which puts both factions at odds with each other in all forms of debates; some social, some political, and some for just the sake of bickering. In a little more than two centuries, our nation has made strides that even our forefathers may have not foreseen. We've made history with various forms of movements that gave the people more power in their hands. We've developed a country that understands national sovereignty in the hands of the people works best; the problem with this though is that we've had far too difficult of a time distinguishing who is part of the American people.
The Democratic party does an effective job in bringing in young voters, college-educated voters, minority voters, catholic voters, union voters and other categories. For my Republican party unfortunately, these voters are typically Democrat-leaning and the numbers will only rise in the future as the minority population goes up, college-education enrollment goes up and various other group populations skyrocket. It's no secret that the recent election in 2008 exposed the not just the weaknesses of my party, but its flaws and mistakes it's accumulated over the past few decades. We abandoned the fundamentals that brought us to the national spotlight in the 18th century. Unfortunately, our party of Reagan and Lincoln is no longer with us and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Politics is an ugly sport; and like all ugly sports, one must prevail and one must falter. My party has done too much of the latter for the past few years and there is reasoning behind it. I'd like to address just a few of the many reasons why this is so and present what I feel may serve as solutions, difficult as they may be, to my party's predicament.
'Rich White Man's Party'
This belief is the one major barrier to keeping minority groups from voting for several Republican officials. Unfortunately, sincere and selfless Republican officials don't even get acknowledged due to the generalizations made by Republicans past who have not quite embraced the movements of minorities in the past (i.e. Civil Rights and Immigrant protests). While this does not mean all republicans opposed these movements; too many did and failed to acknowledge the future predicaments. The fact of the matter is that most African Americans and Hispanics identify themselves as a group to be more traditional and associate many of their beliefs towards family values and more conservative-minded; something that would typically be an asset and advantage for my Republican party but is canceled out by the grim history of the party towards these two groups. While it is true a Republican president won the civil war and was much of the reason for the emancipation of the slaves, the dire history of the Republican party in the south during the civil rights does away with that. While it is also true that Ronald Reagan signed an amnesty program in the 80's which legalized several undocumented immigrants, the racist remarks and demonizing of the Hispanic community (whether intentional or not, it happened) in the past few years completely erases some of that Hispanic support in states like Florida. My party has come off as too offensive, insensitive and xenophobic in the past few decades and that must change in order to make progress in the future of a nation whose identity is changing. This issue can't be shelved or tabled to be dealt with in the future; that time is now and I urge any Republican who happens to be reading this to acknowledge the mistakes and misconceptions made and created over the past few years. We need to act because the democrats know the situation of the everchanging country and they've jumped on that quite effectively as shown in the statistics of the past election
'Party of Bush'
It's as simple as understanding that Bush was no great president by any means and although there are some things he deserves credit for, it's important to just move on from the Bush era and get back to the drawing board. We need another Reagan revolution where people come to the polls excited to keep a Republican in power. The party of Newt Gingrich, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan were far different in comparison to the Party of Bush. Let's move on and get to work on portraying the message of accountability and modernity to America. We need innovation and while it may be true that some of the Republican values should stay intact, some need to be done away with and some need to be revamped. Again, we've seen that the past few years and in terms of survival, we must represent the needs and interests of the changing constituency in America.
'Too many oximorons'
Why can't a Republican be both a Republican and progressive? These two things do not need to mean two different things. To be progressive means to obviously make progress in society and the communities; is it so difficult for our Republican representatives to exemplify that and confidently say they do just that?
'Fiscal Conservatism'
The best Republican political victories happened when we ran on a fiscally conservative platform and held that as the message of our entering power over the Democrats. The country appreciates responsibility in our economy and the expenditures of tax money so we must keep true to our platform unlike the years of Bush.
'Focus more on State Rights'
Americans all around the country are infuriated with the increasing size of federal governments; even in blue states is this seen. We must put back more power in the hands of the states and run with that because this is what many concerned Americans are looking for. Federal bureaucracy is growing FAST and as seen in recent poll numbers, this isn't quite a blessing for the majority of Americans.
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