My Path to My Passion of Politics, Part I

Politics has indirectly been my passion since I was in elementary school (I'll get to why 'indirectly' in a while.) It started when I was in elementary school when my 3rd grade teacher Mr. Kuba would tell us about all the visits he would take around the world; in particular his visits to Australia. He would go on and on about the different cultures and people and sights he’d see. My curiosity of how the world operated outside of Danbury was one that had me going to the library and looking at different pictures of the world. A few years later I remember being in Ms. Fulmer’s 5th grade social studies class and learning less about the world and more about American history. We were assigned projects on the civil war and slavery and I remember asking myself as a child “How could people let this happen?” We went to the Scott Fanton museum down the street from my elementary school once and I remember the museum representatives showing us the musket guns they’d use during the American revolution and the civil war and I remember asking myself again “Why would people fight and kill each other?”At such a young age, I was always perplexed by the reasons groups of people would bring themselves to killing others.

My constant questioning of why this and why that and why them was never fulfilled. If a teacher went over a war, I’d ask them why it happened. When they told me their answer, I’d ask what led to that. When they told me their answer, I’d ask them who started the war. When they told me that, I’d ask what led people to kill other people. When they told me that, I’d ask them more why’s and how’s and who’s than they knew how to answer. The truth is I was a pesky but inquisitive little boy. I was that kid who sat up front and asked the most questions everyday. I was never the best student when it came to grades or keeping myself focused on work, but when it came to asking the tough questions and wanting to learn, no one in any of my social studies or history classes ever came close. No answer was ever sufficient for me, because knowledge was my compensation for my lack of A’s and B’s. I remember one instance when one of my peers got into what was called the summit program in Rogers Park Middle School and gloated to me about how he was smarter than me because he got in and I didn’t. I told him “Fuck Summit, I’m still smarter than you.” Needless to say, I had a dirty mouth at a young age and maybe I didn’t take too well to being called stupid by some rich kid from King St., but the truth is I knew I was in fact smarter than him. Some kids are just better at regurgitating numbers and dates and they’re rewarded as being told they're more intelligent for it, but I saw the importance of putting rationale and meaning behind those numbers. While some of my peers were taught algebraic formulas and rewarded as being "smarter" for knowing them, I remember telling my friends those numbers wouldn’t matter when we got older. I was the kid who was always telling the teachers “I get it and I can do it, but HOW is this going to help me and my career when I'm an adult?” I was scolded every time for asking that question. Mrs. Miville yelled at me, Ms. Fulmer yelled at me, Mr. Allen yelled at me; they all got so damn mad when I asked them that very question. I’m a grown man at 24 years old and I don’t care what anyone says; at 11 and 12 and 13 years old, I was right. All but one teacher yelled at me: Mr. Scalzo. Again, I'll get to him later.

I’m a man now and I carry the same stubbornness with me today. Knowledge is less about the answers you can give and more about the questions you can ask. I didn’t need test scores or academic programs or teacher favoritism to know I was the best student in a lot of my classes. I didn’t get the A’s and B’s, but I asked the questions and got the answers. I didn’t know how to solve a quadratic formula for the life of me, but I could talk about American taxes and the importance of homeownership and world history and discrimination in America and the Vietnam war and civics and voting. I could talk about things I needed to know as an adult, at 13 years old..

Then September 11, 2001 came around… My mind, my passion and my thoughts would never be the same after that day.

Part I,
David.

People Over Politics, Mark Boughton? (Part 1)

I've lived in Danbury, CT for a good 20 years... I've seen the places, I've met the people, I've visited the landmarks, I've talked to the local leaders; including Mark Boughton a number of times. I've never left with a good impression of him or anything he's had to say. He's made the claim that he puts "people over politics". My friends, he's lying. He'll tell you to look at his record and ask the people themselves who live in Danbury and they'll tell you how great of a mayor he's been. He, Mr. Boughton, likes to say and/or believe that he is responsible for the success of Danbury as a city. He couldn't be more wrong. My greatest fear is that the true Mark Boughton will be so hidden behind the political smokescreen, people will genuinely believe his claims and not hear the truth of what type of mayor he has been for our city. Some of us here in Connecticut are upset with the conditions of our state as we should all be. I'll tell you one thing though.. You think things are bad now? I'm not sure Boughton's the shot in the arm our state needs now or in the coming years. More to come in the following days.

Principles before Party,
- David Javier Solis

Back to the Drawing Board

I came to Washington, D.C. with my own set of ideas and while some have changed and some have been reinforced, I find it a great privilege to base much of the political awareness I possess on my experience here in this city and on Capitol Hill. I've taken courses that dealt with the workings of Congress, the functioning of interest group politics, urban issues and the role of arts in a democratic society. These courses have taught me the details of how our political systems work and though there is much more to learn about our political world, I can't begin to express the value of the insight and knowledge I've attained in the course of 4 months.

I've seen much of what Washington D.C. offers; whether in museums, monuments or in the Congressional offices I've worked in through my internship. Retrospectively, I can look back and say to myself that although I could've done a few things differently (i.e. seen more of the D.C. nightlife), I truly believe I've done much of what I came into D.C. to do. I've learned much of what I've wanted to learn and have come to the conclusion that there is yet more to learn. In a professional environment like Capitol Hill, the more you know, both socially and intellectually, the better your prospects down the road are. Networking has been major for me and sure; I don't have a long list of names of people I can call for a favor, but I'm comfortable with the extent of networking I've done in D.C; whether it was speaking to ambassadors, field experts, legislative assistants or members of Congress.

I love this city. I'll miss this city.

In a matter of 4 months, I've taken in an invaluable amount of information and knowledge. Nowhere else in the world would I have been granted the opportunities I was granted here. Washington D.C...

I've had a 'to do' list since high school...

Capitol Hill was the last on that list.

Time for a new List..

Back to the Drawing Board.

On the Rise,
David Javier Solis

End of a chapter; start of a new one

On December 18th, 2009; I'll be concluding my time here in Washington DC. It feels like yesterday that I just got here and here I am wrapping up my internship. Time flies when you're learning and having fun. I've learned a good chunk of what the political process looks like and while I have so much more to learn, I feel it's only appropriate I take time to acknowledge what I've learned.. Come December 19th. Here's a little bit of what I've seen firsthand; some good, some bad and some ugly:
- The influence of special interests
- The benefits of seniority
- The pros and cons of not legislating along party lines
- The myths from the realities of representation in Congress
- The norms in Congress concerning ethics
- The methods which work and don't work for constituents and their issues
- Constituency outreach
- Office Organization
- Prejudice
- The way wealth can determine someone's outlook on the world
- Compromises in politics

I'll have plenty to talk about once the internship is over; trust me when I say there's no shortage of material I'd be discussing. Come Spring semester, I'll have to get back to the drawing board though and chart out my next bigger move; HOW can I top my experience here? Good Question; I'll get back to you when I've got an answer.

Patiently waiting,
David Javier Solis

Life on Capitol Hill

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

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.

Days Til' D.C.

In about 13 days from today, I'll be in D.C. starting the experience of a lifetime; an experience I had only dreamt about before reaching college. I'll be interning on Capitol Hill and taking classes there. It'll be unlike anything I've ever taken part in and I get to work in politics hands-on. I get to enter the U.S. capitol at one of the most interesting times in American history and see the very processes our legislators must work through in order to make some form of progress (hopefully). I'm going to D.C. optimistic about the political knowledge I'll attain over the next 4 months. I'm thrilled about the prospects of networking with all sorts of different people; people who will make all the difference for me and my future with public policy. I have no false illusions about what to expect; I will in fact, come back to Danbury, Connecticut (and UConn) a different person with a set of different beliefs. Some of my beliefs I go to D.C. with will only be reinforced; others will change. No matter what though, I promise myself, my friends, my family and anyone reading this; I won't forget where it is I come from and who helped me get to anywhere I go in life. I promise.