Category Archives: Personal stories

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The art of the possible

Another broken record appeal


I complain about Washington, DC. The DC Metro sucks. The infrastructure is falling to pieces. The state of what we call political discourse makes me want to poke my own eyes out. Oh, and had to go to the CVS and some creepy, smelly guy stood way too close to me and was growling. Dude, can’t a girl get some space? Last point, we had a scary earthquake and now a crazy hurricane is coming our way. What next? Frogs? Locusts? Glenn Beck will hold another crazy fest on the mall and his minions will take over my favorite coffee place and I’ll have to get my caffeine at the totally ghetto Starbucks that frequently runs out of coffee?

Rant mode over.

And then, just when I think the best plan is to move to a farm in Wyoming, something spectacular happens; I look at the Capitol Building and all that negativity just vanishes. I remain in awe of the amazing thing we have created here. When we tear each other down by attacking each other’s patriotism or motives, we don’t just hurt our political opponents but we diminish our creation and ourselves.
My entree into this glorious world of campaigns and politics happened when I was eight. Funny story: I was at the Hawk n’ Dove waiting for a friend and the manager, Paul, asked me about this. I replied that I had started by volunteering to unseat the evil Conservative Party (not GOP, mind you, but Conservative) from the first district of New York — Bill Carney. The man next to me said, “That’s me.” — He proved it by showing me his Congressional ID. Open mouth, insert foot. We are now friends.

When I was eight, I canvassed, I handed out flyers, I stuffed envelopes. On election night as we watched the returns, the areas I canvassed had a higher turnout for our candidate, George Hochbrukner (a hard name to spell but a great one to remember!) than other areas and I was sure that was because of my hard work. He lost. He lost the next election and was elected to Congress only when Bill retired. He quit when he could no longer go for a beer and have a conversation with his opponent. It wasn’t fun anymore. He thinks civility in this business is a pipe dream.

I don’t believe that. When I worked in the Senate, I felt a bond with all over staffers. We all were there, working crazy hours for next to no pay because we believed we could make a difference. The real difference between the two parties is not that one is more patriotic than they other or believes more in God. We all want to get to the same place, we just have different paths to get there.

I read on Conservapedia that Jefferson Smith from “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” was a Democrat. They also see it as demonizing Republicans. I don’t believe that. I refuse to believe that this movie was a partisan statement. It was a call to remember that politics really is the art of the possible.

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My best moment at work

My favorite moment at work

A few years ago I worked on Capitol Hill for a Member of Congress. As a press secretary for a busy freshman member, my life revolved around the office. My days would start between 7:00-7:30 (time I got into the office, not wake up time) and I was often there until late into the evening. Weekend work was common and the only time my blackberry was off was when I accidentally dropped it into the washing machine inside a pair of jeans. One evening, my boss approached me and told me I was not permitted to write press releases when I was in the office. That task was to be done ‘on (my) own time.’ I didn’t ask when this mythical ‘personal time’ was — my average work day was over 10-12 hours but I agreed. That night I was a bitter, bitter person. I had the Daily Show on, my cat was begging for attention and I had a press release on military appropriations to write. I am not even sure bitter adequately describes how I was feeling.

Long hours, low pay and almost no positive feedback, sounds like a recipe for an awful job, right? I have never been happier at work. I felt like I was part of something bigger than me. I was part of something that could make the world better. It was a great feeling.

Now, I am also a huge dork. I LOVED the weekly press secretary meetings and policy briefings. Loved getting talking points from the leadership offices. My boss was a hard taskmaster but he worked just as hard as his staff. I feel like the time I spent in that office was exactly like what Crash Davis talked about when he spoke of going to ‘the show.’ Working in Congress is the political equivalent of going to the show in baseball.

My favorite moment in my career came that year. It was a Saturday. Our work day started at the regular time. The House of Representatives had taken up debate on reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). It was a bad bill. The reforms it made went too far. I did think my boss should NOT vote for it. The Legislative Director disagreed. We argued. We yelled. He felt that a vote against the bill would make our boss look weak on terrorism. I felt our boss had enough street cred, for lack of a better term, to be able to take a principled stand. When he went to the floor, we didn’t know where he would finally come down on the issue. I wrote press releases for both a yes and a no vote.

Then a quote came to me; “Those who would give up liberty for security deserve neither” — Benjamin Franklin. The LD told me to text our boss. I did and he repeated that line on the floor of the House. He voted against the bill. It passed but when I left the office that night — after 1:00 am, I felt I had fought the good fight. I didn’t win that fight but as they said in “Mr. Smith goes to Washington,” the only flights worth fighting are the losing ones. To date, that is the most proud moment of my career.

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Prayers for Norway

It is impossible (for me anyway) to not be deeply saddened by what has happened in Norway. Seeing the people there come together to mourn this tragedy is a bright spot (that they’re coming together, not that they are in mourning) but it doesn’t erase what has happened.

What seems like a thousand years ago, I worked on a trip for President Clinton to Norway. That trip has been on my mind a lot this week — for some obvious reasons and some not. (You can read about the visit here: http://www.norway.org/ARCHIVE/News/archive/1999/199906clinton/)

President Clinton went to Oslo for a commemoration ceremony for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin. At the ceremony he gave a speech (I was not in the room but in the press filing center) about the genetic similarities we all share. The reason DNA can be used with such precision is not because we are so different but because we are so very similar. It may seem like an odd thing to bring up now but watching the events in Norway unfold and learning more about the motivations, I think it is a point worth thinking about. Cultural diversity is something to cherish, not fear but once we start dividing ourselves — as we seem to want to do — into categories of who is good vs. evil we do ourselves a great disservice.

One of my favorite courses from college was on William Blake’s “Innocence and Experience.” His poems reflect an idea that neither can exist alone and in that vein, I think our cultural differences and biological similarities complement each other. We are all unique but we are all the same. We are individuals but we need each other.

It is hard to watch all of this play out in the city that hosts the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony but what is more frightening is how much some of want to use our differences as an excuse for violence. When those differences come from religion, it is even more sad. Religion (as someone not at all religious) should bring people comfort and community, not death and hate. (I do wonder if Congressman Peter King will hold hearings on “radial Christians” as he did recently about “radical Muslims” but somehow I doubt it.)

My thoughts and condolences are with the people of Norway.

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My “Morning Joe” week & my monthly call for civility in politics

I write posts like this often enough that I feel a bit like a broken record but I am not going to be deterred.

This morning, someone sent me an article that lambasted Bruce Springsteen’s “41 Shots” and said he supports the killing of cops.  He continued to say “IF YOU LIKE KILLING COPS, YOU ARE A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT.”  (Emphasis HIS)  As a liberal Democrat, who does not support cop killing but lived in NYC at the time of the incident that inspired that song I think the writer has really misunderstood the situation (in the interest of full disclosure, I will blog about my thoughts about that sometime this week).

If we are going to succeed at turning things in this country around, both parties need to stop seeing each other as adversaries and more like partners.  If our economy tanks this summer, for example, it won’t be only blue or red states that are hurt; it be all of us.

While this is not solely the media’s fault, it isn’t helping.  Shows where people yell over each other or merely wait for their turn to talk without listening – these are not discussions, they are debates.  And no one really learns anything.  That was my problem with “Crossfire.”  I knew where each person stood on each issue and it became a huge waste of my time.

One thing about the popularity of some shows now that baffles me is that I hate being yelled at.   I don’t want other people’s opinions screamed at me (after admitting my political affiliation, it should be a given that I am not a big fan of FOX News) but I don’t need to have my own yelled at me either.  I am pretty clear on where I stand; I don’t need Ed Schultz to holler it at me.  And for the record; Keith Olbermann makes my ears bleed.  When my TV yells at me, I end up yelling back and I really don’t need my neighbors to think I have lost it.

Joe Scarborough

And now we come to the “Morning Joe” portion of my point.  I love this show.  LOVE IT.  It has even eclipsed “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” (love that, too but I don’t watch it for three hours a day, five days a week.)  This is something that I never thought I would write.

The show’s creator, Joe Scarborough, is a former politician.  He was elected in 1994 to represent Florida’s first congressional district and was part of the “Republican Revolution” that year.  This was not a freshman class of moderate and liberal Republicans.  It was a bunch of fire breathing conservatives.  My first job was for Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and that’s where I was working when he took office.  From my side of the aisle, he looked a bit fringy.   I am not alone in this theory – he has said it, too.  One of my friend – a former Congressman himself, one who was the only member of the Conservative Party when he was in the House asked me, “How can YOU like Joe Scarborough he was a right-wing nut job in Congress!”

One belief that I will surrender only upon my death is one of the reasons I like Scarborough.  When I meet someone who is active politically, either on a professional or volunteer basis, I assume (until/unless I am given reason to think otherwise) that they are in this business for the same reason I am – to make the country and world a better place.  If you start conversations with people who disagree with you assuming that makes them Hitler, you are never going to get anywhere.  If you start from the position that your disagreements are more akin to having differing opinions about the route you should take to the same destination, you can have a real discussion.  Have you ever heard of someone thinking someone else was evil because you thought you should take one road to the grocery store and they thought you should go another way?  No?  Right, because it is a ridiculous thought.

Mika Brzezinski

“Morning Joe” provides these kinds of discussions.  From the hosts themselves – Scarborough, Mike Brzezinski and Willie Geist – to the guests they bring on, the topics they discuss and the atmosphere they provide, real ideas can be exchanged and I learn something every morning.  I have not been keeping track of how often I agree with Scarborough on his politics but it’s not often but then again, agreeing with me has never been a prerequisite for me liking someone.  I have no patience for that sort of thing.

Willie Geist

So why was this week more of a “Morning Joe” week?  Well, I’ll tell you.  (My job does require me to keep up on the news but even if it did not, I am a total political/news junkie and all around nerd, I know this already, no need to tweet me about it.)

On Wednesday, I went to a Politico event on Capitol Hill.  Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough were doing a book signing for her new book, “Knowing your value.”  I have never recommended a book as much as I recommend this one.  At first, I thought that I wanted to buy it for all the women I have ever – or will ever – meet but now I just want to buy it for the entire planet.  I was able to talk to both and it was really fun.  So when I was thinking about writing my monthly plea for people to remember we are all really on the same side, “Morning Joe” seemed like a good example of a way we can communicate and not just yell.   You can download part of the book from iTunes here.  You can also buy it from Amazon here.

As cheesy as this feels to end with, I often think about President Clinton’s line that “There’s nothing wrong with America that cannot be fixed by what’s right with America.”  I think we can say the same about our political system.