Rule 26

Yesterday was one of those crazy-go-nuts days.
It wasn’t so much the headlining news that made it crazy; it’s all the stuff that’s affected by that news. Though I must admit, it was one of those earth-shattering moments, one I’ll always remember, when at the osteopathic medicine luncheon, I heard a man across from me, staring at his blackberry, read incredulously: “Tom DeLay has been indicted.”
The only other staffer at the table and I looked at each other. We didn’t have to say anything to communicate the instantaneous panic: oh no. I have to get back to my office. Now.
My second thought was, we’re going to lose in ’06.
But in politics you can’t be rude, not even in times of crisis. So I waited another 20 minutes or so, listened to the presentation, stuck around for a minute, before slipping my card to the leader of the group, thanking him, and heading back toward the office at a trotting pace.
En route, I decided what to tell the interns, how they should answer the calls. I wondered what would need to be done on the resolution my boss was supposed to be bringing to the floor. It had been on and off the calendar about a thousand times, and I had already done research that morning as to why leadership was being difficult about it; but suddenly, that was less of an issue. We were about to elect a new majority leader.

RULE 26 -- TEMPORARY STEP ASIDE OF A MEMBER OF LEADERSHIP WHO IS INDICTED.
A Member of the leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years’ imprisonment may be imposed.
If a Member of the Republican leadership is indicted, the Republican Conference shall meet and elect a Member to temporarily serve in that position.

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By the time I arrived back in the office, instructions had been left for me to accomplish a number of tasks related to the resolution: rewrite parts of Charlie’s speech, fix the talking points, write an email to the cosponsor staff. JP, the LA in charge, was with the lobbyists here for this very resolution several blocks away, so I was thrust into action. I have to admit – it was really cool. I know eyes will roll at this, but I had no idea that student government “crises” would prepare me so well for the real crises of the Hill. I’ve learned that though I have a tendency to overreact, I can direct those energies to get things done. I love working under pressure.
After all that was accomplished, it was a waiting game. Waiting for the okay. Waiting for the schedule. Waiting for the floor announcement.
Against all odds, despite the conference meeting and the fact that all other floor activity was done, the fighting was not in vain: the resolution got to the floor.
It was a tremendous relief, because the lobbyists were here just for these few days, and they really wanted to see it go down, and rightfully so. They aren’t lobbyists in the D.C. sense of the world; they are the grassroots people, many of whom have never seen their capitol city before. I had the opportunity to join them and JP in the gallery to watch the speeches and voice vote. That was very special. I had been in the gallery only once before: I was a junior in high school, fifteen, and there was no floor action at the time. But now, on the “other side,” when I can recognize many of the representatives by face, I was almost giddy having the chance to see them all, watching votes take place, seeing what CSPAN doesn’t show you. I had to contain myself. I didn’t want to look like the newbie that I really am, not to my coworker or the lobbyists. This is supposed to be normal by now. But it was still really neat to see, like the times I would turn the corner walking to the main building for the breakfast shift, and see the monolith coming out of the fog, and re-realize: wow, I can’t believe I am here, I am a part of something bigger than myself.
What a blessing to still have the privilege to say that, to think of all the great men and women who have been in that room, whether we know their names or not; all the legislation that has been passed there; all the great moments and all the low points of contention; the blood, sweat, and tears paid by the staffers who had come before me, whose shoes I may someday try to fill. The joy, the sorrow, the almost tactile sense of history. As if along with Chloe, the muse of history whose form is carved into the clock in the old House chamber, ever recording the events that unfold before her sleepless marble eyes, the ghosts of Madison and Jefferson and all the others are silently watching from the vacant parts of the gallery. Makes me wonder what they would think.
The resolution passed by voice vote; the roll call will be taken sometime today. September 28 was just a reminder of how volatile situations are, how fast life can change… in a single minute.

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And in these days, darkness falls early
People rush home to the ones they love
You better take a fool's advice
And take care of your own
One day they're here, next day they're gone

In a New York minute, everything can change
In a New York minute…