Probably every member of Congress has office interns, and a guide to help these interns familiarize themselves with office policies. One assumes these guides include rules and procedures on supervisors, attire, working hours, etc.
But the intern instructions in Rep. Don Young’s (R-Alaska) office offer a fascinating peek behind a pretty corrupt curtain.
Capitol Hill internships are not always easy, particularly when you work for a gruff Alaskan with particular tastes and an uneven temper. Fortunately, interns for Rep. Don Young have an unofficial guide, entitled “The 2111: An Intern’s Survival Guide.” (The 2111 refers to his office number in the Rayburn building). […]
First, the A-Team. This is the group of nine transportation lobbyists interns are instructed to give unfettered access to whenever they call the office. “These people can talk to whomever they want,” the guide states. The A-Team includes Rick Alcalde, Jack Ferguson, Randy DeLay, Billy Lee Evans, Mike Henry, Jay Dickey, Duncan Smith, C.J. Zane, and Colin Chapman.
Some, like Alcalde, are tied to an ongoing investigation into a $10 million earmark Young secured for Coconut Road in Florida. Alcalde, a transportation lobbyist, worked for a real estate developer who sought the earmark and was a major financial contributor to Young’s campaign. DeLay is the Houston-based lobbyist brother of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Ferguson is a former chief of staff to Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who is also under federal investigation.
I’m hard pressed to imagine what Young staffers were thinking putting all of this in print. It’s one thing for a corrupt lawmaker to give lobbyists unfettered, unparalleled access to congressional staff, but it’s another to tell interns in writing to give lobbyists unfettered, unparalleled access to congressional staff.
Once the “survival guide” started making the rounds yesterday, Young’s office told reporters that the guide is “incredibly outdated” and “was pieced together by several former interns and not by staff.” That defense looks shaky, though, given that the TPM crew “has learned that the ‘Guide’ and other initiation materials were distributed by a paid member of Young’s staff.”
Wait, it gets funnier.
While the “A Team” of lobbyists make Young look worse, there’s also some more personal embarrassments.
The document, titled “An Intern’s Survival Guide,” also explains the quirks and personal preferences of Young and his wife Lula.
Young disapproves of “facial piercings,” expects interns to open doors for him and gets annoyed when he sees interns with hands in their pockets.
Mrs. Young “has good days and bad days,” insists on a clean kitchen, dislikes computer noise and cologne and gets annoyed when her advice goes unheeded.
“Eat what she tells you to eat,” warns the memo. “Her orders are often disguised as offers, suggestions or invitations, they are not — do them.”
It sounds like a great place to work and learn about public service, doesn’t it?