I know my first day to intern was yesterday and you were probably wanting an update yesterday, but I must admit I was on cloud nine all day. My first act a senate intern was to assist the clerk in the roll call for the education committee. Now in my job description I am supposed to work in committee meetings and yesterday was my first day working in the education committee. My job was to hand out senate bills to all the Senators in that committee, make sure that there was iced water in the pitchers and there were plastic cups to go with them. Once the meeting began, I had to call roll, just like in class and mark who was hear and who was not. Senator Ford was kind of like the teacher and Senator Stanislawski was like the TA during the meeting.
After roll call, the meeting went like a general student council meeting from then on. The way the meeting works is Senators propose bills in the committee meetings and the rest of the Senators can pass it, ask questions, and debate it. The first bill took about an hour to vote on and it got really hot in that cold room after a few tempers flared, but that's just politics. My favorite part of the meetings that I will look forward to is when it's time to vote to pass so it can move to the floor. I call roll once again and this time they say "aye" or "nay" on the bill. Once everyone has given me an answer I get to say something like "I have 12 ayes and 3 nays," and then my speaking part in the meeting is over until its time to vote again. This went on for 12 bills which was only 2 hours, which some bills went so fast! I distinctly remember taking roll on 3 bills in 20 minutes and I thought to myself, "Is this really how easy it is to pass a bill?" The committee had a few familiar faces that knew me and I was surprised because I was under the influence that politicians were horrible with names. Now I was reminded that these meetings were going to be boring and I was prepared for the meetings to be similar to C-SPAN, but I was wrong. These politicians are really passionate about these bills and really ask thought provoking questions about a bill like, "what will this bill do for the state?" and "how much will it cost the State if we do this?" were the two questions that were asked the most. Now there were times it was boring, but I didn't nod off because I knew that we were on a live feed on the internet so I was not going to be caught sleep on camera. I looked around at the various artists in the meeting when I would pass out bills and see Senators drawing on pieces of paper, or scrolling through Facebook with their computers. I found that to be the highlight of my day so far.
After the meeting, I met with Senator Judy Eason McIntyre, who is the Senator for the Tulsa & Osage district, and anyone who knows me knows that district is where I grew up, and the first time I had ever seen her was at the Democratic watch party this past year. She is sharp! She knew what my first AND last name and where she saw me, and I must say I was flattered. I met with Senator Clark Jolley since I live and attend school in Edmond I see him around a lot. He remembered me from Lunch with a policy maker at UCO back in March of 2010 and Gov. Brad Henry's last State of the State address. Caucus was meeting after the committee meeting so I made sure all the microphones were shut off so they could have some privacy. My internship coordinator set aside 4 seats for the interns to see the State of the State Address and I must say I was impressed. For once, I got to watch and not be the camera person, although I knew a lot of news crews that were there. I'll admit I was flattered by all the attention I was getting and how many people I had come in contact with over the past 2 and half years I have been at UCO. I just have to remind myself that I was raised and was taught how to treat others and reminded that kindness doesn't cost a dime, so it is only right that I have made an impact in someones life.
Jessica is my new found buddy that will be interning with me. She is from OU and is sharp as a tack as well. She had sass just like me and was very direct. Of course thee will be heavy security at an event where the Governor will be speaking, but Jessica made sure we got our seats right on time. We sat behind Lt. Governor Todd Lamb's family, which was cool. At this particular event, there was a lot of standing! I pledged my allegiance to the flag at least four times, but I enjoyed every part of the Address. Like most Governors, the speech was about how to keep Oklahoma growing and not overspending and so on and so on, but I was impressed at Gov. Fallin's Address because she was on topic and addressed problems every social class was facing, but by far Education surpassed everyones problem because schools are being shut down and students aren't reading at grade level, and that is a major problem in the State.
After the Address, I was bold enough to ask Gov. Fallin for a picture, I mean I am an intern that is interested in politics. Blake hopped in the picture as a two for one picture because the press was annoyed at some college kids getting photos with the Governor and they couldn't get a sound bite.
The most important thing I learned my first day was how important local government is. Presidential elections are great, but it is the local government that makes the decisions for the way you live in the state you reside in, and its important to know your officials, because the Senate and House act as liaisons between state and Capitol Hill. So I urge everyone to make an effort to know your state and local government, take time to go to public meetings, and take the initiative to vote during elections because the future is in our hands. Follow the link below to watch Gov. Fallin's first state of the State Address.
http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13984013
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