They can read all they want but the truth hits them in the face when they discover what being Inside the Beltway really means.
There is something adorable about freshly elected members of Congress during orientation week. Just days after winning their races, the newbies descend on Washington for a crash course in the utterly bizarre subculture they’ve just joined. Upon arrival, they receive a pack of crisp, cream-colored business cards, printed with only their name, district, and the title “Member – Elect,” and are then released into the wilds of the nation’s capital to figure out such basics as where to live, how to navigate the Metro, who to hire (you won’t survive long without a good chief of staff), and how not to get permanently lost in the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the Capitol. (Don’t feel bad, guys. I’ve been here 20 years, and I still have trouble.)
A very interesting piece @ At Orientation Week, Legislators Learn the Ropes
There is something adorable about freshly elected members of Congress during orientation week. Just days after winning their races, the newbies descend on Washington for a crash course in the utterly bizarre subculture they’ve just joined. Upon arrival, they receive a pack of crisp, cream-colored business cards, printed with only their name, district, and the title “Member – Elect,” and are then released into the wilds of the nation’s capital to figure out such basics as where to live, how to navigate the Metro, who to hire (you won’t survive long without a good chief of staff), and how not to get permanently lost in the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the Capitol. (Don’t feel bad, guys. I’ve been here 20 years, and I still have trouble.)
A very interesting piece @ At Orientation Week, Legislators Learn the Ropes
