Week Three

By week three things are more familiar. The Fellows are in a routine at this point, and are establishing good relationships amongst each other. We have a lot of shared experiences, which naturally leads to comfort and cohesiveness. We are also spending inordinate amounts of time together and are presented with copious issues to discuss, argue and debate. I find myself talking to Republicans a lot, and having my preconceptions of what constitutes a Republican challenged. We have several moderate Republicans too, as well as some who have fluid and counterintuitive positions on some issues. They all seem to hate unions though, so with my union advocacy background we have something to argue about. The Democrats are a diverse bunch too. Some consider themselves “moderate,” which has so many different possible meanings, so we are not all in lockstep. I am probably one of the more openly progressive Democrats, so I find myself arguing and debating other Democrats as much as Republicans. Ultimately, it is super fun. I love politics and debate, and finding other intelligent and engaged people who do too is really great.
Something I have left out are the interactions we have with the other Fellowship programs. We have a fair amount of shared activities with the Senate and Executive Fellowships, and a limited amount with the Judicial Fellows. I have, in general, found the Executive Fellows to be the more social bunch, but have had good experiences with almost everyone. It is a great group of people all around, and the Fellows in the aggregate are one of the best elements of my experience so far.
We have an all Fellows kickball game going on Sundays that has been pretty well attended. We mix up the programs, and watch peoples competitive sides come out. Most people that make it through the rigorous interview process have a fairly well developed competitive side. (which I absolutely love!)