Tuesday Morning May 9th the ILF Class of 2006 waited eagerly to board the US Air Flight 951 to Washington DC. This was the trip that had a lot of anticipation from our classmates as well as our directors of our class. Within an hour of touching down in D.C., the Class arrived at the White House for a self-guided tour of the East Wing. After the obligatory security check, Class members were permitted to move through the East Wing at their own pace. Featured rooms included the Blue Room, the Red Room and the State Dining Room. While each member of the Class was left with differing impressions, many were moved by the haunting painting of JFK that hung in the main hallway entrance. Looking at the furnishing and the great historic monuments and pictures on the wall of our past presidents really makes you proud to be an American. Some of us ran into Former US Senator Dan Coats on the street outside the White House.
The Class visit to the White House was followed by a series of White House briefings. The briefings were delivered in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (while the office building bears the name of President Eisenhower, it is said that the 34th President was no fan of the French Second Empire style architecture employed by the building’s designers). The briefings were delivered by Al Hubbard, Economic Policy Council for the President Bush and ILF Founder, and Bill Luti National Security Council. Both speakers were dynamic and they covered timely topics.
Easily, one of the highlights of the trip was the dinner the Class shared with Charlie Cook at the Red Sage Restaurant. Mr. Cook is the principal behind The Cook Political Report, a must subscription for any political insider or junkie. Mr. Cook entertained the Class with his wit and humor while providing interesting insight into the 2006 mid-term elections and the 2008 Presidential race. Mr. Cook’s solace for Republicans lamenting the President’s poor poll numbers – it is just as bad for Democrats! The food was great and the wine was superb (Thanks John McGoff!). We also had the pleasure of meeting the parents of class member Todd Tolson (aka: “DC Extraordinaire”) who joined the class for the evening. After dinner, several class members visited some of the local establishments to unwind for the evening.
Wednesday May 10th. We started the morning early with a breakfast with Senator Richard Lugar in the Mansfield Room of the US Capitol Building. It was a special treat to hear the Senator talk about running for office. He also answered questions and a few photos as well. The Mansfield Room is used as the Senate Caucus room and is not easy to acquire for these types of events. The breakfast, sponsored by our friends at Baker & Daniels/B&D Sagamore & Associates, was outstanding.
After breakfast, we went to the floor of the US House of Representatives and met John Sullivan, House Parliamentarian. It was great sitting in the chairs minutes before the session convened and watching all the things that take place before the gavel. Sullivan explained the how the House works and the role of the Parliamentarian.
Once we left the House of Representatives we met with US Representatives Mike Pence and Mike Sodrel. They discussed issues that were important to Indiana from jobs to immigration to economic development. The discussion helped class members understand the varying aspects of key issues and the impact on us here in Indiana.
We were escorted to a Capitol meeting room by our own George Rogers (ILF 1996) who is counsel to the House Rules Committee. Rogers explained how that committee functions and works with other committee staffers. There was more information sharing by Cheryl Jaeger, Senior Policy Advisor & Counsel to Majority Whip Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri. She is the advisor who plays hard ball with a bill before it goes into legislation.
Along with Jaeger, we heard from John Hambel, the Chief of Staff to Representative Adam H. Putnam (R-Florida) House Policy Committee Chairman. He discussed how he makes several changes and recommendations to bills. He also shared his dedication to late night work while congress is in session.
We had lunch at the Tortilla Coast on Capitol Hill with the Honorable Ed Pease, State Party Chairman Murray Clark, Indiana National Committeeman Jim Bopp, and State Party staff members Jennifer Hallowell, Andy Hahn, and Marissa Lynch. Pease, now with Rolls Royce, shared with us his experiences in government while he was on Capitol Hill and how being a lobbyist means jobs and opportunity for Indiana. Chairman Clark gave us a few words of encouragement to continue to work in the party.
The Class was treated to a visit to the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and an opportunity to meet and speak with the Co-Chair, Jo Ann Davidson. Ms. Davidson spoke the Class on a variety of topics, including the three hotly contested congressional races occurring in Indiana in 2006. In addition to speaking with Ms. Davidson, the Class had the opportunity to hear from Mike DuHaime, National Political Director and Rob Autry Public Opinion Strategies, a prominent GOP pollster. The numbers were too ugly to report in this family publication. However, it showed the class how much work there is to be done and inspired us to help our candidates win on election day.
At the conclusion of a day packed with activities, the Class joined forces with the 2006 Lugar Series Class and other Hoosiers living in D.C. for a cocktail reception at the Rayburn House Office Building. The reception afforded members of each organization the opportunity to meet and network – and perhaps more importantly, compare notes from the trip! Old acquaintances were renewed and new friendships were formed. After a long day and the reception everyone went to dinner and did some sight seeing around the city.
Thursday May 11th. It was the last day and it was a long one, but we were ready to get to it. We started off with breakfast at the Old Ebbitt Grill with the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Chuck Conner. He shared with the group the importance of agriculture and farmland in America. He also discussed the Bird Flu and its effect on the poultry industry, and more importantly, on the human population. The food at the grill was great, compliments of our sponsors, Bob & Suzan Jones (Executive Director Holly Davis’s parents).
Our next stop was at the National Transportation Safety Board. We met in the NTSB Board room, a large theater style room a couple floors under ground. It was a very interesting and informative meeting with Board Member Ellen Engelman Conners. She explained how the NTSB responded to 9-11, and how they get involved with transportation accidents. We had the opportunity to tour the facilities where we saw black boxes and videos of flight crash simulations. This tour was fascinating and remarkable.
Our next stop was at C-Span Studios, where we met with Hoosier Brian Lamb, C-SPAN Chairman & CEO. This was the highlight of the day for some of us. The tour of the C-Span studios was just superb. Brian Lamb was a lot of fun to talk with and he was just outstanding as he spoke about his passion for reading and how the people at C-Span work hard to provide an unbiased account of history. Our lunch at the C-Span offices was sponsored by the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, and it gave us a few minutes to chat with each other about all we had seen.
Our final stop was at the Embassy of Israel. Our speakers were Alon Ushpiz, Foreign Minister of Congressional Affairs, and Rafael Harpaz, Minister Counselor of Public Affairs. Security was tight, but it was worth it when we listened to the true stories of Israel. Both speakers expressed the importance of the relationship between the United States and Israel. It was great exposure for the ILF Class to participate in an international discussion in the Embassy with the Foreign Minister and the Minister Counselor.
We left for the airport fully exhausted and tired but we were feeling great about all of the meetings in which we had participated. The ILF Class of 2006 has a great future ahead of itself. The class consists of so many wonderful diverse talents across the state that our hope is that we continue to remain a driving force in the party and continue to make positive changes for Indiana.