Jack Kingston

JOURNEYS WITH JACK is a series of blog posts and videos created exclusively by Jack’s interns.  This week’s installment comes from Sam, a Sophomore at Wofford College.  For more information on internships with Jack, please click here.

Last week, I attended the Joint Session to count the Electoral Vote for the next president and vice president of the United States. After delivering a letter for Representative Kingston, I made my way to the underground train that goes from the Rayburn Office Building to the Capitol. On the way, I met a photographer who told me where to go in the gallery. Successfully getting through security without getting lost, I went through a few wrong doors to finally find my seat in the gallery above the Floor.

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Last week, three Congressional veterans spoke to a group of Republican interns at the Capitol.  The event was part of the Second Annual Summer Intern Series titled “Better Know A Republican” founded by Rep. Jack Kingston.  Representatives Wayne Gilchrest, Gresham Barrett and Steve Buyer were all present to speak on topics including their war experiences, integrity in the workplace and even the controversial immigration bill.

Rep. Gilchrest was the first speaker and he kicked off the event speaking about integrity and honesty on the Hill. He represents the First District of Maryland and saw action in the Dominican Republic and later served during during the Vietnam War.  Rep. Barrett of South Carolina stressed the importance of relationships on Capitol Hill.  He also stated that if he could pass any piece of legislation today, it would that every man and woman should do some form of public service.  He believes everyone should serve our country and work to better it.

Finally, Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana spoke about his visit to Normandy and his walk among the graves there.  He concluded the event strongly with a question to all the interns - “Now I ask you, were the sacrifices of those soldiers so many years ago any different from the sacrifices of the men and women fighting today?”  He also encouraged the interns to search for an inspiration to lead.  Rep. Buyer stated that “critics will always be critics” and it doesn’t take much to be one, but a leader must surpass their disapproval to make a difference.

The event was a huge success with many interns remarking on how much they enjoyed the event as well as their newfound desire to make a difference.

 As we expected, the GOP pulled out another victory with a 5-2 win over the Democrats Tuesday night in the 2007 Congressional Baseball game.  The Republican win streak has been extended to six in a row. 

Each year, we reiterate how Jack and his fellow Republicans continue to dominate due to a veteran team with exquisite coaching, great pitching, consistent hitting and flawless fielding.  This year was no exception.

The Democrats started the game off hot with an early lead, but the persistent Republicans fought back with a big rally in the third inning and brilliant pitching by Illinois Rep. John Shimkus.  Despite Jack’s nagging injury to his ribcage, he received nearly two innings of playing time at second base in the fifth and sixth innings. He took the field wearing the uniform of the Savannah Chain.

Jack helped his team to victory by aiding in two quick outs in the fifth inning due to his suave fielding skills.  The Republicans will also be the first to remark on the fact that their desire to win was multiplied when the roar of their fans dwarfed that of the Democrats.

It’s nothing new to those who know Jack’s fan base, but his fans stuck out in the crowd like a soar thumb with loud chants and elaborate signs in support of Jack and the GOP.  We can say that his year’s game was nothing less than a huge success….at least if you’re a Republican.

You can find more pictures of the game HERE.

It’s that time of year again as the 110th Congress gathers for its 46th Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball game between the perpetually dominating Republicans and the up and coming Democrats. 

We will be tracking the Republicans, of course, while they prepare for the big game.  Our coverage will follow Jack and the team everywhere from workouts, practices, strategies to even live game footage!

The game is set for Monday, June 25th at RFK Stadium at 7:30 PM.  Tickets will be available the day of the game at $8 each.  All proceeds benefit the Washington Literary Council and the Boys & Girls Clubs of greater Washington, DC.

Oh brother. It looks like Mary Katharine Ham had a heck of a time getting lost in the U.S. Capitol on her way to meet with Sen. Majority Leader Frist.

(Mary Katharine - as always - you can stop by a friendly Georgia office (hint, hint), grab a Coke and some Georgia peanuts - and we’d be happy to escort you through the maze that is our life here on Capitol Hill.)

Which reminds us. Congressman Kingston’s summer class of interns have returned to their respective Georgia universities. They were a great class of interns — all superstars for this blog and Congressman Kingston’s new media efforts.

As their final Journey with Jack, they took a “Dome Tour” where a Member of Congress can escort the group, with a tour guide, to the very top of the Capitol Dome. The view is breathtaking.

Note to our viewers - if you’re afraid of heights - you may want to skip this video. For all others, including Mary Katharine, enjoy.

Download and share via YouTube.

“Journeys With Jack” is a series produced, edited, and created by Congressman Jack Kingston’s (R-GA) interns.

On July 19, 2006, Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) participated in Jack’s third event, “Better Know The GOP Leadership,” in the summer intern series, “Better Know A Republican.”

This is Allie’s Journey.

Last week, I had a chance to take my Journey With Jack when I helped organize an intern-only event, “Better Know the FairTax,” with Reps. John Linder and Jack Kingston of Georgia. This was the second event in Jack’s Summer Intern Series “Better Know the Republican Party.”

(Eds. Note: Apoligies that the audio quality is a little low, but we’re doing the best with what we’ve got!)

You can watch all of the past episodes of Journeys With Jack here.

-Ashley

Today, the House will be debating a Constitutional Amendment to defend traditional marriage. You can read the text of the legislation here.

In the next 30 minutes, Jack will be managing the debate on this bill for the majority.

I’ll be liveblogging the debate on this space.

-Ashley

FULL LIVEBLOG AFTER THE JUMP
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Today marked Jack Kingston’s second successful Summer 2006 Intern-only event, “Better Know the FairTax.” A large crowd of interns gathered in a room in the Capitol to discuss the FairTax with New York Times bestselling co-author of The FairTax Book, Rep. John Linder.

Due to votes, the Congressmen were delayed about 30 minutes, but the interns patiently stuck around for a chance to ask the Members the tough questions regarding the FairTax.

Congressman Linder gave a 15 minute introduction to the FairTax, in which he outlined the main idea of the FairTax and highlighted some of the most important aspects of the act, including that it taxes “wealth” instead of “wages.” For example, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates doesn’t make an annual wage so he doesn’t pay income taxes.

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Today, Congressman Kingston organized an “Intern-Only” event in a room in the Capitol. The room was overflowing this morning with about 75 eager interns waiting to “Better Know” some Republican Members of Congress.

Although Jack could not make the event due to two days of flight delays, Rep. Patrick McHenry from North Carolina (the youngest Member of the 109th Congress) stepped up and got things going by speaking to the group for a few minutes about his “underdog” story and how he eventually rose to success through organization, a dedicated staff, and hard work.

Rep. McHenry spoke about his experience on the Hill only 11 years ago noting, “I’ve worked on the staff side…I have a different perspective than most members of Congress on how this place works…It’s you, the interns and staff, that actually make all difference and get things done.”

To be sure, all of the interns in the room appreciated his empathy and acknowledgment.

Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina came in next, broken arm and all, and talked about her path to becoming the third woman from NC to ever be elected to serve in Congress.

Finally, Rep. Phil Gingrey of Georgia joined the group and all three Members fielded questions from the interns for about 40 minutes.

The interns were enthusiastic and attentive, asking a number of interesting and thoughtful questions. Reps. McHenry, Foxx, and Gingrey expressed deep concern with the growth of the Federal Government. When asked about the biggest issues they are currently facing in Congress, they all said immigration and fiscal irresponsibility.

Rep. Foxx also mentioned defense, highway maintenance, and National Parks as essentially the only areas that the Federal Government should play a role in, saying that, “Even Republicans have fallen into the trap” of federal power. The event left everyone in the Kingston office excited for future intern events to come, as we are working on several for the rest of the summer.

Special thanks to Reps. McHenry, Foxx, and Gingrey for taking the time out of their extremely busy schedules to speak with us. And of course, thanks to Jack for putting all of this together.

We’re going to make your Friday.

There’s a new Journeys with Jack video available.

Click on the JackTube below to get to the hidden JwJ page.

Today the House is undertaking a debate on the Global War on Terror, and how best to defeat the enemy that wants nothing more than to destroy freedom and democracy and those that support such ideals.

On this day I ask that certain members of Congress resist the urge to lie in order to spare my eggshell sensitivities.

I understand that war is nasty and that bad things happen. I have been there. I understand that in order to fight the enemy, brave men and women will fall. I have been there. But in order to fight the enemy we must face the enemy.

With the terrorists openly declaring that Iraq is the “central front” in their war against all who oppose the ideology of hate and intolerance, it is clear where we must face the enemy.

-David C.

As I previously posted, the death of al-Zarqawi gave me a sense of relief and pride in knowing that our military is doing the great job that we have been accustomed to. However, Zarqawi was not the only driving force for having a continued US presence in Iraq. There are those that will try to continue his murderous efforts now that he is gone. Recently the shura council of al Qaeda in Iraq agreed on Abu Hamza al-Muhajir to be a successor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and therefore the next best known target of the United States.

The political and military consequences of his death depend not only on what the Iraqi government does, but in large part on what our government does. Do we take advantage of this opportunity by further pursuing Zarqawi’s predecessor and allow our military forces to do the job they train for? Or do we allow Abu Hamza al-Muhajir to turn Iraq into a gangster’s paradise by pulling out the very forces that dealt al-Qaeda in Iraq such a heavy blow in the first place? The strategic consequences of leaving Iraq based on arbitrary dates will only dishonor the noble efforts made by our military. To quote al-Qaeda’s Ayman al-Zawahiri’s letter to Zarqawi last July: “The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam–and how they ran and left their agents–is noteworthy.”

Believe me. I do not want our service members to have to serve any more time overseas than necessary. With that being said, leaving a target rich environment defeats the whole purpose of sending the worlds greatest warriors to the region in the first place. So, do we give Zarqawi a posthumous victory by leaving based upon arbitrary dates set by politicians during an election year? Or do we continue our efforts in defeating the very organization that has declared a global jihad against free people’s world wide?

-David Collins
Fmr. FC2 (SW-AW)

David Collins, an intern for Rep. Kingston in his Washington office, was a Fire Control Technician Second Class aboard the USS Princeton (CG59) during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was involved in the first missile strikes of Operation Enduring Freedom. Upon hearing of the death of al-Zarqawi, he wrote the following post:

The death of al-Zarqawi has brought joy and relief to many. The much publicized beheadings, bombings and acts of terror that Zarqawi was responsible for became a source of frustration that I had not felt since the hours after 9-11. Many Americans began that day much like any other day, including me. The only difference was that I happened to be a Fire Control Technician aboard the guided missile cruiser USS Princeton.

While standing in line for dinner, a fellow shipmate of mine walked by and said that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. At that moment I thought he meant that a small plane had accidentally crashed into the side of one of the buildings. Shortly thereafter the call to general quarters was sounded, and I soon found out about the horrible events that had just occurred. I later learned about the attacks on the Pentagon while reading messages as they came in over a secure chat frequency (this is like an instant messaging system).

I looked at our Weapons Officer and remember him solemnly saying “We are at war.”

The following days included multiple tomahawk strikes along with air strikes from the air wing aboard the USS Carl Vinson. Operation Enduring Freedom was well on its way. The tomahawk strikes that came from the USS Princeton were planned and executed by myself with the help of my team. I remember having a great sense of satisfaction knowing that we were dealing a heavy blow to those that had done so much harm to so many. Approximately one month earlier we had left our home port in San Diego and headed for the Persian Gulf. On the morning of 9-11, the USS Princeton was getting ready to head into the Gulf of Oman. The reason we were able to take such actions so quickly was because we were in the right place at the right time.

Yesterday I felt that same sense of satisfaction knowing that al-Zarqawi had been killed. The atrocities committed by Bin Laden’s acolyte in Iraq had caused many of the same feelings that I had had shortly after 9-11. I wanted to do something, anything, but these days I am a civilian living in Washington D.C. However, with the death of this madman I feel much of the relief I experienced when launching those tomahawk strikes nearly five years ago.

The persistent efforts of our troops in Iraq have produced the definitive results that only those that are in the right place at the right time can produce. They were not at home in the states. They were not in Japan waiting for some lucky intelligence to fall in their laps. They were deployed in a hostile area ready to fight and do what is necessary.

-David

UPDATE (6/11/2006; 1:50 PM): BlogFather Hugh Hewitt calls this post “the best blog post of all on Zarqawi’s death.” Thanks Hugh, we’ll keep plugging away!